I love this New York Senator Schumer with regard to some of the progress I see on legal comprehensive immigration reform discussions.

Senator John McCain and Senator Chuck Schumer part of the Gang of 8

As we all know, far right wingers have taken advantage of  home grown terrorist activities during the Oklahoma City Bombing and they also used the national tragedies of 9-11 to advance their anti-immigrant agenda in an unhealthy way that has kept millions in the shadows of society.  We need to know who is here.

As a proud veteran of the United States Armed Forces, I want to underscore that the 2013 Legal immigration reform bill is a major step forward in securing our Nation because only after everyone is registered and documented will we know who is in our Nation and where we can find them. We know that once we fix the broken immigration system, and once we document all immigrants — then they can feel safe to help law enforcement agencies to target criminal activity without the fear of deportation when they report suspicious activity to the law enforcement authorities. Therefore, bringing the immigrants out of the shadows will only strengthen our Nation’s security.

Schumer is on the right track from a National Security standpoint!

From USATODAY:

Several Republican members of Congress have tried to slow down the bill. And Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the Boston Marathon bombings should prompt lawmakers to more closely scrutinize the national security implications of the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill.

Schumer dismissed such talk, saying their bill “might’ve made a difference” in the Boston case. Part of the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to implement a system to better track every time someone enters and exits the United States, and that could have avoided one of the possible missteps in the Boston case.

We predicted these anti-immigrant moves from the likes of the tea party people and  extreme far right wingers like Laura Ingraham.  We are used to this and this is not a new tactic.  For instance, the former Arizona Rep. J.D. Hayworth initially lost against a blue dog Democratic Rep. Harry Mitchell in a ‘red’ district when he started to equate Mexicans to terrorists and the likes of suicide bombers.  Hayworth took advantage of the 9-11 incident to fuel fear against our neighbors to the south even though Mexicans did NOT bring down the World Trade Centers.  Hayworth’s strategy  eventually backfired because people came to realize Mexicans are primarily Catholic or Christian members — not suicide bombers and extremists.   When J.D. Hayworth ran against Arizona’s Senator John McCain, he failed again with his false anti-immigrant tactics.

We were glad to see JD Hayworth lose against McCain, and I worked my ass off (back when I was a registered Republican) for the Senator John McCain in 2009 / 2010.   To me, Sen. McCain was the lesser of two evils because of Hayworth’s affiliation with a group that allowed the usage of “Wetback” and “Pepper Belly.”

Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth was rejected over an endorsement he accepted from the anti-immigration group Americans for Legal Immigration.

Here is a n old story as we take a trip to memory lane with regard to anti-immigrant extremists when they were on full attack against Arizona Senator John McCain:

Election 2010

J.D. Hayworth Rejected by Hispanic Republican Group Over ALIPAC Endorsement; Apparently ALIPAC Supporters Used Words Like “Wetback” and “Pepper Belly”

By James King Thu., Mar. 11 2010 at 3:41 P

ALIPAC is a controversial organization for a few reasons: It has the support of cuddly organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and former “Grand Wizard” David Duke, which has prompted Hayworth’s primary opponent, Senator John McCain, to call for Hayworth to “disavow” the endorsement.  Somos Republicans isn’t thrilled with the whole Klan association, but its beef is more about some of the language ALIPAC supporters use on the organization’s Web site — namely “wetback,” “taco bender,” “wetback roundup,” and “pepper belly.”   …

Dee Dee Blase, founder of Somos Republicans, says, among other things, she doesn’t trust Hayworth because of his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff (it should be noted that Hayworth was never charged with any wrongdoing regarding his ties to Abramoff). She says she also doesn’t like his stance on immigration, naturally.

“We’re pissed,” says Blase. “We’re pissed at [Sheriff Joe ] Arpaio, we’re pissed at [state Senator] Russell Pearce, and we’re pissed at this lunatic [Hayworth].”  FULL STORY HERE>>>

Laura Ingraham using similar tactics JD Hawyworth used

We first heard the Boston Bombing rhetoric from the extremist Rep. Steve King you can read here,  and now we are hearing rhetoric spread via the Tea Party talking heads like Laura Ingraham.

