McCain Highlights Immigration Reversal in Run Up to Announcement

A day before he announces, again, that he will run for President, John McCain will have to explain away his dismal performance and shifting positions when he addresses the Co-operation Ireland Dinner tonight. With his White House campaign cratering, McCain recently launched a high-profile effort to retool it. Yesterday, McCain delivered the third of three major policy speeches meant to jump-start his candidacy, but his remarks--like the first two--drew poor reviews. One report said it "sparked little energy among the crowd" and the "press conference afterward was more of the same." [washingtonpost.com, 4/24/07]

As McCain has grown more desperate, he has also been under more scrutiny for suddenly changing his positions on critical issues, including his signature campaign finance reforms and the immigration reform he once championed. While McCain was once the leading proponent of the Kennedy-McCain comprehensive immigration reform bill, he has backed away from it in the face of opposition from conservative Republican activists. With more than 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrations living in America, McCain will have an interesting time trying to explain his about-face on immigration reform while at the same time courting Irish-American political activists.

"John McCain's reversal on immigration is only the latest signal that he's willing to do anything to win, even if it means compromising on his principles," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "McCain's lackluster poll numbers and his contradictions on the issues important to the American people not only show that the 'straight talk express' is stuck in reverse, but that McCain's just not electable."

IMMIGRATION LATEST VICTIM OF DO-ANYTHING-TO-WIN CAMPAIGN

McCain Said He Would Consider Reconsider Position on Immigration. "As he left Iowa, Mr. McCain said he was reconsidering his views on how the immigration law might be changed. He said he was open to legislation that would require people who came to the United States illegally to return home before applying for citizenship, a measure proposed by Representative Mike Pence, Republican of Indiana. Mr. McCain has previously favored legislation that would allow most illegal immigrants to become citizens without leaving the country." [New York Times, 3/20/07]

McCain Distancing Himself from Kennedy on Immigration. "Mr. McCain, for example, appeared to distance himself from Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat with whom he formed an alliance last year on an immigration bill that stalled in Congress." [New York Times, 3/20/07]

CONSERVATIVES DEMANDED MCCAIN ABANDON "SHAMNESTY" PLAN, CONFRONTED MCCAIN IN EARLY PRIMARY STATES

Conservatives Derided McCain-Kennedy Immigration Plan as "Shamnesty". Conservative political writer Tom Bevan wrote that McCain's stance on immigration reform made no sense if he was trying to win conservative votes. Bevan wrote, "Many conservatives have long since deemed McCain's immigration proposal 'shamnesty,' a derisive term meant to conjure up unfavorable comparisons with the dreaded Simpson-Mazzoli bill of 1986." Bevan added that "if McCain is really concerned about conservatives staying home in November, how can he think that passing a comprehensive immigration bill, opposed by large numbers of conservative activists in districts all over the country, is something that will help improve Republican prospects? It makes little sense." [foxnews.com, 7/30/06]

McCain Faced "Pointed and Sometimes Hostile" Questions About His Immigration Plan in Concord, NH. At a reception in Concord, McCain faced questions that were "pointed and sometimes hostile" on his immigration plan. McCain's efforts "to persuade skeptics" only created more friction and "prompted more and sometimes heated questions." When he asked that those who disagreed with him speak up, "people did," including one who complained of lower wages and said: 'A criminal is a criminal.'" All of the disagreement was not vocal against McCain, as supporters "stood toward the back of the room, clearly unhappy about McCain's view." [Washington Post, 4/9/06; Union Leader, 4/8/06; Hartford Courant, 4/12/06]

Conservatives in Keene, NH Expressed a "Seething" Anger Towards McCain's Immigration Plan. In Keene, McCain faced opposition from "conservatives expressing a seething.anger over McCain's stance on immigration," such as one attendee who declared, "There's no job an American can't or won't do." Another said, 'they should all be thrown out. No amnesty, no exception." [American Spectator, 4/11/06; Hartford Courant, 4/12/06]

McCain 2000 NH Supporters Questioned His Immigration Plan. On his first trip to New Hampshire since 2004, McCain faced skepticism from his earlier supporters about his immigration plan. Ron Dupuis, who supported McCain in 2000, asked McCain, "don't we have to enforce the laws we already have?" Dupuis also said "he'd prefer to see the borders closed immediately." Allan and Elizabeth Bloomquist, also McCain supporters in 2000, said they weren't concerned about McCain shifting to the right, but "that he and Ted Kennedy [were] co-sponsoring that new immigration bill," about which Mr. Bloomquist said, "I'm not sure I agree with that." [AP, 4/8/06; Union Leader, 4/5/06]

McCain Was Protested in South Carolina for Immigration. When John McCain visited South Carolina to raise money for the state GOP in June 2006, he was met with conservative protesters angered by his stances on immigration and the confederate flag. The AP reported that "nearly 50 people joined the South Carolina chapter of the League of the South in picketing McCain's stop at the Lace House." Lourie Salley, the political director of the group, questioned McCain's stance on immigration, saying, "If our citizens didn't pay income tax, they'd go to jail. If an illegal immigrant does that, they get amnesty and citizenship." Salley continued, "I am surprised Governor Sanford would associate himself with John McCain." [AP, 6/30/06]

McCain Was Met by Protesters on Immigration in Florida and Arizona. At a book signing event by McCain in Palm Beach County, Florida, "about a dozen people protested McCain's co-authoring a recent Senate bill that would give some undocumented immigrants the opportunity to become legal residents." McCain was protested in his home state as well, where he held numerous town hall meetings with his constituents. The conservative backlash to McCain's immigration proposal reared its head when "McCain faced tough questions at a town hall meeting Thursday night [August 25, 2005] in Mesa, where conservatives accused him of going soft on illegal immigrants. 'No amnesty!' some shouted." At a town hall meeting in Tempe, "attendees didn't wait for the event to begin to ask their questions or share their thoughts. Protestors and admirers alike greeted McCain outside the Pyle Adult Recreation Center[.]" [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/10/06; AP, 8/27/05; Arizona Republic, 4/20/06]