DREAM On McCain

Last week, John McCain told reporters that he would reach out to voters that Republicans usually leave to the Democrats. According to the Los Angeles Times, McCain said he would "contest every constituency in America -- whether they be workers; whether they be Hispanic, whether they be African American -- we're competing for their vote."

But McCain dropped the ball on important legislation for Latinos last fall-- the DREAM act. The bill, formally called "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors" would allow undocumented immigrants who came to the US under the age of 15 (and five years before the passage of the act), to be eligible for financial aid or in-state tuition benefits, and to qualify for conditional permanent resident status upon acceptance to college or graduation from a U.S. high school. DREAM failed to pass the Senate last fall, with critics claiming it amounted to amnesty and gave unfair advantages to undocumented young migrants.

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama voted for DREAM, and have made it a featured part of their education and immigration platforms. Mike Huckabee supported similar legislation in Arkansas during his tenure as Governor, and in a debate last fall proclaimed that "We are a better country than to punish children for what their parents did." He received serious heat over the issue from his conservative base however, and days later laid out a punitive plan for immigration that specifically closed the door on anything like DREAM.

McCain seems to have cowed on the issue as well. He was a supporter of the bill when it was first proposed in 2003-- but last fall, found it politically expedient to skip the vote.

In an interview with a South Carolina newspaper after the vote, McCain said he wouldn't support a bill like DREAM until "the borders are secured." About DREAM he said, "I think it has certain virtues associated with it...but the message is [voters] want the borders secured first."

On a Sunday talkshow, Roll Call's Morton Kondracke said that McCain could potentially "match George Bush's 2004 record of 40 percent" of the Hispanic vote in the general election. But it's hard to see how McCain's current positions will translate into big support among Latinos--especially younger ones.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, more than 1 in 5 Hispanic voters ON Super Tuesday were between the ages of 17 and 29. 57% of Hispanics voters are registered Democrats, with younger Hispanics making up more than 20% of Democratic youth vote on Super Tuesday. In Texas, young Latino turnout hit record highs, and while they favored Hillary Clinton-- as did older Latinos-- it was only by a margin of 3 percentage points, suggesting that Barack Obama could be able to capture more of them in a general.

Whatever outreach McCain has planned, it seems thus young Hispanic voters have seen through his flip-flopping.

Comments (45)

1. Immigration is his Achilles' heel with the conservative base.

   They already don't trust him, some even loathe him for McCain-Kennedy and he has to take as many steps away from that or anything smelling of "givin' free stuff to the damn Mes'kins" as he can.

   Bet ya a thousand though, if he were President, he'd sign it...maybe even push it.

   But now?...no way. "Maverick" and "straight talk" went the way of first-run episodes of "Friends"!

   Posted by Mask at 03/12/2008 @ 3:50pm

2. At least,McCain was smart enough to not endorse Hillary over Huckabee.And smart enough to not tell me that I'm irrelevant because I live in a small state like Hillary and numerous democrats.Luckily,Obama hasn't endorsed the other side and told me that I'm irrelevant,either.

   Posted by i'm nobody at 03/12/2008 @ 4:01pm

3. McCain said he wouldn't support a bill like DREAM until "the borders are secured." About DREAM he said, "I think it has certain virtues associated with it...but the message is [voters] want the borders secured first."

   TRANSLATION: I have to listen to my conservative base if I want the Republican nomination!

   The conservatives are already skeptical of McCain, and therefore any "reaching out" he wants to do will be tempered by the right wing that wants McCain to prove he is one of them.

   Posted by Metteyya at 03/12/2008 @ 4:01pm

4. Rednecks of all colors & Redneck logic... The basics - spend one day poor... Those with less power and money, by definition, vote more based on the possibility of their money/power status improving or deteriorating, e.g., poor blacks see Hillary as more of the same. Those with less vulnerability can consider other factors, Iraq, the deficit, etc. Many of these - but proportionally less, of course, also vote for the candidate that will maintain or improve their lot, e.g., many, but less whites vote for Hillary / Bush-light / more of the same.