Here is what she stated earlier today:

This, in my mind, raises all sorts of questions. I mean, again, we don’t know who did this, motivations, all of that. But it is interesting that at this moment — we are considering legalizing or giving regularized status to millions of people. Pretty much none of them have gone through any rigorous background checks, to have a temporary status in the United States. And we don’t — I just think that there are all sorts of security implications aside from the other arguments on immigration — national security implications that we don’t talk about with enough frankness and I think certitude here. We can’t stop every attack, but my goodness, if we had borders that were shut down and we actually had a proper screening process, maybe we could stop some of them.

As a former bomb dog handler and veteran of the United States Air Force, I want to underscore that the 2013 Legal immigration reform bill is a major step forward in securing our Nation because only after everyone is registered and documented will we know who is in our Nation and where we can find them. We know that once we fix the broken immigration system, and once we document all immigrants — then they can feel safe to help law enforcement agencies to target criminal activity without the fear of deportation when they report suspicious activity to the law enforcement authorities. Therefore, bringing the immigrants out of the shadows will only strengthen our Nation’s security.

Image by Washington Post

Anyone notice how Congress waited until after Tax Day to release the comprehensive immigration plan? April 15th is “D-Day” — or the deadline to submit your tax paperwork and have it in the mail to the IRS.

Taxes help pay for our roads, wars, and etc., but they also sustains government benefits for the government programs that are out there — especially for our elderly. I believe in taking care of our elderly, but at some point we must address the approximate 85 million aging Americans. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will soon exhaust all federal tax revenues and we are heading towards a retirement crisis if Congress will not take proactive steps to secure it.

The government needs the additional tax revenues that new tax payers via the immigrants will generate in order to sustain the burgeoning entitlement programs baby boomers require as they continue to retire. By developing a reasonable legal immigration plan, we create a system where immigrants share American tax burdens as they continue to contribute millions of dollars into our tax coffers. New immigrants sharing our tax burdens will help discourage our government from increasing taxes, because under the current system these entitlement programs will drain all federal revenues within 15 years.

Taking Apart the Federal Budget

I do not believe in taxation without representation. Recall to memory the Boston Tea Party and the purpose of it.

According to Jacob Silverman:

At its core, the Boston Tea Party was a conflict over taxation. You may have heard the phrase “taxation without representation,” which developed in this era. Unlike their British brethren, the people living in the 13 colonies did not have direct representatives in the British parliament. Because of that, the colonists had no way to vote for how they would be taxed or who would represent them. And because of this lack of representation, the British government was free to tax the colonists in any way — and for any amount — that it saw fit. With no way to fight taxation and no way to claim their rights, many colonists feared that their property could be taken away through debilitating taxes.

Yet according to the Associated Press:

“Bipartisan immigration legislation emerging in the Senate could prevent hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. illegally from ever becoming citizens..” and in essence preventing them from voting.

It appears politicians are fine with taking tax revenues from immigrants without giving them the ability to vote — especially from those who are from the Republican Party. Essentially they fear President Obama signing and supporting a comprehensive immigration reform bill that might create generational Latin Democrats.

One politician who stands out to me is Senator Marco Rubio who is of Cuban descent helping decide the fate of those who are of Mexican descent. Keep in mind that the Tea Party darling Rubio has family members that benefited from the Cuban privileged amnesty under the Cuban Adjustment Act. Cuban immigrants receive government benefits without those immigrants first contributing to the tax payer system because once their wet-foot touches our dry-land, Cubans are able to receive government benefits and it is the American tax payers like ourselves who have been paying for those benefits. Mexican immigrants do not get those Cuban immigrant government benefits once their dry foot reaches dry land, and this is precisely why it appears Cuban-American Rubio does not want those of Mexican descent to advance. He more than likely knows that Mexicans account for almost 70% of the entire Latin population pie. The time will come when we see a Mexican-American United States Senator rise to the political occasion helping to keep things fair and balanced.

