Tancredo for President -- Official Blog

Debate Highlights!

Illinois Ballot

For those who are helping out signature push in Illinois, you can download the pettion here:

Download illinois-ballot.pdf

Debate tonight

Don't forget to watch Tom at the debate tonight on CNN!

Hopefully, he'll get more than the customary 4 questions tonight!

Tom on Glenn Beck 11-26

Tom on Cavuto 11-26

FOX Credits Tancredo TV AD and discusses Terrorist Attack

Today's Media Schedule

Today Congressman Tancredo will discuss the attempted attack on Ft. Huachuca in Arizona by Islamic terrorists on the following:

FOXNews: Your World with Neil Cavuto 4:40 EST

CNN Headline News: Glenn Beck 7:00 EST

XM Radio: Mike Reagan 6:20 EST

TANCREDO WAS RIGHT!

Does this sound familiar?  Congressman Tancredo has been saying that this could happen, even depicting it in our latest TV ad.  The critics accused us of "fear-mongering," what do you think they will say now?

Islamic terrorists target Army base -- in Arizona

November 26, 2007

By Sara A. Carter - Fort Huachuca, the nation's largest intelligence-training center, changed security measures in May after being warned that Islamist terrorists, with the aid of Mexican drug cartels, were planning an attack on the facility.

Fort officials changed security measures after sources warned that possibly 60 Afghan and Iraqi terrorists were to be smuggled into the U.S. through underground tunnels with high-powered weapons to attack the Arizona Army base, according to multiple confidential law enforcement documents obtained by The Washington Times.

"A portion of the operatives were in the United States, with the remainder not yet in the United States," according to one of the documents, an FBI advisory that was distributed to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the CIA, Customs and Border Protection and the Justice Department, among several other law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. "The Afghanis and Iraqis shaved their beards so as not to appear to be Middle Easterners."

Read the whole article here

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends,

I’m taking a break from the campaign trail tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with family. It will be nice to have a day off!

I have many things to be thankful to God for, but I want you to know that you and your wonderful dedication to our cause will be right at the top of my list tomorrow. I will be thinking of you, and all the other wonderful friends who have supported me and our cause through this campaign, too.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: our campaign has always been more about the cause of securing our borders and ending the illegal immigration crisis than it has been about me. That’s a claim I don’t think any of the other candidates, in either party, can make!

Thanks to your dedication and commitment, we have moved our issue front and center in this campaign.

Not only that, but it has become clear to even liberal pundits and the other candidates that rank and file Republicans (independents and a lot of Democrats, too) stand with us for securing the borders, and against amnesty, driver’s licenses for illegals, and sanctuary city policies! (I saw a great clip on the news last week, where John McCain was taking questions in Iowa and some lady was hitting him hard on immigration…..Sen. McCain almost yelled in response “I got the message!”)

We are going to keep taking our immigration message to the voters….and keeping the pressure on the other candidates…in the critical weeks ahead! There is real excitement building behind our message, and I want to make the most of it.

If you could make a special Thanksgiving contribution today to our campaign, I would be especially grateful to you. Our hard-hitting TV and radio ads are making a huge impact in Iowa, and your contribution will help us keep these ads on the air!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tom Tancredo


P.S. When you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, I hope you will join our family in offering a special prayer for our men and women who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. They really deserve our prayers and gratitude.

Tom on FoxNews

Check out the number of appearances by Tom on FoxNews this year!

• Tom Tancredo (candidacy declared April 2, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 36.

• Mike Huckabee (candidacy declared Jan. 28, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 33.

• Sen. John McCain (candidacy declared April 25, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 24.

• Mitt Romney (candidacy declared Feb. 13, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 24.

• Rudolph Giuliani (statement of candidacy with the FEC, February 5, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 20.

• Fred Thompson (candidacy declared Sept. 5, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 14.

• Ron Paul (candidacy declared March 12, 2007). Appearances on FNC year to date: 12.

Tanc on John Gibson Bashing Pelosi

Drug smuggler shot by pair of Border Agents indicted

EL PASO — An admitted Mexican drug smuggler shot by a pair of U.S. Border Patrol agents later convicted in the shooting has been charged with smuggling marijuana, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton announced Thursday.

Osvaldo Aldrete Davila was arrested Thursday at an international port of entry in El Paso. A sealed indictment was issued in October charging him with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to import a controlled substance, and conspiracy with intent to distribute a controlled substance. According to the indictment, Aldrete committed the crimes in September and October 2005, several months after he was shot in the buttocks while fleeing from a pair of Border Patrol agents.

The agents, Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, were convicted last year of shooting Aldrete and lying about it. The agents were each sentenced to more than a decade in prison.

Aldrete is scheduled to appear in federal court in El Paso today.

