Tom Tancredo

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Tom Tancredo
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 6, 1999–
Preceded by	Dan Schaefer
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	December 20, 1945 (age 61) Denver, Colorado
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jackie Tancredo
Religion	Evangelical Presbyterian
Signature

Thomas Gerard ("Tom") Tancredo (born December 20, 1945) is a former history teacher and is an American politician from the Republican Party. He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing the 6th Congressional District of Colorado, which includes most of Denver's southern suburbs. He has gained national attention for his strong stance against illegal immigration. He has declared his candidacy for the 2008 Presidential Race.^[1] Tancredo won re-election in 2006 against Democratic challenger Bill Winter with a 59%-40% margin.

Contents 1 Early life and political career 2 Charity work 3 Positions 3.1 Abortion 3.2 Immigration issues 3.3 Federalism 4 Significant legislation 5 Conservative Political Action Conference 6 Controversies 7 2008 Presidential election 8 References 9 Books 10 External links

Early life and political career

Tancredo was born in Denver, Colorado to Adeline Lombardi and Gerald Tancredo; both sets of grandparents immigrated from Italy.^[2] He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in political science. While in college, Tancredo was active with the College Republicans and a conservative, non-partisan organization called the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). In 1976, while teaching history at Drake Junior High School in Denver, he ran for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives and won. He served two terms (1977-1981), and was one of the leaders of a group of conservative legislators. During the 1970s Tancredo pioneered opposition to bilingual education, and this issue would be a trademark of his lifelong pursuit to end illegal immigration.

After Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981, he appointed Tancredo as the regional representative for the Department of Education in Denver. Tancredo stayed on from 1981 until 1992, through the first Bush administration, paring the office's staff to 60 employees, down from 225 when he arrived. In 1993, he became president of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank based in Golden, Colorado, serving there until his election to Congress. He was also a leader in the Colorado term limits movement.

After Dan Schaefer decided not to run for a seventh full term in the 6th Congressional District in 1998, Tancredo narrowly won the five-way Republican primary and went on to victory in November. He is only the second person to represent the 6th District since its creation in 1983 (former astronaut Jack Swigert was elected as the district's first congressman in 1982, but died before taking office). Despite his promise to serve only three terms in Congress,^[3][4][5] he later decided to run for a fourth term in which he was subsequently re-elected. Tancredo has cited recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, recommending that experience and continuity of service in Congress should be considered more important than term limits, as the motive for his change in position.^{[citation needed]}

A former Roman Catholic, Tancredo is now a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.^[6] Tancredo is married to Jackie, who taught Russian for twenty-seven years and was a junior-high French teacher. Tom and Jackie met at Drake Junior High School as teachers, and married in 1977.^[7] Tancredo has two children and five grandchildren.

Charity work

After the Columbine shooting had already happened in his home state, Tom Tancredo gathered resources to respond when the need arose in Beslan, Russia after the Beslan school hostage crisis. Colorado students made thousands of cards and letters for the Russian children, which Tancredo and his wife passed out to the victims who survived the tragic events. Tancredo also went and presented a poster from the Columbine high-school students, which was hung on one of the walls in the Beslan school.

Positions

Abortion

Tancredo believes that abortion "compromises the sanctity of life" and "attacks the most vulnerable among us: unborn boys and girls." He does not support the use of federal funds to go towards "any organization that promotes abortion".^[8] He voted in favor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and in favor of legislation requiring parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion. He received a 0% on the NARAL report card,^[9] indicating that he is mostly anti-abortion.

Immigration issues

Tancredo is perhaps best known for his fight against illegal immigration. According to his supporters, he represents the majority of American citizens, who support strict enforcement of current U.S immigration laws. In May 1999, Tancredo founded the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. He served as its Chairman until January 2007, handing the chairmanship over to Brian Bilbray^[10] Tancredo's outspoken advocacy for immigration reform, particularly his criticism of President George W. Bush's border security controls, has made him persona non grata in the White House^{[citation needed]}.

He has received press attention for seeking the deportation of individual illegal immigrant families, such as that of Jesus Apodaca, a high school honor student who publicly complained about having to pay the out-of-state tuition rate at the University of Colorado at Denver, despite being raised in the state, because his family immigrated illegally.^[11][12]

Congressman Tancredo also criticized the Denver Public Library system for catering to Spanish-speakers through reading materials and offering space for classes. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper responded to the mistakes in Tancredo's information and reiterated the intent of the library, copying the system's local congresswoman Diana DeGette on the letter.^[13]

Tancredo also received negative publicity when the Denver Post reported that two illegal immigrants were among the crew hired to remodel the congressman's basement. Tancredo defended himself by saying that he never asked about their immigration status.^[14][15]

Tancredo and Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, got into a "screaming match"^{[citation needed]} after Tancredo claimed that "if the nation suffered another attack at the hands of terrorists able to skirt immigration laws, the blood of the people killed" would be on the president’s and Congress’s hands. Rove responded by calling the congressman "a traitor to the party" and "a traitor to the president," and warned him to never "darken the doorstep of the White House." Tancredo responded that "the president’s position on immigration is going to hurt [him]. I want the president to win [the 2004 election]. I am not doing any of these things or saying any of these things because I want to hurt the Republican Party or the president".^[16] National Review's David Frum wrote that "[n]o issue, not one, threatens to do more damage to the Republican coalition than immigration"^[17]which many say explains in part Rove's sensitivity to Tancredo's criticism.

