McCain to illegals: Make us cry, and you can stay (for a fee, of course)
FRANK MIELE
John McCain, one of the leading Republican candidates for president, is thought to be tough as nails because he survived 5 1/2 years of abuse at the hands of the North Vietnamese when he was a prisoner of war.
Everyone pays appropriate homage to him for his service to his country, but since he is running for president he also deserves a serious look at his record and his proposals.
And on the subject of enforcing immigration law, McCain is not as tough as nails; he is squishy as a jelly doughnut.
Accused of supporting amnesty in the McCain-Kennedy bill and in subsequent immigration "reform" bills, McCain typically denies it was amnesty because the illegal immigrants had to pay a $5,000 fine, but then he says that under his plan no one would be able to avoid following the law. "There is no special right associated with my plan," he says.
Except… he always adds a squishy exception.
In one debate, he said he wouldn't deport the grandmother of a soldier fighting in Iraq because she was illegal. In another, he said he wouldn't deport the wife of a soldier fighting in Iraq because he was possibly missing in action.
Apparently, McCain believes in "rule of law" unless you have a really compelling story. Then you get a free pass. Call it the Oprah factor. If you can make us cry on a talk show, we like you too much to send you home.
But maybe someone should tell McCain that every one of us has a compelling story, every one of us has a grandmother who loves us, and every one of us believes in true love. That doesn't mean we can avoid our legal responsibilities; it doesn't mean we can cross borders with impunity; and it doesn't mean you can come to America if you are willing to pay $5,000.
Nor do you get to stay in America just because you have a compelling story; you get to stay here if you followed all the rules and you have a green card.
Heck, if we are going to sell legal residency in the United States to the highest bidder, we should be able to do much better than $5,000. Why don't we hold an annual auction where we sell a limited number of green cards to the highest bidder? I think we might be able to get as much as $50,000 for each card. McCain is clearly not seeing the big picture! We could probably solve the deficit with this plan.
And why stop with green cards? We could even sell citizenship. No need for people with a big fat wallet to pass those silly tests about American history and culture, is there? After all, once they get here, they don't even have to speak English, so why bother pretending they care about fitting in?
Most of the other Republican candidates are firmly against amnesty, but they are afraid to challenge McCain too loudly on this issue because they think he might win the nomination and pick them for his running mate.
But at least illegal immigration is an issue in the Republican primary; for the Democrats it doesn't even exist.
Literally.
When Hillary Clinton was in Las Vegas last week prior to the Nevada caucuses, she was told by a man that his immigrant wife was "illegal."
"No woman is illegal," replied Clinton to cheers in the Mexican restaurant where she was campaigning.
Wow! That is some blanket statement. But what exactly does it mean? Of course, the man did not mean that his wife was "against the law." He meant that she was in this country illegally. He, at least, understands the law, but we may have to ask whether Hillary Clinton does.
But it is no surprise that Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards all support amnesty for illegal immigrants. It's too hard for them to say "no" to 12 million potential voters, and mean it. Maybe Democrats are just not tough enough to be president.
But then again, apparently neither is John McCain.
. Frank Miele is managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake. E-mail responses may be sent to edit@dailyinterlake.com.