Tom Tancredo

Our featured Presidential candidate for today is Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo.

I first heard of him when I was watching the MSNBC Republican debate. When I talked to my brother that week, I said, "There were some candidates I did not recognize. For example, have you ever heard of a Congressman Tornado? Does that ring any bells?" He replied that it did not.

Overall, I find him rather impressive. Or at least he's grown on me. When I watched the MSNBC debate, my thought was, "Who's this non-entity?" But when I saw the Fox News debate soon thereafter, I liked some of his comments. He was making fun of other candidates for running as conservatives despite their liberal records. He said (in my rough paraphrase), "There are all of these conversions. I feel like I'm at a tent revival. But conversions are more believable on the road to Tarsus than on the road to Des Moines" (in Iowa). In this humorous statement, Tancredo highlighted what goes through many conservatives' minds every Presidential election year: "Can I trust this Republican candidate?"

You can always count on Tancredo to stand for conservative principles, no matter how unpopular. Maybe this is because he knows he doesn't have a chance, so he feels free to speak his mind. For example, when he commented on the prescription drug law and No Child Left Behind, he said they were bad ideas because the federal government should not be involved in such matters. I haven't heard a Republican say that for a while. And I liked some of his comments at the Tavis Smiley debate. For example, when a panelist asked him about the "oppressive" requirement for a photo ID to vote, Tancredo sarcastically replied, "Look, a photo ID is not difficult to attain." I'm surprised he received as much applause as he got, considering that a lot of liberals populate Tavis Smiley's audiences.

He is supposedly a single-issue candidate running against illegal immigration. He's even gotten into a fight with Karl Rove over this issue. He doesn't strike me as a single-issue candidate, however, because I've heard him comment on so many topics. As far as the issue of illegal immigration is concerned, I think he has a point. Illegal immigrants are driving wages down and costing America tons of money. They're not only doing jobs that Americans don't want (e.g., maids, pool-cleaners, orange-pickers). They're doing jobs that Americans need (e.g., construction), and at a cheaper cost to businesses. And, whenever they visit an emergency room and do not pay, that is only driving up the cost of health care for all Americans.

At the same time, my heart goes out to people in bad conditions who want to come here. I wonder if we can do more than deport illegals and build a wall to keep them out (the Tancredo approach). Is there a way for us to help Mexico become more prosperous, without us becoming the welfare state of the world? How's free trade going? And is the current Mexican system conducive to prosperity?

Tancredo has gotten criticism for supporting the torture of possible terrorists. He is open to waterboarding, which gives someone the feeling that he is drowning when he is not. "We need Jack Bauer!" Tancredo proclaimed in reference to the fictional character on 24 (a show I've not seen, to the surprise of conservative friends). My stance on torture is mixed. On one hand, as I've discussed with Stephen (aka Q) on this blog, there are estimates that we have tortured innocent people. On the other hand, not everyone we have tortured is innocent, and there may be times when we will need quick information to save American lives. Tancredo made his reference to Jack Bauer in response to a scenario presented by Brit Hume, in which bombs had already gone off in American cities. I would agree with critics that we should ask ourselves how exactly we know that particular detainees are terrorists, since the basis for such a claim may be weak in certain cases. But should we rule out torture at all times, as in not doing it ever?

I probably will not vote for Tancredo, even though I like him. He doesn't really have a rock star quality, and he's not doing well in the polls. I'm not even sure how much longer he'll be in the race, which is why I'm commenting on him. But, hopefully, he will continue his practice of picking fights with the Republican establishment and calling the GOP to conservative ideas.