Tancredo founded the Team America political action committee in 2004^[18] in order to collect contributions for immigration restriction-inclined congressional representatives and candidates. Due to campaign law requirements, he had to resign after founding the Team America PAC. The current chair is Angela "Bay" Buchanan, sister of ultraconservative pundit and former Nixon operative Pat Buchanan.

Tancredo said he intends to visit New Hampshire and Iowa, declaring that the president should “[understand] the threat illegal immigrants pose to the country's security.” Tancredo claims that federal prisons are overflowing with illegal immigrants, some of whom aim to "harm people." Tancredo has said that such individuals "need to be found before it is too late. They're coming here to kill you, and you, and me, and my grandchildren".^[19]

Federalism

Tancredo is a supporter of federalism and states' rights. He was one of only 33 congressmen to vote against the renewal of Voting Rights Act.^[20] He was one of a handful of Republicans who voted for a bill proposed by Maurice Hinchey and Dana Rohrabacher to stop Department of Justice from raiding medical marijuana patients and caregivers in states where medical marijuana is legal, citing states' rights concerns.^[21]

Significant legislation

• Tancredo sponsored the Sudan Peace Act^[22] The Sudan Peace Act says "A viable, comprehensive, and internationally sponsored peace process, protected from manipulation, presents the best chance for a permanent resolution of the war, protection of human rights, and a self-sustaining Sudan". The Act passed the House of Representatives with a 359-8 vote, was passed unanimously in the Senate without amendment seven days later, and was signed into law on November 21, 2002 by President George W. Bush.

• The most significant immigration-related legislation that Tancredo has worked to pass is H.R. 946, The Mass Immigration Reduction Act of 2003^[23] The act would have imposed an indefinite moratorium on immigration to the United States. Only 30,000 total legal immigrants would have been allowed into the country annually for at least the first 5 years of the act and, after that, until such time as there were fewer than 10,000 illegal immigrants entering per year. When those conditions were met immigration would only have been allowed at whatever level the president and both houses of Congress agreed would have no adverse impact on wages, housing, the environment, or schools. When last introduced in 2003, the bill had 11 cosponsors. Organizations that have endorsed Tancredo's bill include: NumbersUSA, Population-Environment Balance, Carrying Capacity Network, Federation for American Immigration Reform, Negative Population Growth, and the American Patrol.

• In 2005, Tancredo introduced,^[24] a resolution calling on the U.S. President to recognize the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and to abandon the One-China Policy. He has been critical of the Communist Chinese government. This has since been modified and reintroduced as^[25]

Conservative Political Action Conference

On February 9, 2006, Tancredo addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference,^[26] the annual conference of the American Conservative Union,^[27] speech not available). In a poll of the largely collegiate group, 5% predicted that Tancredo would be the 2008 nominee.

Controversies

Tancredo's position on illegal immigration (and on other issues) has brought him some criticism. On September 11, 2006, in Columbia, South Carolina, Tancredo spoke to a gathering of the "Americans Have Had Enough Coalition", which he had helped found.^[28] The League of the South invited its members to the event, describing Tancredo as their "guest".^[28] According to reports, the room in which Tancredo spoke had a prominent picture of Robert E. Lee and was draped with Confederate battle flags. At the closing of the event, men dressed in full Confederate military regalia present stood up and began to sing Dixie, the unofficial anthem of the Confederate States of America. Several days after this incident, Tancredo came under heavy criticism from a group of Denver ministers for attending the function.^[29]

On November 28, 2006, Tancredo was quoted in several news sources as referring to the city of Miami, Florida as a "Third World country."^[30] His comments drew intense criticism from numerous political leaders and organizations, including Florida Governor Jeb Bush who called Tancredo's remarks "naive" in a letter to the congressman.^[31] Tancredo replied in a letter "I certainly understand and appreciate your need and desire to try and create the illusion of Miami as a multiethnic 'All American' city," he said. "I can also appreciate ... that the cultural and ethnic diversity of the city offers many advantages to its residents. However, it is neither naïve nor insulting to call attention to a real problem that cannot be easily dismissed through politically correct happy talk."^[32]

Student protests against a Tancredo speech at the Michigan State University College of Law on November 30, 2006 turned violent.^[33]