   Posted by winyahn at 03/12/2008 @ 4:01pm

5. Republicans make racist attacks on Mexicans to get elected, then propose programs like 'guest worker' status to ensure that Big Agribusiness has plenty of cheap labor. If only the wealthy had votes in proportion to their assets, it would not be necessary for the Party of Big Business to pander to ignorant white workers - or any workers, for that matter.

   Posted by samcrossett at 03/12/2008 @ 4:03pm

6. Posted by MASK 03/12/2008 @ 3:50pm

   What makes you think McCave will do the 'right' thing 'once' he's in office? W stands for Wrong and McCave is firmly in their back pocket. He's already proven that he'll Cave. Wouldn't put it past hsuB/cHeney if they don't already have a secretly surveiled #9 on McCave; that won't go away. And with McCave in the WH-- neither will the new cons.

   Posted by hsuBfools at 03/12/2008 @ 4:12pm

7. Posted by HSUBFOOLS 03/12/2008 @ 4:12pm

   My bad...didn't make the "scenario" clear. Was referring to a "hypothetical previous incarnation of McCain in office" (as if he had beaten Bush in the 2000 primaries and defeated Gore). The OLD "Maverick John" of McCain-Feingold, etc.

   THAT guy would probably sign off on DREAM, as indicated by his moves on McCain-Kennedy.

   And it's possible that a post-2009 McCain would too....IF he felt he could "get away with it" under some new paradigm of the Republican Party that he could create by which he could safely marginalize the xenophobes.

   Posted by Mask at 03/12/2008 @ 4:33pm

8. If only the wealthy had votes in proportion to their assets, it would not be necessary for the Party of Big Business to pander to ignorant white workers - or any workers, for that matter.

   Posted by SAMCROSSETT 03/12/2008 @ 4:03pm

   LoL!!! Great comment!

   Posted by Metteyya at 03/12/2008 @ 4:46pm

9. Posted by MASK 03/12/2008 @ 4:33pm

   Only if there's monetary profit in it.

   Posted by hsuBfools at 03/12/2008 @ 5:10pm

10. Posted by JOMAMMA 03/12/2008 @ 4:00pm | ignore this person

    you're such a humanist

    Posted by emile duBois at 03/12/2008 @ 5:27pm

11. Alot of this depends on whether he intends to seek two terms. He is pretty old and might go in thinking he won't run in '12. If that is the case he doesn't need the cultural conservative nutjobs anymore, and he can go back to only being a nutjob on foreign policy questions.

    Posted by dentedpat at 03/12/2008 @ 5:51pm

12. I could never have attended any college that was not state-subsidized. And all I had to do was reside in the state, and pay taxes, for a single year, to qualify for in-state tuition rates. Contrast that with the situation of a foreigner whose parents have contributed their labor to the U.S. economy for years, yet he can't even be admitted due to lack of documents.

    Posted by samcrossett at 03/12/2008 @ 6:13pm

13. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/action/ignore.mhtml?who=samcrossett

    nicely reasoned, and well put..

    Posted by emile duBois at 03/12/2008 @ 6:30pm

14. Posted by SAMCROSSETT 03/12/2008 @ 6:13pm

    Why should we pay for an illegal child's college education. Isn't it enough that they get a free education from K-12 through high school? What gurantees would this country have if those same "undocumented" children were given financial aid, and when they finished college with a degree in hand, decided not to pay back those loans and go back to their country with a well paid American education? Remember, they're undocumented, so we can't track them by a SS#.

    I hope the DREAM act never comes to pass.

    Posted by ACook at 03/12/2008 @ 7:50pm

15. when they finished college with a degree in hand, decided not to pay back those loans and go back to their country with a well paid American education?----Posted by ACOOK 03/12/2008 @ 7:50pm

    Okay, so let me get this straight....

    a kid is going to spend nearly their entire life....until they're 21 years old....eating American food, speaking English, buying IPods, watching MTV, driving a pretty nice used car, not worrying about being drafted into some paramilitary group or be kidnapped into a narco-revolutionary army....

    and as soon as they get out of Ball State with a degree in business admin...

    high-tail it back to El Salvador or Guatemala with little chance of a job (with no connections to the corrupt government) and likely to end up AT BEST with a job in the service industry serving American turistas as a waiter or concierge...

    just to "skip out" on some student loans????

