(Promoted by Colorado Pols)
Former Rep. Tom Tancredo and Rep. Mike Coffman have a tight political history, each endorsing the other at various points along the way. (Tancredo endorses Coffman here and vice versa here.)
So I wondered how Tancredo, who's known for his hard-line stance against illegal immigration, felt about Coffman's recent announcement that Coffman favors giving "legal status" to millions of undocumented immigrants, giving them permission to work here without granting them the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
"It's a distinction without a difference," Tancredo told me, regarding the difference between "legal status" without citizenship and actual citizenship. "Five years, ten years from now, you think we can stop 11 or 12 million people from being citizens, no no.
"It's kind of like the civil union issue. If they could only get civil unions through, then that would be it. But of course the day civil unions passed, they announced that was not it. It needs to be marriage."
Coffman's 6th Congressional District, which Tancredo represented from 1999 to 2009, was substantially changed after the 2010 census, making it one of the most competitive congressional seats in the country.
As a result, multiple journalists have essentially put Coffman on the Endangered Congressmen List, and Coffman has responded, they say, by singing a different tune on immigration and other issues, even if the overarching song remains the same.
"I don't know if the new district is the reason for [Coffman’s] moves on immigration.” said Tancredo, “but if it is, it’s a mistake. If I had a chance to pounce on [Coffman], which i do not, I would tell him it's not going to help."
"We've seen that trying to woo the Latino is a losing proposition," said Tancredo. "Latinos vote for Democrats because they want big government. It has nothing to do with immigration."
"He's going to have a tough race," said Tancredo. "Romanoff is a good candidate. Mike has shown himself to be a good candidate. It will not be a presidential year, so the possibility of having a lower turnout will certainly help Mike.
"I want to see him re-elected, and that's why I am concerned that he thinks he can mollify the Hispanic community due to his moves on immigration. It won't help."
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Tancredo is all about hanging on to status as a minor (very) right wing celebrity for as long as he can make some money off it as a poor man's Rush Limbaugh. He has no future in elected politics, unless he wants to do the spoiler thing again to keep his name in the public eye for the purpose of prolonging his ability to earn some speaking fees, so naturally he doesn't care about the Hispanic vote or about how Rs are going to be able to win in the future without a bigger chunk of it.
Of course if he's right that there is no point in trying to increase the GOP share of the Hispanic vote even though they don't need a majority of it, just a bigger minority share, then he's pretty much conceding that there's no real future for his version of the GOP.
As for his endorsement or lack thereof in the new CD6? It doesn't matter anymore. Tanc is finished in terms of CD6 relevance. He's strictly a D list celebrity clown car figure now.
Maybe, but if Coffman loses the right and can't grab the center-left, he has nobody.
I 'm just saying I don't think Tanc will have any significant bearing on that equation, whether he praises Coffman or disses him. In the new district I think either case helps Coffman with some only as much as it hurts him with others.
The only way Tanc matters is if he decides to offer himself or strongly support someone else as a third choice hysterical ant-immigrant candidate. Then a Dem win is a sure thing. Anyone for starting a draft Tanc for CD6 movement? Then maybe Andrew and Ken can pill it off without the money.
If Tancredo's reaction isn't an admission of naked xenophobia and ungilded bigotry, I don't know what is. Citizen or not, legal schmegal–he just can't stand having brown people around. Period.
@ Larry-You never know when you'll need a rec room remodel
Stupid decade old smear.
Arap! Really, you are accusing Tanc of being an idiot for hiring undocumented workers?
But at least you were classy enough to bring up a certain pee episode today in another thread. IOKIYAR as always.
For chrisakes, I'm not running for president, you know.
What a jerk…
Unless they're working on his basement remodel for the slimy contractor who gave him the lowest bid.