McCain Ad Lies About Obama's Record on Immigration Reform
New America Media, Commentary, Henry Fernandez, Posted: Sep 14, 2008
Editor's Note: Senator John McCain is now running a Spanish language ad which apparently lies about Senator Barack Obama’s support for comprehensive immigration reform, reports NAM Contributor Henry Fernandez.
WASHINGTON -- Senator John McCain is now running a Spanish language ad which apparently lies about Senator Barack Obama’s support for comprehensive immigration reform. McCain’s ad argues that Obama tried to kill reform. Why might we believe this is a lie? Because just two years ago, McCain thanked Obama for his support of comprehensive immigration reform.
Congressional Record, May 25, 2006, Senator McCain:
"I also thank Senators Brownback and Lieberman, Graham and Salazar, Martinez, Obama, and DeWine for their shared commitment to this issue, in working to ensure this [comprehensive immigration] bill moves successfully intact through the legislative process."
Close McCain ally Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) also praised Obama in a letter dated June 28, 2007:
"Thank you for your support of the Immigration Reform Bill. While it failed, your backing of this important legislation meant a lot to me personally. I know that standing firm in the face of extreme pressure has not been easy, and again, I thank you."
Yet just two years later, Senator McCain appears to have forgotten his praise for Senator Obama’s steadfast support of immigration reform.
September 12 2008, McCain Spanish language ad (translated by McCain-Palin 2008):
[Announcer:] Obama and his Congressional allies say they are on the side of immigrants. But are they? The press reports that their efforts were 'poison pills' that made immigration reform fail.
The result: No guest worker program. No path to citizenship. No secure borders. No reform.
Is that being on our side? Obama and his Congressional allies ready to block immigration reform, but not ready to lead.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
So why the memory lapse? And why only in Spanish language ads?
Related Articles:
Despite Anti-Immigrant GOP, Some Latinos Are Sticking with McCain
The New Right -- A Movement is Born Outside the RNC
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User Comments
CarlosnLA on Sep 15, 2008 at 08:55:45 said:
Sen. Obamas' "steadfast support for immigration reform"..????? Does this author know the definition of steadfast?. Sen. Obama has NOT had such support for Immigration nor any other important national issue. I wonder if he even acknowledges the importance of Latin America to US stability and growth. I doubt if he's ever been south of the border. Sen. McCain on the other hand is considered a knowledgeable friend of and to Mexico. It's vital to start of caring and knowing about your neighbors.
tom on Sep 14, 2008 at 18:14:11 said:
The Washington Post noted Obama’s deception on his immigration “accomplishments” back in March:
After weeks of arduous negotiations, on April 6, 2006, a bipartisan group of senators burst out of the “President’s Room,” just off the Senate chamber, with a deal on new immigration policy.
As the half-dozen senators — including John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) — headed to announce their plan, they met Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who made a request common when Capitol Hill news conferences are in the offing: “Hey, guys, can I come along?” And when Obama went before the microphones, he was generous with his list of senators to congratulate — a list that included himself.
“I want to cite Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar, myself, Dick Durbin, Joe Lieberman . . . who’ve actually had to wake up early to try to hammer this stuff out,” he said.
To Senate staff members, who had been arriving for 7 a.m. negotiating sessions for weeks, it was a galling moment. Those morning sessions had attracted just three to four senators a side, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recalled, each deeply involved in the issue. Obama was not one of them. [skip]
Immigration is a case in point for Obama, but not the only one. In 2007, after the first comprehensive immigration bill had died, the senators were back at it, and again, Obama was notably absent, staffers and senators said. At one meeting, three key negotiators recalled, he entered late and raised a number of questions about the bill’s employment verification system. Kennedy and Specter both rebuked him, saying that the issue had already been resolved and that he was coming late to the discussion. Kennedy dressed him down, according to witnesses, and Obama left shortly thereafter.
“Senator Obama came in late, brought up issues that had been hashed and rehashed,” Specter recalled. “He didn’t stay long.”
There you have it: Resume padding we can believe in.
TC on Sep 14, 2008 at 18:10:14 said:
The Washington Post noted Obama’s deception on his immigration “accomplishments” back in March:
After weeks of arduous negotiations, on April 6, 2006, a bipartisan group of senators burst out of the “President’s Room,” just off the Senate chamber, with a deal on new immigration policy.
As the half-dozen senators — including John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) — headed to announce their plan, they met Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who made a request common when Capitol Hill news conferences are in the offing: “Hey, guys, can I come along?” And when Obama went before the microphones, he was generous with his list of senators to congratulate — a list that included himself.
“I want to cite Lindsey Graham, Sam Brownback, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar, myself, Dick Durbin, Joe Lieberman . . . who’ve actually had to wake up early to try to hammer this stuff out,” he said.
To Senate staff members, who had been arriving for 7 a.m. negotiating sessions for weeks, it was a galling moment. Those morning sessions had attracted just three to four senators a side, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) recalled, each deeply involved in the issue. Obama was not one of them. [skip]
Immigration is a case in point for Obama, but not the only one. In 2007, after the first comprehensive immigration bill had died, the senators were back at it, and again, Obama was notably absent, staffers and senators said. At one meeting, three key negotiators recalled, he entered late and raised a number of questions about the bill’s employment verification system. Kennedy and Specter both rebuked him, saying that the issue had already been resolved and that he was coming late to the discussion. Kennedy dressed him down, according to witnesses, and Obama left shortly thereafter.
“Senator Obama came in late, brought up issues that had been hashed and rehashed,” Specter recalled. “He didn’t stay long.”
There you have it: Resume padding we can believe in.
Honesty on Sep 14, 2008 at 17:34:54 said:
Senator McCain is a weak minded party puppet! A Bush clone. Americans Beware!
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