    THAT's your theory?

    Posted by Mask at 03/12/2008 @ 8:49pm

16. Good point, ACOOK. Undoubtedly some aliens, even after obtaining conditional permanent resident status and an American (English language) education, will return to their homes and start businesses, teach their countrymen, organize unions or otherwise challenge the status quo. Educated liberals - America's newest export commodity!

    Posted by samcrossett at 03/12/2008 @ 9:15pm

17. Summary of Enrolment Procedures for International (Fee-Paying Students)

    Students must have a Student Authorization from Canadian Immigration and a clearance letter from the County Health Unit before attending school. Students must agree to pay non-resident fees and to purchase medical insurance as outlined below.

    1. The student must first complete an International Student Application and attach a cheque or money order for $100.00 payable to the County District School Board

    2. The application and cheque are forwarded to the appropriate school in order to receive a Letter of Accommodation.

    3. The school forwards the Letter of Accommodation and copies of relevant documents to the Business Dept. at the Board Office.

    4. An official letter is returned to the school for the local contact to pick up. The student includes these letters with their application for Study Permit. The Study Permit is obtained before the student enters Canada.

    5. When the student arrives in Canada, he/she must contact the County Health Unit to obtain a clearance letter (TB testing) attesting to appropriate immunization.

    6. International (fee-paying) students must purchase medical insurance or show proof of alternate coverage. An application form for medical insurance can be obtained from the school or the board office. Payment is to be made to the County District School Board by a separate cheque.

    7. The student must provide post-dated cheques for non-resident fees for at least one semester plus payment for medical insurance as outlined below before being allowed to attend school.

    8. Schools are to forward cheques for non-resident fees and the completed enrolment form and separate cheque for medical insurance to the Business Dept. at the Board Office.

    Non-Resident Fees for the Year 2007-2008 School Year:

    JK/SK $ 3841.71 per year ($ 384.17 per month)

    Elementary $ 7683.42 per year ($ 768.34 per month)

    Secondary $ 8651.70 per year ($ 865.17 per month)

    Note: Transportation to ESL programs is the responsibility of the student/guardian.

    Medical Insurance: $507.50 for the school year (or $253.75 if attending for one semester only)

    if you don't do it this way, you ain't going. if i remember rightly, it was the same in mexico.

    give these people a guest worker program. that way their kids can stay at home.

    if you want to stop the illegals (which i doubt -- seems like too many people are making too much money from their "esclavitos") go after the employers.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 03/12/2008 @ 9:33pm

18. Educated liberals - America's newest export commodity!

    Posted by SAMCROSSETT 03/12/2008 @ 9:15pm

    actually, look at this:

    felipe calderón -- harvard

    vicente fox -- harvard

    ernesto zedillo -- yale

    carlos salinas -- harvard

    miguel de la madrid -- harvard

    hmmmm....

    seems like their not liberals but neo-liberals [those of the classic sense], siphoning off their country's incredible wealth for the benefit of their cronies on both sides of the border.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 03/12/2008 @ 9:43pm

19. FZ,

    I think your 9:33pm post just ruined Canada's image for the like of SAM.....

    They could never see themselves demanding millions of illegals actually pay for being educated the American way. Frankly, I don't blame the illegals.......why pay unless you are forced to! Like Libs with taxes.....always clamoring for taxes to go up but they've ALWAYS had the option to pay more themselves....maybe the key is to let them DEDUCT extra taxes to Uncle Sam as `Charity', which would actually be legitimate....Uncle Sam just need to provide a receipt :)

    This reminds me of John Edwards saving millions in taxes by setting up an S-Corp. paying himself dividends while skipping on normal payroll taxes....

    Disclosure: I have a LLC which is not nearly as `lucrative' as a S-Corp.

    Posted by Happy at 03/12/2008 @ 10:12pm

20. Posted by MASK 03/12/2008 @ 8:49pm

    Mask, my point isn't a theory. There are cases of foreign students (here legally, of course) getting financial aid and then skipping out on paying back the money. Regardless to how these kids were raised, the situation would be no different. They could go anywhere in this world with a first class education. All on our dime of course....