Rubio states:

“…it will allow them to stay in the US, work, travel and pay taxes. They will not qualify for any federal benefits of any kind, including Obamacare and they will have to be in that system for over ten years before they can apply to the existing legal immigration system for a green card…”

Meanwhile, Cuban-American Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is MIA (missing in action) even though Texas is the only state in the Union that shares the longest border length that includes over 20 ports of entry. Texas shares a whopping 64% of the border with Mexico. It is a no-brainer that a Texas official would know more with regard to the economic impact of immigrants than an official from a non-border state like Florida, and this is precisely why you will see the Mexican-Americans trust Mexican-American Texas officials like Congressman Joaquin Castro.

100 days deep: Rep. Joaquin Castro leading charge for immigration reform

It is no secret the Mexican-American community has been hurt the most in light of the record deportations that involves those of Mexican descent — so naturally we are going to gravitate to Mexican-American leadership. Rep. Castro understands our pain. I believe Cuban Senators Rubio and Cruz do not — and this is evident when they are MIA or support ideas that virtually embraces a Mexican underclass. It appears these 2 Cuban-American Senators pull their Latin card when it is convenient for them and when they want the Hispanic lime light benefits. Cubans only account for 3% of the Latin population pie, and it is only a matter of time before the tail stops wagging the dog as we get the dog to eventually wag the tail.

Nevertheless, we are keeping score.

We are documenting Rubio’s every move because we know that once that door is cracked open — we will kick and knock over those unfair obstacles within the next decade. Numbers are on the side of the Mexican-American Community, and as those numbers catch up, you will find that we are going to be the ones who ultimately take care of our American elderly. After all, those of Mexican descent are indigenous and native to our Nation, and we believe in taking care of Her and the people who dwell in it. We have proved our Patriotic Hearts with the blood we have shed to keep our Nation safe.

For the first time in Arizona history, independent voters have become 2nd largest voting bloc surpassing the Democrats.

It is a mistake for people to ignore the independent vote in Arizona that is now the 2nd largest voting bloc regarding Maricopa County Sheriff race.  Several people are forgetting the John McCain “maverick” factor and also forgot how approximately 200,000 independent votes carried the Senator.

Ever wonder why the corrupt Sheriff Joe Arpaio is not attacking independent candidate Mike Stauffer for Sheriff and independent voters of Maricopa County?

Indeed Mike Stauffer for sheriff is looking better and better as both the Republican and Democratic candidates go negative against each other.

Arpaio NEEDS the independent conservative vote in order to survive.

More importantly, if Arpaio attacks independent candidate Mike Stauffer for sheriff — then he will have legitimatized him, and he is too cunning and wise to do that. The only folks attacking Mike Stauffer are Paul Penzone supporters and they are shooting themselves in the foot.  Additionally, it was not smart for Ann Wallack  (supports Penzone) to call independent voters “ignorant” either.  Unfortunately the political novices have no idea that independent voters now make up the 2nd largest voting bloc in Arizona and in Maricopa County surpassing Democratic voter registrations for the first time in Arizona history.

More importantly, independent voters become independent voters because we are sick and tired of partisanship gridlock. Period. 

Libertarians, Libertarian-Republicans, and Independent voters who support Mike Stauffer for Maricopa County Sheriff believe that the Sheriff Office should NOT be partisan.  In fact, professionalism needs to be restored at the MCSO.

Who in their right mind would attack key independent voters when they are a surging voter bloc of people sick of negative ads from both the Republican and Democratic Party?

According to ABC News:

Independent voters are an increasingly important voting bloc. They have outnumbered both Democrats and Republicans continuously for the past two and a half years, by far the longest period in which they’ve done so in ABC News-Washington Post polls dating back to 1981.

Gallup’s recent poll bears mixed news for the two parties. While the gap between those who identified as Democrats and those who said they were Republicans widened to 4 percent, more independents appeared to lean toward the Republican Party than to the Democratic Party and the split between the two was equal.