"For more than a year, critics of the prosecution ... have complained that Aldrete, the fleeing, unarmed drug smuggler they shot, should have been prosecuted for drug smuggling," Sutton said in a written statement. "I have repeatedly said that if we obtain sufficient competent and admissible evidence against Aldrete, we would prosecute him."

Aldrete's shooting and the subsequent arrest and conviction of Ramos and Compean caused a national firestorm among conservative lawmakers and others. Critics of Sutton have repeatedly called the prosecution unjustified and the sentences extreme.

In July, conservative Republicans won initial House support for an effort to cut federal funding to house the former agents in prison.

U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, said Thursday that Aldrete's arrest and indictment should have come sooner.

"It's about time they arrested the drug dealer," Culberson said in a statement issued by his office. "It's long past time for them to release agents Ramos and Compean."

Joe Loya, Ramos' father-in-law, said the indictment was not surprising.

"He is a career criminal who has been smuggling drugs since he was 14," Loya said. "Who I really feel sorry for is his wife and children."

Opponents of the prosecution against Ramos and Compean have previously argued that Sutton's office ignored evidence that Aldrete, who acknowledged smuggling drugs the day he was shot in February, 2005, had smuggled drugs a second time. He was given immunity for the first smuggling attempt to testify against the agents.

According to testimony at the agents' trial, Aldrete encountered Border Patrol agents after crossing illegally into the U.S. from Mexico in a marijuana-loaded van. While fleeing from agents, he crashed the van and tried to run back to Mexico on foot.

Before he could make it back across the Rio Grande, Aldrete struggled with Compean, who later fired more than a dozen shots at the fleeing man. Ramos fired a single shot after finding Compean on the ground, shooting at Aldrete. It was Ramos' bullet that hit Aldrete.

Compean testified at trial that he shot in self-defense and fighting with Aldrete and then seeing what he believed to be a gun in Aldrete's hand. Ramos said he fired in defense of Compean.

Aldrete, who was severely wounded but managed to flee back around the river, denied having a gun and testified that he ran from Compean after the agent tried to hit him with the butt of a shotgun.

Both men acknowledged not reporting the incident. Several other Border Patrol agents at the scene that day who also did not report the shooting were not prosecuted.

The agents began serving their sentences in January.

If convicted of the drug charges, Aldrete faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Glenn Beck Video

Tom on Rick Sanchez Last Night

Tom on Tucker

Tancredo on MSNBC

In case you are wondering what he is referring to in regards to CAIR, you can read an article by Michelle Malkin which explains it here.

Part 1

Part 2

The Tanc on Fox and Friends this morning

Tom on Hannity and Colmes on 11-13

Spitzer Drops Bid to Offer Licenses More Widely

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 — Gov. Eliot Spitzer formally announced today that he would abandon his plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, conceding that his best efforts to sell New Yorkers on the merits of his proposal had clearly failed.

Read the article

Tucker and CNN

Tonight at 6:08 PM EST, Tom will appear on Tucker Carlson on MSNBC.

At 8:00 he will appear on Out in the Open with Rick Sanchez.

Tomorrow listen to the nationally syndicated G. Gordon Liddy Show at 10:35 AM EST.

And watch Glenn Beck tomorrow night to see Tom again!

Busy schedule!

Reminder

Don't forget to watch Tom tomorrow on Fox and Friends at 7:15 am EST.

He will also be on MSNBC at 9:30 am EST if 7:15 is too early!

Tom talks with a Wolf

My favorite part is when he refers to the other candidates as "weak sisters"

The Hits Keep Coming

Make sure to watch Congressman Tancredo on the "Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" today!  Still trying to get a hit time, it was recorded earlier today in Des Moines, but will air later today.

Also, in addition to Hannity and Colmes tonight, the Congressman will appear on Alan Colmes nationally syndicated talk show aroun 11:05 EST tonight to discuss the television ad a bit more in-depth.

Tomorrow morning around 7:15 AM EST, the Congressman will be on "Fox and Friends".

Also working on having him on with Tucker Carlson and "Out in the Open with Rick Sanchez" tomorrow, will keep you updated!

Tom on Hannity and Colmes

We are already getting a big response from our T.V. ad, with media requests coming in from every region of the United States.  I have fielded calls from some of the biggest newspapers, radio, and television shows in the country!

Make sure to watch Congressman Tancredo continue to build on this excitement with an appearance on Hannity and Colmes, Tuesday night!

He will be on in the first half hour starting at 9:00 PM EST.

NEW TELEVISION AD IS HERE

"Tough on Terror"

New Television Ad

On Monday at 2:00 PM CST Congressman Tancredo will hold a press conference in Des Moines, IA to release a new television ad.

Check our website http://TeamTancredo.org on Monday afternoon to watch it yourself.

I can best describe it as "hard-hitting" and "intense".

You will not want to miss it.

