McCain Challenges Rivals On Immigration

McCain Challenges Rivals On Immigration
(AP) CORAL GABLES, Fla.
Sen. John McCain has a message for other Republican presidential candidates: Opposing an immigration bill for political gain will only worsen the problems of undocumented immigrants and an unsecured border.
McCain plans to talk about the bill at an event here Monday, and excerpts of his prepared remarks take aim at other Republicans in the race.

“I would hope they wouldn’t play politics for their own interests if the cost of their ambition was to make this problem even harder to solve,” McCain said in the prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press.

He is delivering his remarks in the Miami area, which has large Hispanic and Haitian populations considered sympathetic to immigrants.
McCain is alone among major Republicans seeking the presidency in pushing for a compromise bill that would provide border security while allowing a path to legalization for many of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.
Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani — McCain’s chief rivals — oppose the measure to varying degrees, even though they have made statements in the past in which they appeared to support a similar measure the Senate previously considered.

“I make one pledge to you that I will keep no matter what. I will never conduct my campaign in such a way that it makes our country’s most difficult challenges harder to solve. I hope you will hold all candidates to that same standard. Pandering for votes on this issue, while offering no solution to the problem, amounts to doing nothing,” McCain said. “And doing nothing is silent amnesty.”

President Bush supports the bill, as does Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who also serves as general chairman of the Republican National Committee. The issue has divided Republicans, many of whom criticize the bipartisan bill as rewarding illegal behavior.
McCain stresses, however, that undocumented immigrants who declare themselves have to pass a criminal background check, pay fines and taxes, learn English and meet other requirements before eventually being offered the possibility of citizenship.

“Critics of the bill attack this as amnesty and a special path to citizenship that is denied to lawful immigrants. Both charges are false,” McCain said.

Wild Thing’s comment…………
If this isn’t the most convoluted, twisted BS that I’ve ever read on the subject, then I don’t know what is.
Sure Senator McCain. Those of us are against Amnesty purely for ‘policial gain’. But you Senator McCain are really brave making these remarks in MIAMI FLORIDA. Aren’t you the one pandering for political gain Senator?
It is hard to keep track of the insults hurled at opponents of amnesty – has McCain called us racists yet, said that we don’t want to do what is right for America and are lying to scare people, or implied that the only thing that would appease us is the execution of all illegal aliens?? If not, he better get a move on – the other faux conservatives are beating him at his own game.
McCain is deluded if he thinks there’s a majority interested in making things easier for illegal aliens to stay here.
And McCain’s pushing for giving the OK to illegals is not new………. There was this………..March 2006
John McCain SCREAMS AT 9/11 FSA MEMBERS FOR OPPOSING HIS BILL TO GIVE AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS