Formidable though the task may seem, we're making an effort to talk with every presidential hopeful in the '08 race, and today we've got Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) from Capitol Hill. Now's the time to ask him your questions, well, not exactly face-to-face, but it's almost that good.
Blog of the Nation
Could you talk about what you called the 'cult of multiculturalism'? How can you make the argument that Americans have a single cohesive identity? American from the South are different from those of the North, and those from the Midwest are different from the Eastern region of the country. For instance, I am a New Yorker, living in the South. When I walk into a deli and ask for a hero (sub) people don't know what I am talking about.
I believe that Americans have iconic and historical similarities, but we do not have a single cohesive identity. If you believe that we do, could please site an example.
Sergeant Juan Euvin Ret
US Army
Charlotte, NC
For Representative Tancredo:
Since it appears that the policy of the Mexican government is to encourage emmigration (legal or otherwise) to the USA, and since the majority of undocumented immigrants are from Mexico, shouldn't part of our solution to the immigration issue be direct negotitation with Mexico? Couldn't we use this as an opportunity to deal with unresolved bi-national issues such as extradition laws that Mexico has been reluctant to address?
Could you explain how the current immigration debate, which you are very involved in, is related to and/or shaped by the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, signed in 2005?
Thank you,
David P.
Akron, OH
Can we please spend some time with viable candidates? Tom Tancredo fumbles his way through a simple statement, with many side notes and meandering, that makes his points un-intelligible. Please NPR STOP giving voice to worthless candidtates.
Dear Rep. Tancredo,
Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. They seem to be doing okay with that. Why can't we?
I am curious about your stand on national security. You hype like many nativists "the need to secure our borders", yet you have never mentioned the internal threat facing our country from groups such as the KKK and Aryan Nations. Since these groups have vowed to wage a violent overthrow of the government, I am curious why you never mention going after national terrorists groups like this. Would you support a massive crack-down on these groups, and will you address the need to fight these terrorist organizations with as much resolve as illegal immigrants?
Congressman Tancredo has some excellent and valid points, however he lacks some of the public speaking abilities of his competitors and opponents.
Tancredo's campaign team needs to find a good debate/speech coach to help the Congressman focus his thoughts and express them concisely and clearly.
Kudos to NPR for giving Tom Tancredo 17 minutes of air time in which to express views that are likely not held by the majority of its listeners. Or maybe they are...
Tancredo's disgusting slurs against Muslims have, sadly, drawn no comment here. He insists that Muslims throughout the world are somehow pleased by the killing of Christians and Jews because our religion says we must be. Had he ever bothered to talk to real, living, breathing Muslim, instead of swiping his talking points from the FoxNews streamer, he would know that such is not the case and that Muslims are required to respect the "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians) unless they are attacked by them.
To say yet again that the hateful actions of .001 percent of Muslims are supported by the other billion or so of us in the world is despicable, but only to be expected from Tancredo and his ilk.
He went on to say that Muslims don't speak out against terror. Has he, perhaps, been so distracted with trying to make sure every American is monolingual that he hasn't noticed Muslims great and small railing against violence in the name of Islam? Did he not see the support of the entire Muslim world for the U.S. just after 9/11?
Perhaps average Muslims don't get the media attention that radicals do (because that wouldn't stoke the fear that Tancredo & co. need to generate to get re-elected), but that doesn't mean that we're silent.
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