FBI Report: Al Qaeda May Strike U.S. Shopping Malls in LA, Chicago

The unclassified shopping mall threat information was circulated by the FBI on November 7th, based on intelligence received by the FBI in late September. The full text of one version of that report is as follows:

As of August 2007, al-Qa’ida planned to strike US shopping malls in Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California during the 2007 Christmas season. Al-Qa’ida hoped to disrupt the US economy and had been planning the attack for the past two years.

FBI Comment: This information was obtained through a lengthy chain of acquisition, and was provided to the source by a sub-source who spoke in confidence. The veracity of the information is uncertain but the threat is being reported due to the nature of the information.

New Radio Ad in Iowa

We are running a new radio spot in Iowa.  It is hard hitting and to the point.

What do you think?

Download Tancredo Radio Ad.mp3

Poll: 77% oppose illegals' licenses

November 6, 2007
By Stephen Dinan - Voters oppose driver's licenses for illegal aliens by a nearly five-to-one margin, a new Fox 5/Washington Times/Rasmussen Reports poll finds.

As immigration politics explode into the presidential race, polls show Americans are taking a hard line on benefits for illegal aliens, including opposing driver's licenses and such taxpayer-funded benefits as scholarships at state colleges for illegal-alien students.

The new poll found 77 percent of the adults surveyed opposed making driver's licenses available to illegal aliens, while just 16 percent supported the idea.

Licenses fared poorly across party lines, including near-blanket opposition among self-identified Republicans, at 88 percent. Among independents and Democrats, it was still overwhelmingly unpopular, drawing 75 percent and 68 percent opposition, respectively.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in September proposed adding New York to the list of seven states that offer licenses to illegal aliens, and the issue has refused to die down since.

Most Democratic presidential candidates have embraced the policy, including front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, arguing it's a matter of road safety and a valid response to the federal government's failure to give a path to citizenship to illegal aliens.

But those on the other side, including Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Christopher J. Dodd and the entire Republican presidential field, oppose the idea.

"I think we have to quit inducing people to come and stay if they're illegal," said former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, one of the Republican candidates.

On the issue of public benefits, the poll's sample of California voters found 62 percent opposed state-sponsored college scholarships for children of illegal aliens, while 24 percent supported the concept.

The idea was unpopular in both parties, with Republicans opposed by a margin of 81 percent to 11 percent, and Democrats against it by 50 percent to 33 percent.

The state's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed a bill last month that would have allowed illegal-alien children to apply for community college fee waivers and other types of financial aid. Mr. Schwarzenegger said the policy would strain public finances and hurt legal-resident students.

"It would not be prudent to place additional strain on the general fund to accord the new benefit of providing state-subsidized financial aid to students without lawful immigration status," the governor said in his veto message, pointing out that California already allows illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition rates.

It was the second time in two years he has vetoed the measure. He also has vetoed bills to extend driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

Meanwhile, on the issue of enforcement, the poll's sample of 500 Texas voters found strong support for a crackdown: 75 percent said they favor police officers automatically checking legal status during traffic stops, and 66 percent said if someone stopped turns out to be illegal, they should be deported.

Even legal immigrants didn't fare well in the polling.

The national sample of voters found them strongly against changing the Constitution to allow a legal immigrant to seek the presidency, with more then three-fourths of adults opposing the idea. 

New trip to Iowa

Tom will be in Iowa on Monday and Tuesday, take a look here to see our schedule for Monday.  Tuesday schedule to come in soon!

Calling All Tancredo Supporters!

Tom needs your help!

We are in the midst of a petition drive in numerous states and are in need of volunteers to help get Tom on the ballot for the primaries/caucuses.

Getting signatures is relatively easy as it is not necessarily an endorsement of the candidate.  The only difficulty is that each state has different rules and requirements. 

If you live in or near on of the following states, unless otherwise noted, and are willing to help then please call our Ballot Access Coordinator Kevin at 1-888-GOTOM08.

Illinois, petition due 11/28/2007.  5,000 signatures of registered Republicans required (Must be 18 years old and an Illinois citizen to solicit signatures).

Rhode Island, petition due 12/7/2007.  2,000 signatures required.

New Jersey, petition due 12/10/2007.  2,000 signatures required (Must be 18 years old and a registered NJ Republican to solicit signatures).

Virginia, petition due 12/14/2007.  20,000 signatures, 400 from each district (Must be 18 years old and a Virgnia resident to solicit signatures).

D.C., petition due 12/14/2007.  2,000 signatures (Must need 32 volunteers to be a delegate before collecting signatures.  You must be a D.C. resident, registered Republican).

Alaska, petition due 1/5/2008.  100 signatures from registered Republicans, no more than 10 from each district.

Vermont, petition due 1/21/2008.  2000 signatures.

Nebraska, petition due 3/14/2008.  600 signatures of registered Republicans, at least 100 from each Congressional district.

Thank you!