Joe Lewis – 9/22/06

This page was last updated on October 2, 2006.

Immigration is a key issue; Joe Lewis; Beaver County Times; September 22, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“A new, creepy turn in the illegal immigration saga has emerged. A PBS news show investigating pharmaceutical testing centers interviewed illegals. Allegedly, many centers are stacking the illegals eight to a room, using them to test experimental drugs without the required waiting periods between tests.

“We are importing human beings as guinea pigs. What is next? Organ harvests?

“How judgmental, right? I can hear the far right: ‘These poor people have the God given right to contract to sell a lung just like any red-blooded American,’ and the fundamentalist left: ‘What, you’re just afraid a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American might get a kidney from a brown skinned Mexican, aren’t you?’

[RWC] Actually, the right would say, “These are illegal aliens and need to be sent back to their country of origin. The companies employing them should be prosecuted.”

“Its not just bad satire and it’s not just our physical security at stake - it’s our soul. This election we need to hold politicians’ feet to the immigration fire before it’s too late.”

“It will not be easy because everyone’s blood is up. The left sees U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum as a charismatic, intolerant Darth Vader trying to return the country to the Bronze Age. The right sees Robert P. Casey as a decent dupe, a sock-puppet vote for the far left in the Senate. While I have disagreements with both, I have still voted for both in general elections. But not on immigration. I want to know:

“Will you require all illegals to return to their country and get in line?

“Will you require a fence across our southern border to slow the flood?

“Will you sponsor a law so Americans can sue our governments, businesses and private citizens who break immigration laws?

“We should make Santorum, Casey, Hart and Altmire answer, then, vote accordingly.”

[RWC] For someone who took the time to write a letter, Mr. Lewis appears not to have done any research.

By his votes and according to interviews I’ve heard, Sen. Santorum answers “yes” to all of these questions. Bob Casey, Jr., on the other hand, supports the Senate’s immigration amnesty bill.

I haven’t heard as much from Rep. Hart, but she voted for the House’s “enforcement first” immigration bill. Based on his campaign website, Mr. Altmire seems to hold pretty much the same immigration positions as Rep. Hart. Mr. Altmire has no record, however, and his stated position is not that of the Democrat Party. It’s fair to assume, if elected, Mr. Altmire would be under considerable pressure from fellow Democrats to adopt the official Democrat position.