Episode 3: The Stooges and the Democrats
Episode 3: The Stooges and the Democrats
Date: Sunday, September 21, 2003 3:17 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
www.ZaZona.com
For today's comedy show we have The "Three Stooges from Arizona":
Curly, played by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Moe, played by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Larry, played by Jim Kolbe (R-AZ)
with special guest comedians:
Howard Dean
Bob Graham
John Edwards
Dick Gephardt
Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman was the first to visit the Three Stooges from Arizona but
now it has become a "parade of candidates". Many of the major
Democratic candidates want to join the Stooges amnesty act by paying
homage to their guest-worker amnesty bill.
Howard Dean and Edwards are the funniest guys to come to Arizona. It's
a real hoot how they claimed support for guest-worker amnesty programs
and then claimed that they haven't seen the Stooges' bill. Summertime
in Phoenix isn't known for snowstorms but all the Democrats listed
above are doing a snow job on us. Whether they have read the Stooge's
bill or not, they cannot say they want to create jobs for Americans
while at the same time lending support to the largest guest-worker bill
in the history of mankind.
Several of the Demos like Graham tried to distance themselves from the
Stooges but don't be fooled by this and similar statements by the
open-borders press in Arizona:
That plan differs markedly from one being pushed by
three Republican members of Arizona's congressional
delegation: Sen. John McCain and Reps. Jim Kolbe and
Jeff Flake. Their program would give citizenship
preference to those who are not here illegally.
That is false. The Stooges' bill allows all aliens the right to work in
the USA. Illegal aliens have to first get an H-4B visa and pay a modest
fine that will be garnished from their paycheck. After fulfilling their
indentured labor contract they will be given an H-4A visa that will
give them a fast track to citizenship after they fulfill another 3-year
indentured contract. While the Stooges' bill gives amnesty to illegal
aliens, they certainly don't have preference over aliens that apply for
an H-4A while in their home country.
The bottom line is this, most of the major Democratic candidates
support the concept that we need a huge new guest-worker bill that will
lead to amnesty after the alien fulfills his indentured contract. The
other bottom line is that these Democrats are hearing from immigrant
groups and corporations who want their cheap labor and not us. Somehow
one of these candidates must get the message because the only other
alternative is Bush who also supports the Stooges' bill.
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=72583
Dean favors program welcoming foreign workers
By HOWARD FISCHER
Capitol Media Services
09/06/2003
PHOENIX -- Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean said Friday he
supports some sort of guest-worker program -- but then objected to a
key point in the two proposals now before Congress.
The former Vermont governor, in Phoenix to open campaign headquarters,
said he backs the concept of a system that allows foreign workers to
come to the United States legally.
Dean said he was not very familiar with either the proposal by Reps.
Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe and Sen. John McCain, all from Arizona, or a
competing measure by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, promising to study both
of them further.
He said, though, that any program should have provisions that provide a
process where those already here -- albeit illegally -- are the first
in line to get citizenship.
"I believe that if you've worked here for a period of time and you've
paid your taxes and you don't have a criminal record, you should be on
a fast track for citizenship," he said.
The program by the three Arizona lawmakers, by contrast, gives
preference to those not here illegally. And the one by Cornyn is even
stricter, essentially requiring those seeking citizenship to first
return to their home country.
Dean told reporters that his election would be good for Hispanics,
whose support is important in a state where they make up 25 percent of
the population. And winning -- or at least making a good showing -- in
Arizona is crucial as the primary is one of the first in the nation and
those who poll poorly could see their support and campaign
contributions dry up.
He said the best thing he can do for Hispanics is get Congress to adopt
a variation of the health care program that exists in his own state.
Under Dean's plan, every child would get free health insurance up to
age 25, as would any adult whose income is less than about $33,000 a
year. Dean said others could purchase insurance similar to coverage
provided for members of Congress at a fee equal to 7.5 percent of their
adjusted gross income.
Dean focused most of his criticism at President Bush but took an
indirect slap at his other Democratic primary foes. He also showed he
is not afraid to embrace the "L" word.
"The way we're going to beat George Bush is not to try to be a little
bit like him," he said.
"Maybe we vote for some of his programs, maybe we're afraid of being
too liberal," Dean continued. "Look, if it takes a liberal to balance
the budget then we desperately need a liberal in the White House.
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=73191
Graham pitches 'earned amnesty' for undocumented workers
By HOWARD FISCHER
Capitol Media Services
09/16/2003
PHOENIX -- Presidential hopeful Bob Graham wants to give some legal
protection for undocumented workers who can show they have worked in
this country for at least a year.
The Florida Democratic senator, in Arizona Monday to meet with
reporters and raise money, said perhaps one million of the possible
five to 10 million in this country illegally are harvesting crops. And
Graham said the industry has become dependent on the supply of cheap
workers, as has the entire country.
"If we were to have a mass roundup and deportation, we'd all better
prepare to eat less well in America,'' he said.
Graham's said he favors "earned amnesty,'' targeted at those who had
worked in U.S. agriculture for at least a year.
"They would get a work permit which would give them some legal
status,'' he said. "They would not be subject to the kind of barracuda
treatment that many undocumented aliens in agriculture have been
subjected for many years.''