    Posted by ACook at 03/12/2008 @ 10:26pm

21. Posted by HAPPY 03/12/2008 @ 10:12pm

    Posted by JOMAMMA 03/12/2008 @ 10:27pm

    guest worker program.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 03/12/2008 @ 10:30pm

22. Posted by ACOOK 03/12/2008 @ 10:26pm

    There are cases of "natural born" citizen students skipping out...and you didn't just say they would "skip out", but...

    "and go back to their country with a well paid American education".

    To which I postulated the exact circumstances of some kid from Honduras, here since he was 5, who has lived 16 years in the US, his family here...maybe a girl/boyfriend...maybe a spouse....

    and to get out of student loans, they're going to go back to the Central American country, where their education (with no connections) is going to earn them ONE-TENTH (at best) what it would earn them here...just to do what lots of "citizen" students do.

    You REALLY think that's going to happen and that's your opposition to DREAM?

    Posted by Mask at 03/12/2008 @ 10:39pm

23. Posted by RIO BRAVO 03/12/2008 @ 10:34pm

    And it's funny how the Hard Right "Get them illegals outta our country"....

    are going to be voting for the co-author of McCain-Kennedy...the "amnesty" bill!

    Posted by Mask at 03/12/2008 @ 10:40pm

24. MAIL-IN SCAM BEGINS NOW Time to lend myself 5 million and move to France for some Freedom Fries

    Posted by winyahn at 03/12/2008 @ 10:53pm

25. guest worker program.

    Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 03/12/2008 @ 10:30pm

    Preaching to the choir!

    Posted by Happy at 03/12/2008 @ 10:54pm

26. You REALLY think that's going to happen.."

    Yes....

    and that's your opposition to DREAM?

    No. I don't want to pay for it with my hard earned tax dollars.

    Posted by MASK 03/12/2008 @ 10:39pm

    Posted by ACook at 03/12/2008 @ 11:17pm

27. Even if this is 1/2 true and 1/2 crap,...it might give one pause to stop and think...

    yes, compared to your usual this is indeed a good ratio.

    I doubt any of this will bear close scrutiny.

    Posted by emile duBois at 03/13/2008 @ 08:05am

28. Emile, let's assume that any or all of the figures are correct - that 'the American taxpayer' is laying out these sums on behalf of undocumented workers. What do you suppose are the corresponding figures for the following:

    Profits earned by the law-breaking employers of undocumented immigrants;

    Social Security and Medicare taxes not paid by said employers;

    Sales taxes paid by said immigrants.

    As with slavery, the "unrequited toil" of these exploited workers constitutes an underground economy all to itself - a street economy unrecognized by our racist-pandering Republican fellow citizens.

    Posted by samcrossett at 03/13/2008 @ 08:48am

29. Posted by RIO BRAVO 03/12/2008 @ 11:37pm

    How is it changing the subject to discuss how you're going to vote for McCain...after you defended McCain?!?!?!?

    Posted by Mask at 03/13/2008 @ 09:01am

30. Posted by ACOOK 03/12/2008 @ 11:17pm

    Again, they're going to "take their law degree from Gonzaga and go back to work as a hotel manager in Tegucigalpa" just to get out of paying back a student loan!?!?!!?

    I think you'd do better just opposing ALL Government student loans....than that illogical and SILLY argument.

    Posted by Mask at 03/13/2008 @ 09:05am

31. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/action/ignore.mhtml?who=samcrossett

    yes indeed. the illegal workers live in a kind of semi slavery, in my town whenever there is a construction work site accident, say a wall falling on a worker, you can be sure that it is an undocumented alien. they are paid half of the minimum wage, are hired by a shape up system, are often cheated out of their wages, and are generally treated as second class human beings.

    just listen to how they are treated rhetorically right here by Maasch and others.

    Posted by emile duBois at 03/13/2008 @ 09:08am

32. No. I don't want to pay for it with my hard earned tax dollars.

    they are very likely not as hard earned as the measly wages of an undocumented worker.

    we ALL pay taxes, it's just that the repugs whine about it constantly. give it a rest, it makes you look cheap, in all sense of the word.

