The Beast may have found a suitable runningmate in Bill Richardson:

Democrats try to outflank the GOP on immigration The politics of immigration are changing. On Friday Bill Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, declared a "state of emergency" in four New Mexico border counties due to "a chaotic situation involving illegal alien smuggling and illegal drug shipments." His office has pledged $1.5 million for stepped-up law enforcement and also asked Chris Simcox, the president of the volunteer border patrol group Minutemen, for a meeting. Mr. Richardson, a man who wears his ambition for national office on his sleeve, has apparently decided he has to reposition himself on border issues. He's not the only Democrat to do so. Sen. Hillary Clinton made headlines when she embraced high-tech measures to control the border with Mexico and fines for employers who hire illegal aliens. "Democrats clearly sense frustration on immigration among Bush's base voters and are trying to outflank him rhetorically on the right," says Martha Montelongo, a talk-show hostess in California. President Bush is vulnerable on immigration. Earlier this summer House Republicans bluntly told him that his proposal to admit guest workers would be dead on arrival unless accompanied by more border enforcement. "All my constituent town meetings want to talk about is immigration and why Washington is still spending so much money," Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas told me. Indeed, 17 of the 37 GOP House and Senate members who responded to a National Journal survey last month identified immigration as the issue "most on the minds" of their constituents. One Republican identified immigration as the issue on which "the mismatch between the federal government's inaction and the realities at home is the greatest." . . .

Bullshyt.

Democrats don't care about the border unless they run a border state.

Richardson is only trying to keep his job as New Mex governor. He was on CNN the other night getting trashed by their reporter about his border postiion (declaring a state of emergency).

Real liberal Dems aren't about to piss off La Raza.

Quoted: Bullshyt. Democrats don't care about the border unless they run a border state. Richardson is only trying to keep his job as New Mex governor. He was on CNN the other night getting trashed by their reporter about his border postiion (declaring a state of emergency). Real liberal Dems aren't about to piss off La Raza.

Real liberal Dems have been losing elections for 10 years. They need to expand.

Immigration is going to be a HUGE wedge factor that will heavily favor Dems like Richardson and The Beast unless we get Repubs who stand firm on it and who DON'T get blasted as being "whackos" by our own party like Tancredo or get hamstrung by media-scandals like DeLay.

I know Richardson personally...he's a very funny guy.  He's also a very *smart* guy.  He's also Hispanic, which makes it really tough for people  to play the race card when he talks about this issue.  And don't think for a minute Billy isn't eyeing the TOP spot on the ticket.  

I doesn't take Fellini to figure out that the Bush Adminstration's Achille's heal is the whole border security thing...and it looks like some of them are trying to get a head start on '08 with it.  It's a position that Rebublicans had better start addressing.  Other than Tancredo, I haven't heard much from individual members of Congress...but the bill they introduced did have some teeth, so it looks like there's a handful of them that get it.  

I travelled to Asia years ago with Richardson...he brought along a staff guy who was a cowboy, right off the ranch.  We had a blast, and he said one of the funniest things I've ever heard.  Unfortunately, even before the days of unbridled PC, I couldn't repeat it.  

Quoted: I travelled to Asia years ago with Richardson...he brought along a staff guy who was a cowboy, right off the ranch.  We had a blast, and he said one of the funniest things I've ever heard.  Unfortunately, even before the days of unbridled PC, I couldn't repeat it.

Oh, c'mon. spit it out

Quoted: I know Richardson personally...he's a very funny guy.  He's also a very *smart* guy.  He's also Hispanic, which makes it really tough for people  to play the race card when he talks about this issue.  And don't think for a minute Billy isn't eyeing the TOP spot on the ticket.

While I'm sure the story is good, my question is...  Since you know him, would you vote for him?

Why or why not?

He's never struck me as a leftist kook, but other than his work with the UN, I don't know much about him.  He does seem to know what people are concerned about.

he said one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Unfortunately, even before the days of unbridled PC, I couldn't repeat it.

Damn you, Fenian. You just can't post something like that and then leave us hanging.
Paraphrase it and clean it up so that it is repeatable.

Quoted: I travelled to Asia years ago with Richardson...he brought along a staff guy who was a cowboy, right off the ranch.  We had a blast, and he said one of the funniest things I've ever heard.  Unfortunately, even before the days of unbridled PC, I couldn't repeat it.

Did it have something to do with the hybrid offspring of a buffalo?

He's saying right now on FOX News with John Gibson that the Minutemen meeting was a complete fabrication and there's no truth to it.

HH

If the dems get tough on immigration, I'm switching parties.