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September 29, 2006
 Hutchinson
vs. Radnofsky: The Democrats Blow Senate Race In Texas
By Joe
Guzzardi
Even before her hook up with
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), I knew U. S.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) wasn’t
trustworthy.
Not that you would look to the U.S. Senate
for shining examples of honesty. But something about
Hutchinson’s whole package…the perfectly coiffed
big hair (currently referred to by stylists as “hair with
volume”), her prim, goody-two- shoes mannerisms, and her
former University of Texas cheerleader saccharine charm puts me
on edge.
So when I saw Hutchinson in July standing
side by side with Pence and smiling sweetly about her “comprehensive
immigration reform plan” to open the borders to more guest
workers and create a “Good Neighbor SAFE Visa” -
still not formally introduced, by the way—I knew I had been
right about her all along.
Hutchinson, to put it in
Texas lingo, is a sidewinder.
Only a month before Hutchinson aligned
herself with Pence, she seemed to have seen the immigration
light.
Hutchinson was one of only 36 Senators to
vote against S. 2611
I wrote in my column
Joe Feels Good About The Immigration Bill…[June 02,
2006]
“And get this.
In an interview with Lou Dobbs,
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson said that when she
added up her calls (regarding the Bush immigration acceleration/
amnesty proposal) the tally was 1,578 against S.2611 with only
12 in support.”
Watching Hutchinson on Dobbs, I thought: “Well,
maybe I’m wrong about her.”
But when I saw Hutchinson and Pence cooing
about their amnesty scheme, I knew I wasn’t.
Naturally, the millions of
Texas Republican voters disgruntled by the open borders
policies pursued by its
former governor George W. Bush and seconded by Hutchinson
would cast about for an alternative Senate candidate in the
upcoming November election
The problem is that the
Texas Democratic Party has not put forth a person who has
credibility on immigration or much of anything else.
Consequently, Democratic candidate
Barbara Ann Radnofsky does not have a
snowball’s chance in hell of beating Hutchinson.
Can a Jewish lady lawyer and a political
neophyte whose claim to fame is that she is one of the country’s
leading experts in the
Dead Sea Scrolls beat someone said by many to be more
popular in Texas than
Laura Bush?
Short answer: Not without a lightning rod
issue.
Why the Democrats chose Radnofsky is a
mystery. The party had a shot at a competitive Senate race with
an appealing candidate.
Not that long ago, Democrats ruled Texas.
But now it’s unlikely that someone with
Radnofsky’s resume can pull off an upset, even though Texas
voters are disgusted with:
- Plans to built a superhighway from
Mexico though Texas that farmers and ranchers say will
destroy vast Texas acreage.
- The scandal resulting from the fall of
ex-Majority Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep Tom
De Lay.
Instead of seizing the opportunity that’s
knocking on her doorstep, scholar Radnofsky had this to say
about illegal immigration in a
summer press release:
“We must solve
this problem at our borders and with a national security policy.
Asking local law enforcement or groups of ‘volunteers,’ which is
a nice word for
vigilantes, to hunt down and imprison alleged illegal
immigrants, does nothing to stem the flow of people into this
country.”
Say what? I thought the “
volunteer”
to “vigilante”
equation belonged to Republicans
George W. Bush and
Condoleezza Rice.
Maybe Radnofsky is afraid that illegal
immigration is a subject that won’t play well in Texas.
If that is the case, she should study the
Jewish Texas Independent gubernatorial candidate and entertainer
Kinky Friedman who has been adamant about cracking down on
illegal immigration:
“We've waited
153 years for the feds to help us. They haven't yet. We have our
own army. I want 10,000 Texas National Guard troops on the
border and I want them now.” [
Friedman
Touts Border Security Plan, By Kristen Mack and Gary
Scharrer, Houston Chronicle and San Antonio
Express-News, September 7, 2006]
Friedman may not win - although you can
never tell in Texas politics. But the votes he’ll drain off from
the standard-bearers will dictate who does win.
The important lesson for loser-to-be
Radnofsky is that Friedman’s position on illegal immigration has
put him into the limelight…favorably. And his stance has forced
incumbent
Rick Perry into a more aggressive anti-immigration posture.
As Brenda Walker
noted during the last Presidential race, Democrats remain
asleep on the electoral goldmine that the immigration issue
represents.
But still, some signs of their awakening
are popping up. Earlier this week, the House passed four
enforcement bills---H.R.
6061,
H.R. 4830 and
H.R. 6094 and
H.R. 6095—with as many as 105 Democrats voting in support.
And the week ended with 18 Democratic
Senators voting for Closure to allow for a full Senate vote on
the 700-mile fence bill approved by the House.
For the record, they are Baucus (D-MT),
Bayh (D-IN), Biden (D-DE) Byrd (D-WV), Conrad (D-ND), Dayton
(D-MN), Dorgan (D-ND), Feinstein (D-CA), Johnson (D-SD),
Landrieu (D-LA), Lincoln (D-AR), Mikulski (D-MD), Nelson (D-FL),
Nelson (D-NE) -- usually very good, Pryor (D-AR), Rockefeller
(D-WV), Stabenow (D-MI) and Wyden (D-OR).
Those Democratic votes—many of them
not normally on our side—represent visible proof of the huge
strides made by the immigration reform movement during the last
two years.
The next step is for Democrats elected in
November to fall in line. Then, in 2008, stop nominating
Radnofsky-type candidates.
Once more Democrats realize that a strong
anti-immigration position appeals to and protects their natural
base of blue-collar workers of all origins—including
Hispanics—from job and cultural loss, we’ll see many more
embrace our cause.
As a
Democrat myself – one of a
number writing for VDARE.COM - I can't wait.
Joe Guzzardi [e-mail
him] is the Editor of VDARE.COM Letters to the Editor.
In addition, he is an English teacher at the Lodi Adult School and has
been writing
a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive
to
VDARE.COM. |