    Posted by emile duBois at 03/13/2008 @ 09:11am

33. "Again, they're going to "take their law degree from Gonzaga and go back to work as a hotel manager in Tegucigalpa" just to get out of paying back a student loan!?!?!!?

    I think you'd do better just opposing ALL Government student loans....than that illogical and SILLY argument.

    Posted by MASK 03/13/2008 @ 09:05am

    Mask, I'm not changing my position. Why should illegal foreign children get preferrential treatment? Should we feel sorry for them because of their parents decision to bring them here illegally? Is it not enough that our own natural born children have a difficult time trying to secure financial aid for their own college education?

    It really bothers me to see illegal foreigners and their children getting a free ride on our tax dollars and now they want us to pay for their college education all because of what their parents did? Now that doesn't sound logical to me.

    Posted by ACook at 03/13/2008 @ 11:45am

34. "we ALL pay taxes, it's just that the repugs whine about it constantly. give it a rest, it makes you look cheap, in all sense of the word."

    Posted by EMILE DUBOIS 03/13/2008 @ 09:11am

    Emile, how many children have you put through college?

    Posted by ACook at 03/13/2008 @ 11:51am

35. Should we feel sorry for them because of their parents decision to bring them here illegally?----Posted by ACOOK 03/13/2008 @ 11:45am

    So "don't feel sorry for kids" due to a decision their parents make?

    Gotcha.....can we save that for the next abortion thread?

    Posted by Mask at 03/13/2008 @ 1:06pm

36. So "don't feel sorry for kids" due to a decision their parents make?

    "Gotcha.....can we save that for the next abortion thread?"

    Posted by MASK 03/13/2008 @ 1:06pm

    What?!?!...Gotcha?!...I'm not sure I follow your logic between illegal immigrant parents vs. the domestic ones.

    Posted by ACook at 03/13/2008 @ 3:21pm

37. Posted by ACOOK 03/13/2008 @ 3:21pm

    If we don't have to worry about the kids whose parents decide to sneak in the country....

    then why worry about "the kids" whose parents decide to not have them?

    Or does a little 5 year old Mexican kid not rate as much concern as a first trimester native conceived one?

    Posted by Mask at 03/13/2008 @ 4:10pm

38. Social Security and Medicare taxes not paid by said employers;

    Sales taxes paid by said immigrants.

    As with slavery, the "unrequited toil" of these exploited workers constitutes an underground economy all to itself - a street economy unrecognized by our racist-pandering Republican fellow citizens.

    Posted by SAMCROSSETT 03/13/2008 @ 08:48am | ignore this person

    If the illegal immigrant is working for a company that does pay by check, say a meatpacking plant, then they're paying Social Security and Medicare taxes but will never be able to access the benefits.

    Posted by cka2nd at 03/13/2008 @ 5:24pm

39. It really bothers me to see illegal foreigners and their children getting a free ride on our tax dollars and now they want us to pay for their college education all because of what their parents did? Now that doesn't sound logical to me.

    Posted by ACOOK 03/13/2008 @ 11:45am | ignore this person

    Illegal immigrant workers come here in large part because of economic or military policies foisted on their countries by our ruling class (NAFTA, Shock Therapy, the WTO, the Salvadoran and Guatemalan militaries and death squads), do back breaking and body-destroying labor in industries not covered under federal labor law (agriculture, domestic service) or in which the unions were already busted (meatpacking) for an ungodly number of hours and a lousy wage, if they get paid at all, and no benefits, all so WE can get cheaper food, goods and services (and our bosses can make super profits and, "YES!," divide the working class), and THEY'RE the ones getting a free ride if they want to send their kids to a public college or university at the in-state price?

    I'd like to see you, HAPPY, JOMAMMA and RIO squeal if American workers were doing the work that illegals did at good union wages with a good union benefits package. Of course, the rise in consumer demand would have a salutary effect on the whole economy, so the overall benefit would far outway the lower corporate profits and initial inflation. And no, FROSTY, another exploitative guest worker program with little or no protections for the "guests" and that does nothing to build the labor capacity of the nation is not the answer.