“Increased independent identification is not uncommon in the year before a presidential election year, but the sluggish economy, record levels of distrust in government and unfavorable views of both parties helped to create an environment that fostered political independence more than in any other pre-election year,” Gallup stated.

Here is a breakdown of the demographics in Maricopa County, and it also supports why I believe Mike Stauffer is going to hurt Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the Maricopa County Sheriff race.

Maricopa County Sheriff Office Demographics between 2008 and 2012 in key Arpaio race.

I received a robo-call by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s campaign that was created by a woman warning callers not to allow anyone to come to your door to pick up ballots.  I believe the Arpaio chose a female person to initiate these calls in light of Penzone’s domestic violence history which is why we warned folks not to support flawed candidates.  Flawed candidates cannot beat Arpaio.

I received the call last night at approximately 5:00 pm Arizona time and the robo-call discussed these below points:

• Tent City
• Saving Millions of dollars
• Warning Arizona not to give their ballots to anyone at the door

I believe the rob0-calls coming from Sheriff Joe Arpaio are being made in light of the story below.

If you are one of the more than 1 million-plus voters in Maricopa County who received early ballots, the county recorder has a warning for you: Don’t give your ballots to anyone at your doorstep.

Recorder Helen Purcell told CBS 5 News she has received several complaints about people knocking on doors, saying they are from the county and offering to pick up and turn in early ballots for the voter.

Remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio has million$ of dollars crushing his (Democratic) opponent while leaving Independent candidate Mike Stauffer  alone because Arpaio’s campaign, and certainly Chad Willem knows that independent Arizona voters swing conservatively.  The Arpaio campaign cannot afford to lose the key swing independent conservative vote and this is where Independent candidate Mike Stauffer for Maricopa County Sheriff can do significant damage to him. On the other hand, political novices and  Paul Penzone supporters are attacking women and independent voters — shooting themselves in the foot.

All along we have supported Mike Stauffer for Maricopa County sheriff because he has the advanced education and experience that both the Republican and Democratic candidates do not have.

There isn’t much difference between the two parties in Maricopa county and there is no room for partisan politics in the sheriff’s office. All we get is someone beholding to their party. What we need is professional law enforcement. Someone who is qualified and has the education, experience and plan to reform MCSO on Day 1.

The independent candidate Stauffer, is that law enforcement professional. Stauffer for sheriff.

It’s time for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department to go non-partisan with Mike Stauffer.  We are tired of partisanship politics in our State.

I am so glad I am no longer a partisan hack.  I am so glad I am a registered Independent voter.  I am not beholden to a partisan organization, yet, I see how Senator John McCain took a jab at Obama with regard to the one year anniversary killing of a dangerous man — Osama Bin Laden.  Obama didn’t spike a football….spiking a football is what President George W. Bush did when Cheney had Zarqawi’s head photo in a GOLD colored picture frame.  No photos have been released on Osama Bin Laden even though Americans like me wanted to see them.

In the old days, George Washington would have embraced a time and every opportunity to capture “unity moments” but these days … we see partisan hacks take every opportunity to make their “team” look better.

Really?

Is this what we have amounted to?  Partisan hacks instead of embracing unity on a ONE YEAR anniversary in the killing of a dangerous man who took down our towers in New York?

That’s what I miss about the military days — we were trained to view one color … the color of our BDU’s (Battle Dress Uniforms), but Vet McCain sees only two colors:  Red or Blue.  Que triste.

As an INDEPENDENT American, and a former member of the Armed Forces who served our country honorably … I say:

HELL YEAH Osama Bin Laden is down! 

Hell freakin’ Yeah! 

A dangerous man has been eliminated, and he should have been the first one eliminated to begin with once our New York towers imploded! 

HOOAH!  Veterans all over the world rejoiced and we continue to do so!  That’s why we volunteer and risk our own lives — to fight bullies who kill innocent non-military civilians.

I appreciated when Dee Evans wrote:

Obama Can’t Use Bin Laden but Bush Could Use Saddam and 9/11 — Really?

