Without question, Rudy Giuliani has a strong and solid position on immigration.
I mean, just look at what he said at a campaign speech in South Carolina two days ago: “We can end illegal immigration. I promise you, we can end illegal immigration.”
No problem. America’s favorite cross-dressing Mayor promises us he can end it…period.
He had a strong and solid position on immigration back in 1996, too….
(Via TPM Cafe.)
Rudy’s position in ’96 had heft and gravitas, well within the parameters of serious discussion on this issue. His lunacy in ’07 is just that, lunacy.
He’s simply not being serious. So why is he getting any air time at all?
@1 is meant to be snarky. Just in case you didn’t pick up on that.
C’mon Darryl. He’s learned a lot in the last 11 years.
And not just only about makeup and evening gowns.
Instead of slamming Rudy over this issue, why don’t you not be a typical finger-pointing, whiney Democrat for once and actually come up with an idea or solution of your own instead of merely bashing and blaming? Now there’s an idea!
@4
Sure. We can start by ending the drug war, so that Mexico’s large-scale criminal organizations don’t make billions of dollars from the 25 million Americans who use recreational drugs and in turn can’t corrupt and threaten the authority of Mexico’s government and domestic armed forces.
What’s your solution? Build a wall? Good luck with that.
Mark1 @ 4,
Sure…when I run for President, I’ll keep your sage advice in mind.
Darryl
Get off your kness.goldy knows when he has been licked.
Is Rudy more of a fraud than the average republicon, or just an average fraud?
By the way Mark, I don’t like any immigration reform I have heard yet.
One thing for sure. You won’t see anyone named Bush, Rumsfeld, or Cheney serving in Iraq.
So Rudi. Which Democrats are your children supporting?
I have a question for Mr. Rooodi. Do you, and your buddies plan on looting our country’s taxpayers as much as Bush, and his biddies?
Wait till the GAO report on fraud, and waste comes out.
@5 Yeah, Trotskyite neocons like walls.
@8 “more of a fraud than the average republicon”
Is that possible?
Mr. Giuliani said it very clearly, and it’s emphasized at the end of the piece:
This was in 1996.
In 1996, we didn’t have the government violating the Geneva conventions.
In 1996, we didn’t have our Central Intelligence Agency running secret prisons overseas.
In 1996, Guantanamo was just another Navy base, whose primary purpose was annoying Fidel Castro.
In 1996, we were getting closer to a balance federal budget.
In 1996, inactive military reservists were not threatened with Courts-Martial for participating in protests.
In 1996, we didn’t have the executive branch claiming the right to spy on US citizens.
Mr Giuliani was speaking truthfully in both cases. If we want to be the kind of country we were in 1996 (or hopefully even a better country) then we cannot fully end illegal immigration.
We can control it better, we can do things to reduce the temptation to come here illegally, we can work with other countries to get them to help, but in a free, open and wealthy society, we will never completely end it.
Or, we can become a police state where the government spies on citizens (done), requires photo id (getting there), holds citizens without trial (been tried), threatens anyone that protests (done), runs our economy into the ground and exerts a level of control that would make Stalin proud.
If we’re willing to accept that, then we can end illegal immigration.
After all, people weren’t exactly clamoring to get into the Soviet Union, either.