October 25, 2007

Q&A with Rep. Tom Tancredo
The immigration guy
By Brian Early bearly@hippopress.com

Q:If as president, you say it happens and it happens, what do you do?
Solve the issue of illegal immigration, which I consider to be a huge problem for this country in about 20 different ways. This is not just a single issue. It has a much broader range of implications in terms of what’s going to happen to us as a nation. It really is a result of my belief that we are in a clash of civilizations. As a result, you have to look at the different aspects of it and figure out what it is you can do to survive that clash. One of the things we need to do is to be much more cognizant of who we are as a nation and what are the ideas and the ideals that hold us together as a nation and connect us, so that we are not what Theodore Roosevelt called it, a polyglot boarding house.

A polyglot boarding house?
He said that’s what we would face if we did not assimilate the people who came here. And that’s the great problem. It is not the issue of immigration. It isn’t just people coming into the country. It’s the issue of assimilation. How much is happening and not happening, and what are the ramifications of that. So, when I tell I you that I could fix one thing, it’s fixing a huge thing that would affect us as a nation forever.

There are unique cultures in different parts of the U.S. The culture in New Hampshire is different than New Orleans. When you say assimilate, what do you mean by that?
This country’s history is fascinating because it is unlike almost every other country in the world in that people come from all over with great diversity and backgrounds. But over time, we have seen that wherever people came from they actually ended up sort of jettisoning their connections of the past. Not necessarily just a cultural sort of affinity, but certainly a political identity. After breaking those ties, they connected to the new thing called America. So if you’ve retained some degree of ethnicity and/or cultural varieties that you described, that makes America an interesting place. But what’s happening, unfortunately, is that immigration is happening in greater numbers than ever before, but the other part of it is not. I call it the cult of multiculturalism. It’s this passion that people have for splitting us up into different ethnic and/or linguistic groups and not connecting us. And that’s worrisome when you have people coming from all over the world with different affinities and affiliations. And that’s why it’s a big topic, but it’s hard to put into a bumper sticker.

Have you been trying?
Yeah, we have. We haven’t come up with any good ideas. We have a hard enough time trying to come up with something that rhymes with Tancredo. [Laughs.]

What have you come up with?
Nothing [Laughs]. Go Tancredo.

You’ve said that other candidates have started sounding more like you on immigration. One of your reasons for joining the race was that no one else was discussing immigration, but now they are. You’re not doing well in the polls, 1 percent or so.
Oh, no no no. We’re way above that. Five or six percent. [Laughs.]

Tomorrow you plan to file for the election. Do you have second thoughts about running?
No, I don’t. We can’t let them off the hook, can we? ... I’m not running just to make a statement. I’m running for president.

How challenging is that when you’re ... so low in the polls and you have to convince people that you are a serious candidate?
Luckily, luckily, there is still New Hampshire and Iowa in terms of first primary and caucus. ... It’s a small enough state that you can meet enough people that you actually can do fairly well once they get to get to know you. ... If we can do well here and Iowa, it automatically catapults you to superstar status.

What’s it like on stage during the debates?
It’s frustrating. They take you on a walk-through, and this last time, I said, “Which end am I on?” because I’m always on the end. And they said, “This one.” I’m always a bookend. It’s only annoying to the extent that it’s also an indication of how many questions you get. They put the top-tier people right in the middle of the arc, always, and they get 75 percent of the questions. The first debate I did, which was at the Reagan Library in California, it was a 90-minute debate. It was 45 minutes before I got a question, and the question was, “As president, what would you do to increase organ donations?” So it really wasn’t terribly relevant. And that’s the most frustrating part of the, quote, “debates.” I put that in quotes because they’re really not debates. They’re just theatrical sort of events.... It doesn’t seem to me to be a very informative process.

What’s something you’ve learned about yourself on this campaign?
I have far more energy or strength than I ever thought I had. I’m surprised as I have as much stamina, and I think it’s because I believe in the power of prayer for one thing, and I pray for strength, and I ask everybody else to too. ... I love doing what I have to do when I get to where I have to go, but I don’t enjoy the getting there or the getting back. ... I was really jealous at the Democrats at their debate when they were talking about saving energy when the moderator asked how many of them flew private jets, and all of their hands went up except for Kucinich and Gravel. The ability to just go when you’re done. You go to the airport, you go on a plane home or wherever, rather than have to make everything according to a time schedule that an airline has, which never works out to be the right time anyway. That’s a really frustrating part. But like my wife says, “No more whining. You’ve asked for this.”

Do people know you?
Sometimes. As time goes by, a lot more. It’s nice and kind of an ego booster. Just last week in Iowa, I was having dinner with a guy that works on the campaign after a long day. A waitress came up, looking at us both and asked, “Are you a presidential candidate?” I said yes. She said there was a buzz that a candidate was here. “There’s a lady behind us here, and she is absolutely star struck. So you might say something.” I’m getting all puffed up. The lady gets up and comes over to our table. “Excuse me, just a second. I’m so embarrassed by this. Presidential candidate, right?” I said yes. And I have two books. I written a book, and I’m signing books at the table. It’s got my name on it. She said, “I can’t tell you how excited I am. I just love politics. I’ve watched all of the debates.” And she turned to the guy that works for me and said, “You are Governor Huckabee, right?” [Laughs.] I laughed so hard. And I said, “Yes it is, and we’re having dinner because he’s conceding, he’s pulling out of the race, throwing his support to me.”.

—Brian Early