Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla. |
PALM BEACH, Fla. – A WND interview in which Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., called Miami a "Third World country" has ignited a war of words with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other lawmakers insulted by the remark, which is now being echoed in news media across America.
"Look at what has happened to Miami. It has become a Third World country," Tancredo told WND in a Nov. 19 story as he lamented how the nature of America can be changed by uncontrolled immigration. "You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country."
''The bottom line is Miami is a wonderful city filled with diversity and heritage that we choose to celebrate, not insult,'' Bush fired back in a letter addressed to Tancredo's Washington office. "Miami has been my home for years and I am looking forward to returning there in January.''
Last night, Tancredo responded to Bush via e-mail and was unapologetic for his remarks.
"I certainly understand and appreciate your need and desire to try and create the illusion of Miami as a multiethnic 'All American' city. Indeed sir, one of us is naive," Tancredo's letter said.
"America, because of the many places, cultures, races, and religious origins of our citizenry, depends on a few things to hold us together. One is the English language," he continued. "That is something that fewer and fewer Miamians share. Unfortunately fewer and fewer Miamians think of themselves as Americans.''
Tancredo's fellow member of the U.S. House, Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, said while Tancredo was her friend, he was ''flat out wrong,'' and she invited the Colorado lawmaker to travel to Miami and judge for himself.
''I invite my friend, Tom, to visit beautiful Miami, my hometown, and experience firsthand our hospitality,'' Ros-Lehtinen said, according to the Miami Herald. "Come on down, Tom, the water's fine!''
Ros-Lehtinen said Miami is a "world-class city where diversity is celebrated. Here people have the opportunity to meet folks from across the globe and honor different cultures. Miami-Dade County is home to many outstanding universities, is headquarters to international businesses and has a vibrant economy.''
The war of words is now being reported across the nation, appearing not only in the Miami Herald, but the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, and the Associated Press among others.
In the original interview with WND, Tancredo said President Bush believes America should be more of an idea than an actual place, claiming the president sought to merge the U.S. with Mexico and Canada into a North America Union.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. |
"People have to understand what we're talking about here. The president of the United States is an internationalist," said Tancredo. "He is going to do what he can to create a place where the idea of America is just that – it's an idea. It's not an actual place defined by borders. I mean this is where this guy is really going."
Tancredo lashed out at the White House's lack of action in securing U.S. borders, and said efforts to merge the U.S. with both Mexico and Canada is not a fantasy.
"I know this is dramatic – or maybe somebody would say overly dramatic – but I'm telling you, that everything I see leads me to believe that this whole idea of the North American Union, it's not something that just is written about by right-wing fringe kooks. It is something in the head of the president of the United States, the president of Mexico, I think the prime minister of Canada buys into it. ...
"And they would just tell you, 'Well, sure, it's a natural thing. It's part of the great globalization ... of the economy.' They assume it's a natural, evolutionary event that's going to occur here. I hope they're wrong and I'm going to try my best to make sure they're wrong. But I'm telling you the tide is great. The tide is moving in their direction. We have to say that."
"Both of those individuals, of course, would be disastrous for us for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is their position on immigration, which is to open the border," Tancredo told WND. "I will do everything I can – whether I'm a candidate for president or just as a member of Congress – I will do everything I can to make sure those two names are not the only options that people have."
Tancredo – a heavyweight champion of the border-security issue, and whose new book on how to solve that vexing problem, titled "In Mortal Danger," became an immediate best seller – just may be elected president, Fox News' Neil Cavuto said recently.
"Illegals coming into America are sure to be front and center in the next presidential election here," Cavuto said on a June broadcast of "Your World with Neil Cavuto," "and Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo certainly knows it. He owns this issue. And straw polls show that, if he were to run for president, he just might well be president."
Read Jeb Bush's letter to Tom Tancredo [PDF file]
Read Tom Tancredo's response [PDF file]
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