Some GOP candidates still tack right on immigration?

The Hill reports that some candidates are still going to the right on immigration, but its hardly those in competitive races.  It seems surprising that after the 2006 elections, when everyone predicted taht immigration would stay the hot button issue, that a few long shots are the only ones still emphasizing it (when they aren't doing a fundraising letter). 

But, after the Presidential primaries, special elections in Massachusetts, and state & local elections in Virginia & New York showed it having a minimal affect on races, I guess people are finally getting the picture.  Or as The Hill puts it:

The issue has not proven to be a winner. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), both opponents of the immigration reform bill sponsored by McCain, did not advance in the presidential primaries. In the 2006 election, anti-amnesty messages also failed to propel Arizona Republicans Randy Graf and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth to victory in their House races.

The two candidates discussed in the article are:

Lou Barletta is one of them. The Hazleton, Pa., mayor hopes to unseat 12-term Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) by highlighting a get-tough immigration stand. Barletta signed an ordinance that made English his city’s official language and allowed fines against landlords who rent out to undocumented residents. He now wants to come to Washington to fight efforts that would grant amnesty to immigrants who are in the country illegally. He laments that his party’s national leaders, McCain and President Bush, last year backed such a bill.

and Jim Ogonowski, who:

Despite the long GOP odds of that race, Ogonowski and others will at least keep the immigration debate alive by running for Congress, according to Tancredo. In an interview with The Hill, Tancredo decried the fact that McCain, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have each supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

I'm not making this up.  These are the only two candidates discussed. 

Posted on Tuesday, March 04 | Permalink