Just as I was happy when Bush delivered Saddam and Zarqawi, I am equally stoked about President Obama delivering on the man we should have been after from day one when our towers imploded and killed innocent American civilians.  Terrorists need to be reminded not to F*** with Americans and the United States.

Now how ’bout some real patriotism, Mr. McCain?  Or are you that much of a partisan hack during a key Presidential race?

Bush delivers Zaqawi's head in a gold colored picture frame.

Americans are yearning for UNITY and healing — not political sniping and partisanship during a time of rejoice.

Watch below video flashback from the Bush days:

Texas Senator John Cornyn’s “mañana” comment is highly offensive and inappropriate to the Latino community, because “ayer” the Texas Senator had the opportunity to vote in support of the DREAM Act bill in December 2010 where he ultimately VOTED NO against our youth.

There was no reason the Texas Senator could not take a lead on the DREAM Act because he represents a state where many of his constituents are of Mexican-American descent.

According to Talking Points Memo:

Sen. John Cornyn (TX), the ranking member of the Judiciary subcommittee, called the hearing a futile exercise and, following the lead of other Republicans, he took a swipe at President Obama for failing to pass immigration reform.

“Unfortunately, the Democrat majority seems to have embraced President Obama’s ‘mañana’ approach to immigration reform,” Cornyn said in a statement.

A message to the Texas Senator:

We are all for legal immigration, Senator Cornyn, and not every Latino ethnic group is able to receive Cuban Amnesty because no Republican leadership in any of the high Hispanic populated states are taking leadership for legal immigration reform.  Mexicans that make up a significant part of your state are still waiting for you to take a lead on the Mexican Adjustment Act you should have taken “ayer.” 

P.S.  You are no longer an amigo to those who had hoped you would support the DREAM Act vote of 2010.

 

Arizona’s controversial immigration measure has inspired numerous boycotts — and on Tuesday, it provoked another, when Senate Republicans refused to show up at a hearing on the measure. The hearing took place one day before the Supreme Court begins to weigh its constitutionality, leaving Democrats to spar with the author of the measure and paint the GOP as “absent” — literally — on immigration reform.

The hearing comes ahead of an election in which the two parties are battling for Hispanic voters, who strongly oppose the S.B. 1070 law and who lean Democratic by a huge margin. The Democrats’ hearing reflects an effort to highlight this divide, in part because they used the occasion to make an impassioned case for the DREAM Act.

Sen. John Cornyn (TX), the ranking member of the Judiciary subcommittee, called the hearing a futile exercise and, following the lead of other Republicans, he took a swipe at President Obama for failing to pass immigration reform.

“Unfortunately, the Democrat majority seems to have embraced President Obama’s ‘mañana’ approach to immigration reform,” Cornyn said in a statement.

There were only 6 Democratic Senators who did not vote in support of the DREAM Act, however, there were 39 Republican Senators  below who voted against the DREAM Act in 2010.  They showed no mercy and compassion before they took their Christmas vacations in 2010.   Will Senator John McCain and Senator Jon Kyl retire with the legend of being anti-children and anti-immigrant? Hell, Senator Orrin Hatch clearly doesn’t stand by the principles of the Utah Compact.  Isn’t this nation great because of the immigrants that landed on Plymouth?

Below is a list of United States Republican Senators who will receive an F on an immigration score card currently being prepared in light of the 2012 Presidential Elections.  An immigration score card will be circulated to all High Hispanic populated states and our media contacts.  We encourage the below United States Senators to pass the DREAM Act and fix the broken immigration system before they take their Holiday or Christmas vacation in 2011.  The judgment that is passed on our children will be reciprocal.