Graham said if they get that permit and continue to work in agriculture
-- perhaps for three to four years -- then they would get a form of
legal residence "which would allow them to work in whatever area of the
American economy they wished to do.'
That also would permit them to begin the process of seeking U.S.
citizenship.
That plan differs markedly from one being pushed by three Republican
members of Arizona's congressional delegation: Sen. John McCain and
Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake. Their program would give citizenship
preference to those who are not here illegally.
Graham acknowledged that other industries, including tourism and
hospitality, also rely heavily on worker from other countries who are
here without legal papers. He said his proposal is so far limited to
agriculture "which is uniquely dependent upon alien workers and has
been for a long time.''
He said, though, the principles of earned amnesty "might be available
for other sectors of the undocumented alien population.''
Graham is one in a parade of candidates who has been visiting Arizona
in hopes of winning support -- and making a strong showing in the
state's February primary. Those who do not do well in that vote, one of
the first in the nation, could find their financial support dry up as
backers conclude they are not viable candidates.
A Gallup poll released just Monday shows Graham backed by just 5
percent of registered voters nationwide -- virtually the same figure he
has polled since April.
The survey also shows Missouri Congressman Dick Gephart at 16 percent,
two points above former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and three point higher
than Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who has
made some noise about getting into the fray, already polls fifth at 10
percent, behind Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
The survey, conducted last week, has a 5 percent margin of error
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=090603b1_edwards
Saturday, September 6, 2003
Bush respects only wealth, Edwards says
The N.C. senator told supporters he favors giving legal status to
qualifying illegal immigrants.
OSCAR ABEYTA
oabeyta@tucsoncitizen.com
Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., stopped in
Tucson yesterday morning to speak to a group of supporters and
potential donors.
Edwards attacked President Bush and his administration, blasting their
Medicare prescription drug plan, child welfare plan and tax cuts for
the wealthy.
"This president respects one thing and only one thing above all else -
wealth," he said.
Edwards proposed across-the-board pay raises for teachers and bonuses
for teachers who work at inner-city schools.
"We need to give our best teachers a reason to go to the places where
we need them the most," he said.
In town after Thursday's Democratic debate in Albuquerque, N.M.,
Edwards spoke to a group of about 60 supporters and potential donors.
The North Carolina senator reserved his harshest criticisms for the
security measures passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
that expanded Attorney General John Ashcroft's domestic investigating
powers.
"The civil rights movement in America is not over. We need people who
will defend our civil rights," he said. "We cannot - cannot - let
people like John Ashcroft take away our freedom, take away our liberty,
take away our privacy."
Edwards received early buzz as a potential front-runner in the
presidential race, but recent polls show him in fifth place behind Sen.
Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Rep. Richard
Gephardt, D-Mo., and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
Edwards said he favors loosening immigration rules and giving legal
status to qualifying illegal immigrants who have lived in this country
for a certain number of years.
He said he was not familiar with the immigration reform bills
introduced in Congress by the Arizona trio of Sen. John McCain and
Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake. However, he said he supports the idea
of a guest-worker visa.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=12347
Lieberman Unveils Plan to Aid Illegal Immigrants
September 4, 2003
C.J. Karamargin
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman launched a direct
appeal for Hispanic votes Wednesday by promising to overhaul U.S.
immigration laws.
A day before the nine Democratic White House hopefuls meet in
Albuquerque for a televised debate, Lieberman unveiled a plan to grant
legal status to undocumented workers, many of whom are from Mexico.
Lieberman's plan would apply to workers who have lived in the United
States for five years, are able to pay taxes and do not pose a security
risk.
"This is an important initiative to me because it is part of what
defines us as Americans," the Connecticut senator said in a conference
call with reporters. "America gains strength from new Americans in
every way, culturally and economically."
Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000, also
called for a program to grant temporary visas to unskilled and
semiskilled foreign workers who can fill labor shortages in the
construction and service industries.
As a grandson of immigrants, Lieberman said, he knows migrants often
risk their lives to come to the United States in search of "freedom and
opportunity."
Lieberman's proposals are the latest in a growing list of plans to
revise immigration laws in the wake of the clampdown that followed the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Two plans were introduced in July,
one by members of the Arizona congressional delegation and one by a
Texas senator.
The Arizona lawmakers - Sen. John McCain, Rep. Jim Kolbe of Tucson and
Rep. Jeff Flake of Mesa - are scheduled to discuss their bill today in
a meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.
Immigration issues also are capturing the attention of the other
presidential contenders.
Howard Dean has accused President Bush of ignoring "the dreams of
millions of immigrants to become a legitimate part of our society, and
not simply its unseen work force."
The former Vermont governor, who is supported by Rep. Razl Grijalva
of Tucson, has pledged to work closely with Mexico to stem the flow of
immigrants dying trying to illegally cross into the United States.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, who is supported by Rep. Ed Pastor of
Phoenix, has introduced a bill that also would allow immigrants to
become legal residents if they have lived in the United States for five
years, paid taxes and can pass a background check.
Calls to the campaigns of other top candidates - Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina - were not
returned.
Lieberman said it "seemed appropriate" that he release his proposals on
the eve of the debate. Like Arizona, New Mexico has a fast-growing
Hispanic population that is expected to play a decisive role in next
year's election. Both states also have early primaries.
Source: (c) 2003 The Arizona Daily Star Online. All Rights Reserved.
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