Posted on November 4, 2004

Elections Improve Immigration-Reduction Chances In Congress

Roy Beck, NumbersUSA, November 3, 2004

Overall, we can find good news for the immigration-reduction cause in results from yesterday’s elections.

Many of you have a number of other reasons to be disappointed by election results over the night, as well as reasons for satisfaction. Here at NumbersUSA, we concern ourselves only with how the elections changed opportunities for enacting dramatic reductions in legal and illegal immigration.

These elections produced mixed results for us. They are adding some very hopeful additions to Congress but also a few new Members who are likely to do worse than their predecessors. Both major Presidential candidates were so bad on immigration issues that we could give no opinion about whether one would be better than the other.

Overall, though, our chances for immigration reductions in the next Congress appear significantly improved by the results of yesterday’s elections.

1. DASCHLE & FROST . . . .Stunning Defeats for 2 Big Leaders Hostile to Immigration Reduction The Senate’s top Democratic leader, Tom Daschle, and one of the House’s top fund-raisers for Democrats, Martin Frost, were thrown out of Congress by the voters Tuesday.

Both Sen. Daschle (South Dakota) and Rep. Frost (Dallas) have been big promoters of massive amnesties for illegal aliens.

Their downfall should provide a powerful cautionary tale to those at the top of the Party who have insisted on opposing the majority opinion of Democratic voters (as well as Independents and Republicans) who oppose amnesties and prefer immigration reductions.

A coalition of immigration-reduction groups ran major TV and radio ad campaigns about Daschle’s and Frost’s pro-amnesty records (along with similar ads exposing some major Republicans, as well). The ads asked constituents to contact these Members of Congress and urge them to withdraw their names from amnesty bills.

These ads were the first issue ads that ran in Daschle’s and Frost’s areas last spring.

The two men did not withdraw their support for amnesties.

The ad campaigns continued.

Both Daschle and Frost hired major national law firms to try to intimidate TV and radio stations to pull the immigration ads. Both men also conducted disinformation campaigns that attempted to claim that efforts to combat illegal immigration are racist, anti-Catholic and undemocratic.

Instead of speaking to the wisdom of their open-borders stances, they tried to deflect attention through smear campaigns against groups seeking immigration reductions.

And both Daschle and Frost repeatedly tried to convince the public that giving illegal aliens a pathway to U.S. citizenship is not an amnesty.

Their constituents chose to give both of them a pathway to U.S. civilianship.

For decades, no Majority or Minority Leader of the Senate has lost an election anywhere in the country. But Sen. Daschle managed to do that, with his continuous radical support for illegal aliens contributing to the South Dakota voters’ decision that he was out of touch and needed to be replaced.

NumbersUSA has for years mobilized South Dakota citizens and also Democrats from across the country to try to persuade Sen. Daschle and his staff that his leadership on immigration was harmful to him, to his Party and to the American people.

Thanks to all of you who for so long have communicated to the Daschle and Frost staffs.

Rep. Frost has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to try to help Democrats win enough seats to regain control of the House of Representatives. But he never understood that one of the keys to making Democratic candidates much more attractive to the general electorate was to protect constituents’ quality of life from massive immigration.

Both Frost and Daschle were beaten by men with far better immigration records.

2. CHAIRMAN HOSTETTLER WINS . . ..He is our best immigration-reduction legislative champion Rep. Hostettler of Indiana took over chairmanship of the House immigration subcommittee two years ago when the House Republican leadership needed somebody other than open-borders advocate Chris Cannon (R-UT) to lead House immigration efforts.

Hostettler has performed with a boldness for immigration reduction that is unsurpassed. He pushed through committees this fall and elimination of the visa lottery, for example.

He is so very aggressive for our cause that one might think he hails from a safe district. In fact, his district is evenly divided between the Parties. In five previous wins, he has never been elected with more than 53% of the vote.

The open-borders lobbies targeted Hostettler as one of the most vulnerable incumbents.

But he cranked out another 53% win.

3. TANCREDO LANDSLIDES . . . Most outspoken reduction champion fends off big business attempt to unseat him Major big business champions of cheap foreign labor poured large amounts of money into helping a Republican run as the Democratic candidate to try to unseat Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO).

His outspoken opposition to Pres. Bush’s various amnesty and guest worker proposals have also brought widespread rumors that some part of the national Republican Party might target Tancredo in the 2006 GOP primary — but only if he failed to win with 60% or more of the vote in this election.

Despite persistent and overwhelming oppostion from Denver newspapers and big money interests, Tancredo pulled out a landslide 60% victory in his fourth election.

Tancredo will return to Congress with his reputation even more substantial as he continues to lead the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus.

4. ARIZONA ANTI-ILLEGAL PASSES . . ..A national signal of voter frustration Prop. 200 passed overwhelmingly, although we can’t seem to get a good count at this time to report to you.

Nearly all of the top political leaders of both parties, the state’s newspapers and business, religious and union communities vigorously opposed this ballot measure, while spending more than a million dollars to defeat it.

But Arizonans are fed up with the tide of illegal immigration and liked the proposition’s requirement that state officials no longer provide non-emergency services to illegal aliens and that they ensure that illegal aliens don’t vote.

The Wall Street Journal and other open-borders advocates set up the Arizona vote as a kind of bellweather for the nation and warned of dire consequences if Prop. 200 passed.

Both supporters and opponents said passage of Prop. 200 would spur similar citizen efforts in other states and put more pressure on Congress to get tougher on illegal immigration.

