McCain Goes on Offense on Immigration

Carolyn Hileman | June 1, 2007 

No issue animates the Republican base like immigration.

And, in the days following the announcement of a bipartisan deal on the issue, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) found himself on the receiving end of a series of body blows from his presidential rivals — most notably former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) — who attacked the agreement as nothing more than amnesty.

Privately, the McCain campaign seethed at the characterization that he was backing amnesty; they argued that his work on the issue was a prototypical example of his willingness to tackle tough issues and try to find solutions to them.

While President Bush has begun to make that same case, it’s clear the McCain people are now taking matters into their own hands.

Over the last week, McCain has made a flurry of appearances on conservative talk radio television to sell the plan. He’s been on “The Mike Gallagher Show,” Sean Hannity’s radio show,” The Michael Medved Show,” “Captain’s Quarters Blog Radio” as well as local radio programs in South Carolina, Iowa and Arizona. He also appeared last night on “The O’Reilly Factor”

McCain will continue the offensive through Monday when he has a major immigration address plan aimed at making his case to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in Coral Gables, Fla.

The argument? Doing nothing amounts to the very amnesty that conservatives are railing against. “Right now it’s de facto amnesty because we have 12 million people here illegally,” McCain said on “The O’Reilly Factor.” He added that the bill backed by him and Bush does “everything short of deportation,” pointing out that it includes fines, waiting periods and learning English in order to be a citizen.

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One Response to “McCain Goes on Offense on Immigration”

  1. University Update on June 1st, 2007 10:22 am

    McCain Goes on Offense on Immigration…

    …

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