    But hell, I'm a commie pinko red, so I say UNIONIZE THE ILLEGALS!! REFORM THE WAGNER LABOR ACT TO INCLUDE DOMESTIC AND AGRICULTURAL LABOR!! END EMPLOYER SANCTIONS (not that I sympathise with employers, particularly, but La Migra raids end up costing the workers a lot more than the bosses, and are sometimes used by the latter to skip out on paying wages to the former)!! "YOUR" RULING CLASS IS NOT YOUR FRIEND, FOR CROSS-BORDER AND INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS SOLIDARITY INSTEAD!!

    Posted by cka2nd at 03/13/2008 @ 5:55pm

40. Posted by CKA2ND 03/13/2008 @ 5:55pm

    Perhaps there's some "middle ground" between ACOOK's (as she's visited by her old partner Jacob Marley some Christmas)....

    and singing "The Internationale" with CKA and hoping Napoleon the Pig doesn't take over the Farm?

    Posted by Mask at 03/13/2008 @ 7:34pm

41. ....not that I sympathise with employers, particularly,....

    Posted by CKA2ND 03/13/2008 @ 5:55pm

    I have never been a NBA/NFL/MLB player, a Hollywood star or high-dollar Empire Club escort, so in that sense, I don't sympathize with them......as you, never having been an employer and never aspiring to be one --surely against your "commie pinko red" bona fides--don't have sympathies for those who create jobs and risk savings (or borrow) in dollars and engage in union-disapproved killer working hours.

    Posted by Happy at 03/13/2008 @ 9:20pm

42. And no, FROSTY, another exploitative guest worker program with little or no protections for the "guests" and that does nothing to build the labor capacity of the nation is not the answer.

    Posted by CKA2ND 03/13/2008 @ 5:55pm

    well, the ones who come here seem pretty happy. the same ones come back year after year.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 03/13/2008 @ 11:02pm

43. People just want a hand-out. Only corporations should be able to vote!

    Posted by winyahn at 03/13/2008 @ 11:12pm

44. I have never been a NBA/NFL/MLB player, a Hollywood star or high-dollar Empire Club escort, so in that sense, I don't sympathize with them......as you, never having been an employer and never aspiring to be one --surely against your "commie pinko red" bona fides--don't have sympathies for those who create jobs and risk savings (or borrow) in dollars and engage in union-disapproved killer working hours.

    Posted by HAPPY 03/13/2008 @ 9:20pm | ignore this person

    Actually, I can sympathise with employers who provide a good workplace environment, fair wages and good benefits. In addition, I have served on union search committees that interviewed prospective staff organizers, left parties and organizations often employ staff (and my old party actually has an independent staff union) and I've known comrades who owned small businesses and had employees. We are not Christian or Buddhist hermits, and must live in the real world even as we try to change it (kind of like JOMAMMA and RIO paying FICA taxes and the federal income tax until they're repealed). But, just as I try not to idealize the working class ("Rock and roll is better than classical music because it is the workers' music." To which I respond "Barf!"), I don't get all misty about the employing class ("those who create jobs and risk savings (or borrow) in dollars"), big or small.

    Whether they go into business with the intent or not, the system - especially the financial system (Wall Street parasites!) - generally drives business owners into being liers, crooks and thieves. And if the small ones want to survive, they can be and often are just as brutal and mean as their larger cousins. The only thing that wins better working conditions and compensation are the demands, ususally backed up by organized force (at the street or in the ballot box) of the workers.

    Posted by cka2nd at 03/14/2008 @ 12:10pm

45. Posted by CKA2ND 03/13/2008 @ 5:55pm

    Perhaps there's some "middle ground" between ACOOK's (as she's visited by her old partner Jacob Marley some Christmas)....

    and singing "The Internationale" with CKA and hoping Napoleon the Pig doesn't take over the Farm?

    Posted by MASK 03/13/2008 @ 7:34pm | ignore this person

    Lol!!! However, you forget that I'm a Sunshinist and an opponent of Napoleonism.

    Posted by cka2nd at 03/14/2008 @ 5:02pm