by Rick Pearson
DES MOINES — If there's any doubt that Fred Thompson has placed his political fortunes on Iowa, all Republicans in the leadoff presidential state have to do is check out the contents of their mail box.
In one of the most negative direct mail pieces sent out so far in the Republican campaign, voters get a brochure with the headline "Huckabee University" that notes "Illegals Welcome" and "US citizens need not apply."
The mailing is in reference to rival Mike Huckabee's support of in-state tuition and scholarship offerings for the children of undocumented immigrants during his tenure as Arkansas governor. It comes courtesy of Thompson, the former Tennessee senator, who is reportedly folding his New Hampshire campaign operation and putting all his eggs into the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus basket.
Huckabee, the new frontrunner in Iowa based on recent polls, has come under increasing criticism from his Republican rivals for allegedly being soft on the issue of illegal immigration.
Thompson's mailer was sent out in the days leading up to today's debate among the Republican presidential contenders hosted by the Des Moines Register.
Thompson's mailer encourages people to open the doors to the fictional "Huckabee University," where they learn that on the subject of immigration, "Mike Huckabee talks like a Republican, but governs like a Democrat."
Thompson, meanwhile, pledges "no amnesty," increased border security and to "maximize efforts to prosecute and convict criminal alien gangs."
Huckabee has defended his support of higher-education benefits to the children of undocumented immigrants under the belief that a child should not be punished for the sins of the parent. Huckabee also has said he believes there's an element of racism involved in the immigration debate.
Still, Huckabee has sought to toughen himself up on the issue. He has been endorsed by the founder of the private Minuteman Project involving border security.
And he's proposed a plan that would give undocumented immigrants 120 days to return to their home country to apply to renter. Those who don't return to their home country and are caught would be prohibited from re-entering the United States for 10 years.
It's the third direct-mail piece in recent weeks from Thompson, who began with an introductory mailer about himself, followed by a mailing that attacked Huckabee for the former Arkansas governor's fiscal record.
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Comments
Huckabee's tuition position for children of illegals is simple - these are kids who went thru the public school system and got A+ grades. Would we rather them having a career saying "would you like fries with this?" or "nurse, hand me the scalpel"?
Posted by: Jeff | December 12, 2007 7:21 AM
Another point that is often overlooked is the fact that in order to apply for tuition assistance, the students needed to have become US citizens or be in the process of becoming US citizens. Nor were "natural-born" US citizens discriminated against. They could apply for the same scholarships; it was performance based. Isn't it reverse discrimination to say that someone less qualified derserves special treatment because of birth instead of merit?
Posted by: Sarah | December 12, 2007 9:15 AM
Jeff,
You are incorrect. Scarborough had a fact finder on his show yesterday who analyzed Huckabee's claims about only giving tuition breaks to A+ students. They rated his entire response as barely true. They also rated Mitt Romney's response as True for all that he had done against illegal immigration. Huckabee sounds great when he talks but his record is so frightening he will ruin our party. Signed anyone but Huckabee.
Posted by: Eileen | December 12, 2007 9:24 AM
Of course the native born are being discriminated against. Every scholarship
for an illegal means one less scholarship
for an American child, and that is putting the best possible face on Huckabee's
derangement by assuming that the scholarships are granted on an ethnicity,
socio-economic background neutral basis. Reality is that nanny state liberals like Huckabeet can't resist bringing their "feelings" and holier-than thou so-called morality into the equation with the result that
the illegals actually receive "affirmative
action" preference over better qualified Americans. Same kind of thought
process obviously was applied by
Huckabee in supporting the release of the convicted rapist and soon to be
murderer.
Posted by: Fred. G. | December 12, 2007 12:11 PM
How about the fact they are ILLEGALLY in the United States? And if we discover they are ILLEGALLY here, we send back to their homes? Someone help me understand why we're allowing ILLEGALS to remain here ILLEGALLY?
Posted by: Steve | December 12, 2007 12:49 PM
"...the children of undocumented immigrants..."
The children of undocumented immigrants *are* undocumented immigrants? Why mention their parents?
Posted by: Gary | December 12, 2007 1:41 PM
Jeff, what are you making excuses for the Huckster? How many Americans (read that means LEGAL Americans) don't get a priviledge of a college education just because of their grades. Why should an illegal get ANYTHING?
Posted by: Kevin | December 12, 2007 3:00 PM
I'm sorry, illegals, no matter how good their grades, shouldn't be allowed to get money to go to school. They shouldn't be allowed to go to our public schools even. That stuff is for US Citizens, not for illegal aliens. If they get caught, they should be thrown on a bus and shipped back to their country of origin. Then they can apply for a visa. The fact that you can sneak over the US/Mexico border shouldn't mean that you can benifit from it.
The "they shouldn't pay for the sins of their parents" arguement is garbage too. By that reasoning, if I rob a bank, and then give the money to my daughter to pay for college, she should be allowed to keep and use it, because, well, it wasn't HER fault that the money was stolen, she was just using it to make a better life for herself.
Posted by: Joe | December 12, 2007 9:19 PM
Huckabee's tuition position may be compassionate (and flawed), but that's the kind of thing that continues to draw illegals to our country - kill off the "free stuff" and the trend will stop and begin to reverse itself.
This is yet another symptom of the "compassionate conservatism" (that Huckabee is full of) that will bleed our country to death!
Fred Thompson's illegal immigration PLAN is spot-on and exactly what our country needs.
Go Fred!
Posted by: Lee | December 12, 2007 9:49 PM
My daughter a legal American had a 3.5 GPA out of high school and guess what scholarship she got. Student loans to a cheap college for about 23,000 and Huckabee think and ILLEGAL deservse better.
Maybe he can run for Mexican President on how to cheat Americans out of thier College money.
Posted by: Shane | December 13, 2007 8:01 AM
What concerns me is that only a few days ago during the debate in FL, Huckabee defended his position of giving scholarship to children of illegal immigrants as not to punish children for their parents wrong doing, but now he want to send all illegal back to their country within 120 days if he get elected. What happen to these children that he “cares” so much? They are supposed to be award for the scholarship but punished to be separated from their parents? It seems to me that Huckabee has no principle in terms of his immigration policy; he flip-flops and even do not care to give an explanation.
Posted by: Michelle | December 13, 2007 5:41 PM
Rudy McRomney-Thomkabee, No Thanks. ...Or should I say, THANKS! I'm glad they're all running! They are a bunch of imbecile prohibitionists with as much flavor, spice, character, and intelligence as a teaspoon of warm water. Hopefully, their vote totals in the primaries will all be exactly equal, handing Ron Paul a significant margin of victory. Prohibition has been stricken down by the Supreme Court (of the past, back when having a brain was a requirement) as unConstitutional, as was gun control, the IRS, the FDA, and the entire alphabet soup of cruddy government regulatory agencies. ...But we still have all of that bureaucracy. It's just piled onto the Constitution, and operating full steam ahead in direct denial of the Constitution, and simple human decency. Ron Paul, Wayne Root, and the Fully Informed Jury Association are going to change all of that. ...Don't think so?
...Hide and watch. :D
Posted by: Jake Witmer | December 16, 2007 7:07 PM
Oh Hucks position on illegals is simple. He supports law breakers! He supports giving benifits to illegals over me the U.S. citizen and veteran! Both Huckster and Thompson are CRF! Both men are weak! RON PAUL is the only conservative! RON PAUL
Posted by: joe | December 23, 2007 3:01 AM