Tancredo Not Running for President - Yet

Great post at RedState.org about Colorado's Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, who has said he is not running for president. The Washington Post writes;

Despite his four trips to early primary and caucus states this year, Rep. Tom Tancredo is not running for president -- yet.
But unless he can force what he called "the top-tier candidates, the guys with all the money, all the stature" in the Republican primary to take a strong position on cracking down on illegal immigration and lowering legal immigration, that is exactly what Mr. Tancredo told several audiences in Iowa this past weekend he will do.
"My task is to get one of them to take this on," Mr. Tancredo told about 50 members of the Christian Coalition of Iowa who gathered in a community center in Cedar Falls on Friday night. "If they don't do that, if I cannot find someone to do that, if they just give lip service to it and not the heart, yeah, I will run. I will do that."

While I am glad Tancredo is working to bring the issue to the forefront, it is to simple to talk about cracking down on illegal immigration. Something has to be done to fix the root of the problem: 1, economic breakdown of Central American countries produced by corrupt and inefficient governments that are stealing or wasting the money that the world bank and other do-gooders lend them and 2, Our immigration process, system and enforcement which are utterly useless and broken. Let's get our candidates to start talking about the whole picture.

I agree with one of RedState.org's readers

Lowering Legal Immigration ?

By: Oz

While I am completely behind Tancredo on cracking down on illegal immigration, I think we should INCREASE legal immigration. This would allow for a larger pool of unskilled workers to fill the labor gap created by cracking down on the illegals.

There are some other comments I do necessarily agree with, but goes to demonstrate the complexity of the issue and the confusion in the discussion. American's want comfort, we want cheap products, we want good food, nice lawns, and cheap housing and construction--but no one is willing to get lower wages to get it done. Fact is, we are a nation of consumerism, and in order to consume, we mostly require the highest possible wage. You see it every few years--the libs come out in force to increase the minimum wage, hampering and knocking down small businesses. Fact is that immigrant workers are not stealing anyone's jobs. Illegals are--they bring the wages down because employers know they can pay lower wages to these laborers that have no access to legal protection. But, if you crack down on illegal immigration, secure our borders, and get rid of or largely increase the migrant worker visas (and student visas, and visas for families already here legally, etc). Stick to that which is legal, but welcome "your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

I want to point out, there is a golden door, and its lit by a lamp--not symbolism for illegals running in the dark across the desert to enter our nation without our knowledge and consent.

Read the RedState.org thread. It is interesting to say the least.