On December 12, 2006, Tancredo was publicly announced by the Rotary Club of Miami as its guest speaker before their group two days later.^[34] The event was canceled the next day by the restaurant, The Rusty Pelican, because of the media circus that his appearance would create, employees stating they would not show up to work, and the economic disruption his appearance could have elicited from Hispanic patrons, whom the management states are 80% of the customer base.^[35].^[36]

Tancredo referred to Miami being taken over by "thugs" and "separatists" and declared that "I knew speaking your mind could be dangerous in Havana - I guess it's equally dangerous to do so in Miami. Apparently, there isn't much of a difference between the two anymore."^[37]

During a radio interview on Orlando talk-radio station WFLA AM 540, Tancredo responded to a questioner asking about the hypothetical U.S. response to a nuclear attack on U.S. cities by al-Qaeda, by saying that one response would be to retaliate by "taking out" Muslim holy sites (specifically, Mecca) if it were clearly proven that Islamic terrorists were behind such an attack, while such a response would be the most "Draconian" actions possible.^[38][39] Several days later, in an interview on CNN together with James Zogby, Tancredo claimed he meant the comment as merely a hypothetical threat to retaliate and insisted that there was nothing for which he should apologize.

Tancredo spoke out on January 25, 2007 against the continued existence of the nonpartisan Congressional Black Caucus, the Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Republican Congressional Hispanic Conference. "It is utterly hypocritical for Congress to extol the virtues of a colorblind society while officially sanctioning caucuses that are based solely on race. If we are serious about achieving the goal of a colorblind society, Congress should lead by example and end these divisive, race-based caucuses."^[40]

2008 Presidential election

In February 2005, Tancredo announced he would seek the Republican nomination for president if all other candidates failed to address the illegal immigration problem. He had already visited early primary states like New Hampshire. In July 2005, Tancredo confirmed that he was moving towards a presidential run.^[41] A quote from Tancredo's speech in 2007 to the Conservative Political Action Committee was as follows:^[42]:

If you want to call me a single-issue candidate, that's fine, just so long as you know that my single issue is the survival and the success of the conservative movement in America.

On January 16, 2007, Tom Tancredo announced that he had formed an exploratory committee seeking the presidential nomination in the Republican Party. He believes that the Republican Party needs someone who can offer America a "common sense agenda".^[43]

He also believes that a majority of Americans will support his traditional Republican values, something he says the other potential candidates lack (Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and John McCain). A spokesman for Tancredo's Exploratory Committee has confirmed that he will not run on a third-party platform, and that "[they've] had no intention to run as a third-party candidate, ever, and we'll never consider that because he's a Republican, period".^[44]

On February 13 the American Conservative Union issued ratings for potential presidential candidates for the 2008 election.^[45] Tancredo took first with a lifetime ranking of 99.

The website ConservativesBetrayed.com polled 525 people who attended CPAC 2007, and 88.1% believed that Tancredo would govern as a conservative. He barely beat Newt Gingrich, who polled at 87.9%.^[46]

On Monday, April 2, 2007 at 9:17 AM, Tancredo announced that he will run for President of the United States in the 2008 election. This announcement was made on 1040 WHO Talk Radio. He denounced other Republican candidates for their lack of consistency on the illegal immigration issue, which is the issue on which Tancredo will run.

References

Books

• In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security. WND Books, 2006. (ISBN 1-58182-527-7)

External links

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Official

• Official Congressional website
• Website for the 2008 Presidential Election
• Official Congressional Campaign Website
• Rep. Tancredo's PAC
• Rep. Tancredo's Congressional Caucus

Databases and information

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• On the Issues - Tom Tancredo issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org - Tom Tancredo campaign contributions
• PBS.org NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Coverage of 2008 Presidential Election - Tom TancredoUpdated news on candidate
• Project Vote Smart - Tom Tancredo profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Tom Tancredo profile

Articles

• Commentary on Tancredo's Miami comments
• Denver Post Column: "Tancredo sings Dixie with bigots," September 17, 2006, by Jim Spencer.
• Denver Post Column: "Tancredo for president in 2008? Well, why not?"
• Congressman: Destroying sites option if U.S. attacked

Unofficial

• H.R. 946 The Mass Immigration Reduction Act of 2003
• Unofficial Tancredo for President Blog
• mp3 audio file of "bomb holy sites" radio interview(alternate site)
• Interview with Tom Tancredo at Right Wing News
• Rating by League of Conservation Voters
• Rolling Stone Article on Tom Tancredo
• Tom Tancredo talks about his book In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security
• NPR tackles Tancredo by Brent Bozell

Preceded by Daniel Schaefer

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 6th congressional district 1999 – present

Incumbent

Colorado's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators: Wayne Allard (R), Ken Salazar (D) Representative(s): Diana DeGette (D), Mark Udall (D), John Salazar (D), Marilyn Musgrave (R), Doug Lamborn (R), Tom Tancredo (R), Ed Perlmutter (D) All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands

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