Youguysareawesome
10-26-2008, 02:50 AM
Cut to local state races and the 78th Assembly District. I recently received a piece of political mail from the California Republican Party as part of John McCann’s campaign effort attacking the Democratic nominee in that district for wanting to “let more illegal immigrants into college and raise our taxes to pay for their tuition.” Once again, during difficult economic times, the use of illegal immigration as a whipping post to fan flames of strong emotions often including bigotry and racism is used as a substitute for any real ideas or agenda to help California. Not to mention that this garbage is completely false.
The attack concerned Democrat Marty Block’s support in 2006 for a resolution of the San Diego Community College trustees to encourage our federal representatives to support something called the DREAM Act. What was that you ask? Something really radical – a program to commit children who had arrived in the U.S. through no fault of their own with undocumented parents and who had been enrolled in school by age 12, to graduating, attending college, or serving in the military. In exchange for having been going to school, graduating with good grades, having no criminal record, and committing to serve America despite what their parents did, they would have a path to citizenship open to them if they achieved military service of college within six years.
There is no provision that states these kids would not have to pay for their community college or university courses themselves, or by working and paying taxes, qualify for student loans. Most sane experts on immigration reform understand this is clearly in our nation’s interests. The DREAM Act was introduced in various forms until 2007 but could not break a senate filibuster. The radical idea had the support of numerous conservative republicans such as Sens. Richard Durbin, Charles Hagel, Richard Lugar and Kay Bailey Hutchison. But that doesn’t matter. Just try to fool people into believing that someone is trying to take something from them, especially “foreigners” and boy will that get them riled up. Not to mention there has been precious little offered from Mr. McCain in the way of any real thought provoking or sophisticated ideas about bringing people together to solve problems. But then again, having served with him for many years, I rarely did.
www.laprensa-sandiego.org/current/Padilla.102408.htm
The attack concerned Democrat Marty Block’s support in 2006 for a resolution of the San Diego Community College trustees to encourage our federal representatives to support something called the DREAM Act. What was that you ask? Something really radical – a program to commit children who had arrived in the U.S. through no fault of their own with undocumented parents and who had been enrolled in school by age 12, to graduating, attending college, or serving in the military. In exchange for having been going to school, graduating with good grades, having no criminal record, and committing to serve America despite what their parents did, they would have a path to citizenship open to them if they achieved military service of college within six years.
There is no provision that states these kids would not have to pay for their community college or university courses themselves, or by working and paying taxes, qualify for student loans. Most sane experts on immigration reform understand this is clearly in our nation’s interests. The DREAM Act was introduced in various forms until 2007 but could not break a senate filibuster. The radical idea had the support of numerous conservative republicans such as Sens. Richard Durbin, Charles Hagel, Richard Lugar and Kay Bailey Hutchison. But that doesn’t matter. Just try to fool people into believing that someone is trying to take something from them, especially “foreigners” and boy will that get them riled up. Not to mention there has been precious little offered from Mr. McCain in the way of any real thought provoking or sophisticated ideas about bringing people together to solve problems. But then again, having served with him for many years, I rarely did.
www.laprensa-sandiego.org/current/Padilla.102408.htm