Below are all of the Republicans Senators who voted Nay during the DREAM Act vote in December 2010:

Alexander (R-TN),
Barrasso (R-WY),
Bond (R-MO),
Brown (R-MA),
Brownback (R-KS),
Burr (R-NC),
Chambliss (R-GA),
Coburn (R-OK),
Cochran (R-MS),
Collins (R-ME),
Corker (R-TN),
Cornyn (R-TX),
Crapo (R-ID),
DeMint (R-SC),
Ensign (R-NV),
Enzi (R-WY),
Graham (R-SC),
Grassley (R-IA),
Hutchison (R-TX),
Inhofe (R-OK),
Isakson (R-GA),
Johanns (R-NE),
Kirk (R-IL),
Kyl (R-AZ),
LeMieux (R-FL),
McCain (R-AZ),
McConnell (R-KY),
Risch (R-ID),
Roberts (R-KS),
Sessions (R-AL),
Shelby (R-AL),
Snowe (R-ME),
Thune (R-SD),
Vitter (R-LA),
Voinovich (R-OH),
Wicker (R-MS),

Note the 5 Democrats who voted nay. 60 votes were needed on the aye side for the measure to invoke cloture, which would have concluded debate on the matter so it could proceed to a vote for or against passage.

Not Voting – 4
Bunning (R-KY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)   *Note:  Democratic Senator Manchin chose to attend a Christmas Party instead of voting.

*Note: Senator Marco Rubio repeatedly voiced his opposition against the DREAM Act and the blood of Joaquin is on his hands, too.  He is the worst of them all because he knows that Cubans receive privileged amnesty and does nothing to fix the broken immigration system knowing full well that other Hispanic ethnic groups do not receive special benefits that have been afforded to his family who migrated from Cuba.

Mitt Romney will go down in American history as being irrational on immigration reform policies.  I will never forget when the Romney camp appointed Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio Monday as honorary chair of the campaign in the state of Arizona, according to  FOXNews.com.

It’s unfortunate to see this 2012 Presidential Candidate be up to his old tricks again on the immigration issue.  Mitt Romney was so bad in 2007 that he moved Senator John McCain (who worked with Kennedy on an Immigration Reform Bill) further to the right and against immigration friendly views.  Romney lost in 2008 against Senator John McCain, and he will continue to lose because it appears he hasn’t learned from his mistakes.  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has pulled no punches over illegal immigration, even charging that Rick Perry created an inducement.

What I don’t understand is how both Russell Pearce (lost special elections to Jerry Lewis) and Mitt Romney will not adhere to principles of the Utah Compact.  Both of these politicians are people that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) community and if they would only act more like Jon Huntsman things would be a much healthier environment.  For the record, Jon Huntsman supports the Federal DREAM Act and gets major Latino points to that regard.   Romney, on the other hand, is a familiar old foe and charlatan who continues to take a “populist” approach in demonizing immigrants since 2007 when he ran against John McCain.

Here are similar parallels between Mitt Romney and Russell Pearce:

• Mitt Romney made Sheriff Joe Arpaio his state chair when he ran against Senator John McCain in 2007 and forced McCain farther to the right on his anti-immigration views.
• FactCheck: Yes, his ads DID accuse McCain of “amnesty”. (Jan 2008)
• Enforce the law against 12 million illegals here now. (Jun 2007)
• McCain’s plan gives special pathway to those here illegally. (May 2007)
• Keep rule barring immigrants from running for president. (May 2007)
• The 12 million illegal immigrants can’t stay forever. (Jan 2006)
• Illegal immigrants shouldn’t get tuition break in schools. (Nov 2007)
• Unfair to allow all illegal immigrants to stay. (Jan 2006)
• Tuition breaks encourage illegal immigration. (Nov 2005)
• Vetoed in-state tuition; turn off the magnet. (Sep 2011)
• Of course a border fence; of course no free tuition. (Sep 2011)
• Build 2,600-mile fence with enough guards to secure it. (Sep 2011)
• Turn off the magnet that attracts immigrants. (Sep 2011)
• Deport illegal immigrants in 90 days under the ideal setting. (Jan 2008)
• AdWatch: Huckabee ok’ed tuition & scholarships for illegals. (Dec 2007)
• FactCheck: Took hard-line on illegals (Dec 2007)
• Avoid chain migration; disallow families from one citizen. (Dec 2007)
• FactCheck: Illegals employed at his home, but by contractor. (Nov 2007)
• AdWatch: No driver’s license & in-state tuition for illegals. (Nov 2007)