Immigration And The Seat Changes In Congress

Roy Beck, NumbersUSA, Nov. 3

Here are some ways that yesterday’s elections changed the political landscape here in Washington.

1. SENATE . . . A big problem today but may get much better The House of Representatives has slowly become an ally of ours in many cases the last couple of years. But we have difficulty getting anything started in the Senate. In the last two years, we finally have found a half-dozen Senators with whom we can work for a more orderly society.

Yesterday’s elections in one way promise to improve the situation.

SOUTH DAKOTA OUT: Tom Daschle (Grade: D-minus) IN: John Thune (Grade: C-plus)

This should be a much bigger improvement than the immigration-reduction grades indicate.

Rep. Thune’s grade is based only on three subject grades, with six of the subjects having no action at all. He was simply in the House too short of a time (1997-2003) to establish much of a record. He was perfect against amnesties and for border control, but weak on importing foreign workers.

As noted in my earlier email, this election packed the bags for a man (Daschle) who over the last few years has become the Senate bagman for the interests of illegal aliens, forced population growth and imported labor. Because he was alternately the Senate Majority and Senate Minority Leader, Daschle’s descent into open-borders activities was particularly harmful.

OKLAHOMA OUT: Don Nichols (Grade: D-plus) IN: Tom Coburn (Grade: B-plus)

Sen. Nichols did his damage through open borders efforts as part of the Senate Republican leadership.

His retirement opens the way for another Republican (Coburn) with a much better record when he served in the House (1995-2001).

NORTH CAROLINA OUT: John Edwards (Grade: D) IN: Richard Burr (Grade: B)

Sen. Edwards was totally out of step with his North Carolina constituents with his support for importing foreign workers and rewarding illegal immigration — which may help account for his lack of ability to even have a chance at delivering his home state into the Democratic presidential column this week.

Rep. Burr has not been a champion of more rational immigration, but he has been generally more supportive.

Three other elections are bringing in pretty good Republican Representatives from the House to replace pretty good or very good Democratic Senators.

GEORGIA

OUT: Zell Miller (Grade: B)

IN: Johnny Isakson (Grade: B-minus)

SOUTH CAROLINA

OUT: Fritz Hollings (Grade: A-minus)

IN: Jim DeMint (Grade: B)

LOUISIANA

OUT: John Breaux (Grade: B-minus)

IN: David Vitter (Grade: B)

———————————————–

And three Senators with really bad grades are retiring and have been replaced with people without a record in the House or clear positions on immigration.

COLORADO

OUT: Nighthorse Campbell (Grade: F)

IN: Ken Salazar

FLORIDA

OUT: Bob Graham (Grade: F)

IN: Mel Martinez

SOUTH DAKOTA

OUT: Peter Fitzgerald (Grade: D-plus)

IN: Barack Obama

2. HOUSE…..Solidifying a good house

Because of retirements and a few election upsets and redistricting that pitted incumbents against each other, we are losing some really fine people in the House.

We’re also losing some poor performers.

Here’s the way it looks right now.

———————————————-

2. LOSS….Good immigration-reduction Members who were defeated:

Rep. Max Burns (R-GA) Grade: B

Rep. Philip M. Crane (R-IL) Grade B-plus

Rep. Charles W. Stenholm (D-TX) Grade A

———————————————–

3. GAIN….Members with bad grades who were defeated:

Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX) Grade: D)

Rep. Max Sandlin (D-TX) Grade F

Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX) Grade D

————————————————

4. LOSS…..Members with good grades who retired from House:

Rep. William O. Lipinski (D-IL) Grade B-plus

Rep. Chris John (D-LA) Grade C-plus

Rep. Brad Carson (D-OK) Grade B

Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL) Grade A

Rep. Mac Collins (R-GA) Grade A-plus

Rep. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Grade B-minus

Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) Grade A-minus

Rep. David Vitter (R-LA) Grade B

Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE) Grade A

Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-NC) Grade A

Rep. Richard Burr (R-NC) Grade B

Rep. James Greenwood (R-PA) Grade B-plus

Rep. Jim DeMint (R-SC) Grade B

Rep. Edward Schrock (R-VA) Grade B-plus

Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) Grade B

Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA) Grade A-minus

Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA) Grade B-minus

———————————

5. GAIN….Members with bad grades who retired from House:

Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA) Grade C-minus

Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) Grade D-plus

Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI) Grade C-minus

Rep. Amo Houghton (R-NY) Grade D

Rep. Jack Quinn (R-NY) Grade D-plus

Rep. Calvin Dooley (D-CA) Grade F

Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL) Grade F-minus

Rep. Denise Majette (D-GA) Grade D-minus

Rep. Ken Lucas (D-KY) Grade D

Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO) Grade D-plus

Rep. Karen Mccarthy (D-MO) Grade D

Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA) Grade D

Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX) Grade D

Rep Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX) Grade F

Rep. Jim Turner (D-TX) Grade D-minus

Rep. Geral Kleczka (D-WI) Grade D-minus

Because the Democratic Party has been so much worse than the Republican Party in general on this issue in recent years, I am sorry to see these three Democratic Senators retire. They were part of a small cadre of elected Democrats who truly tried to represent the interests of their Party.

Your NumbersUSA Capitol Hill team will have its work cut out for it meeting and working with all the new Members who have been elected to take all of these Members’ places.

As soon as Congress comes back and finishes its lame-duck session later this month, Jon Eifert will put up all the names and photos of the new Members of Congress.