Gingrich Proposal For Immigration A Bust?

Recently, the campaign of Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich released a ten step plan to handling immigration in the United States.  In sum, the plan addresses how to handle illegals that have entered the nation and lived beyond the law.  Those plans would vary based on the time, criminal history, and careers of those individuals.  Moreover, the plan addresses how to prevent further illegal immigration into the nation in terms of more assertiveness at the border and more options for a legitimate path to citizenship.  "If you've been here 25 years and you got three kids and two grandkids, you've been paying taxes and obeying the law, you belong to a local church, I don't think we're going to separate you from your family, uproot you forcefully and kick you out," said Gingrich about in correspondence to his immigration plan.  While this plan may sound like it could work, unfortunately in response to the quote above, this plan may not apply to a large amount of people.  According to CNN, a study released this week by the Pew Hispanic Centers estimates that there are currently 10.2 million unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States, of which two-thirds -- or roughly 6.8 million -- have been in the country for at least 10 years.  Of that 6.8 million, about 3.5 million of them have lived in the United States without authorization for 15 years or more and around 2.8 million have been here between 10 and 14 years.  Interestingly enough, Gingrich's plan would apply to those illegal immigrants who have been here since 1986, the year President Reagan signed the amnesty law, which granted citizenship to 1.7 million people.  There are twice as many illegal immigrants today as compared to when the law was passed.  Moreover, almost half of those illegal immigrants who are undocumented are minors.  Therefore, Gingrich would have to modify his plan if he is to make more than a small difference since the people who may be granted immunity under his plan would make up a minimal percentage of the current population of illegal immigrants.

Cain Suspends His Campaign

In the famous lyrics of the Beatles, "Yesterday...All my troubles seemed so far away."  Why the lyric?  What the hell does it have to do with politics?  The answer, this line can be easily applied to the campaign of smash hit candidate Herman Cain.  Yes, it seemed as though yesterday, tabloids, news channels, and bloggers nationwide were providing information that proved Cain to be doing quite well in the polls.  However, as quickly as Cain's approval ratings soared, they were not strong enough to keep him in the game.  Yes, Cain has been sidelined in the Presidential race.  Like a running back who fumbles, some say Cain "dropped the ball".  However, which time he dropped the ball may be in the eyes of the beholder.  Perhaps, he "dropped the ball" when he accused blacks of being brainwashed.  Maybe it happened when he jokingly suggested building an electric fence in response to being asked how to handle illegal immigration.  However, according to the media, it was not those incidents that placed a stake in the heart of Cain's campaign.  It was allegations of sexual harassment, and a long-term affair that led to the suspension.  This is what Cain had to say:

Cain blames the media however, for "ambushing" him.  I agree, the media ambushed him.  What was the media thinking publishing things about Cain that he said?  Rude.  Perhaps the United States isn't ready for a President who calls the people he is trying to win votes from "racist" and "brainwashed."  Perhaps, we the people just are not ready for a President who jokingly mocks the names of other nations.  Perhaps, Herman Cain, you should pat yourself on the back for Godfather's Pizza and call it a day.  Cain should not feel so horrible though, these things have happened and will probably continue to happen in campaigns.  For example, Grover Cleveland during his campaign was accused of having an illegitimate child.  Gary Hart during his campaign was photographed with a model on a boat called "Monkey Business."  This blog could be a dissertation on political campaign scandals.  However, these things happen.  As long as one intends on being in the public eye, the individual should make it appoint to stay out of trouble ahead of time to avoid these things.  After all, the media is the media, and its function is to dig and tell. 

Video 10/2

David Parker talked from Charlotte, North Carolina, about Democratic Party strategy in the key battleground state of North Carolina in 2012. Charlotte is the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Video 10/2

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in 2009 relative to the 1965 Federal Voting Rights Act.  The substance of the oral arguments revolved around the inefficiencies of the voting systems in southern states with large populations of minorities.

Video 10/2

Brent Wilkes discusses the impact of Hispanic voters on the Democratic party.  Furthermore, Wilkes discusses the ambivalence of Hispanics in regards to voting.

Cain Ad Analysis 11/20

Telephone lines were open for comments on 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's campaign ad featuring a testimonial from his campaign manager Mark Block, who was smoking a cigarette at the end of the message.

SuperPAC's 11/20

A discussion about the rule of "SUPERPACS" in the upcoming 2012 election.  How funding has played a large part in candidates abilities to attack one another through paid advertisements.