ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Gutknecht’s Signature Issue But NOT Minnesotan Voters’

Although totally unscientific, Minnesota Public Radio interpreted voter survey data to determine what issues Minnesotans are most interested in this election. Immigration came in 8th.

Based on Gutknecht’s advertising campaign for re-election, illegal immigration is his top priority. [ WEBSTER’s DEFINITION : Advertising : 1: the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize: promote. MY DEFINITION : Magnify an issue for political gain especially when you have failed to perform in the past and offer no vision for the future. ]

Have you noticed that there has been no commercials being run in the Governor or US Senate race where illegal immigration is the topic?

What about the other US House races ? Of the competative races, immigration does not get top billing. The Oberstar-Grams the topic seems to be about jobs. The Bachmann-Wetterling race seems to be about moral values and taxes. The Kline-Rawley race seems to be about Iraq. In the non-competative districts, incumbents are talking about their issues that affect their constituents : Ramstad – Healthcare, Peterson – Ethanol and McCollum – Iraq.

The illegal immigration issue is not a Republican Party issue, but instead issue between a group of extermists versus Republicans and Democrats. Last week in Albert Lea, Gutknecht lashed out at the Senate calling it “the graveyard of all good ideas”. I suppose that is because the Senate Majority Leader, Republican Bill Frist, Norm Coleman and over 20 other Republican senators offered an opinion that differed with the extremist views of Tom Tancredo and Gil Gutknecht.

Consider the following statement from the Republican-endorsed candidate’s website for MN-5th District. “Regarding the eleven million illegal immigrants who are already here, it is impractical and unreasonable to consider widespread deportation. Instead, we need to integrate the majority of this population into our society. This does not mean amnesty. This means that we must screen these individuals (and consider deportation of those who have committed criminal acts), get those who need it into guest worker programs, and put these people on the path to legal immigration that every legal immigrant has had to follow.“

Gutknecht offers no solution for the 11 million people that are here. Many of those have come here over the 12 years that Gutknecht has been in Congress. This unwillingness to compromise with Republicans and Democrats has stalled legislation and left our borders unprotected. Gutknecht would rather encourage gridlock than engaged, thoughtful discussion.

SOURCES :
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2006/10/what_are_people.shtml

http://fineforcongress.org/immigration.htm