By: Daniel Nardini
I want to be very clear on what I think of Newt Gingrich. I do not have a good opinion overall of the man, and I see a person who has been more often than not a political opportunist and a spouse cheater. Married three times, he had cheated on two spouses (one of which was dying from cancer). In my view he would not make a good president, and I believe that many Americans are beginning to see that. Once a bright star of the Republican ultra-conservatives, his star seems to be going out. Nevertheless, whatever I think of the man as a candidate for the presidency, I will give him due where it should be given. His policy on immigration is commendable. It is realistic, it actually deals with trying to change our unworkable immigration system, and most important it is far more humane than anything the other candidates have come up with. The other candidates, from Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum, believe in a law enforcement only policy that somehow will “solve all the immigration problems and cause the undocumented to deport themselves.”
Such a policy has already been tried under former U.S. President George W. Bush and current U.S. President Barack Obama. It has failed. Gingrich on the other hand has called for a different approach. First, he believes that those undocumented who have been here a long time, have families, and have never been in trouble with the police, should be given legal permanent residency. Further, Gingrich believes that our immigration policy should be changed to make it easier for people who wish to come to this country to work on a temporary basis to have that chance. He is certainly for expanding programs for those immigrants who wish to bring in their investments into this country that will employ Americans. He was very correct in stating that “how can we say we treasure family values when we tear families apart?” This is what the current immigration system is doing. Even though the ultra-conservatives o call this change “amnesty,” does it make more sense to keep families apart? What Gingrich is doing is trying to make the current immigration system more in touch with the reality of what current immigration to this country is.
No, I do not agree with Gingrich’s view that English should be made the official language of the United States. But I do agree with his idea that the United States should establish better relations and more extensive ties with Mexico and Latin America. As he said, “Afghanistan is far away, and Iraq is far away. But Mexico is our neighbor.” This is something America has been ignoring since the September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, and in my view we need to reestablish this priority with our neighbors. We need to work on changing the whole immigration system. The sad thing is that Gingrich has been backtracking on his views on immigration due to extreme pressure from the ultra-conservatives. No matter what any candidate or groups may say, this has to be the best and brightest spot in the Gingrich campaign.
One Politician’s Realistic Policy on Immigration
By: Daniel Nardini
I want to be very clear on what I think of Newt Gingrich. I do not have a good opinion overall of the man, and I see a person who has been more often than not a political opportunist and a spouse cheater. Married three times, he had cheated on two spouses (one of which was dying from cancer). In my view he would not make a good president, and I believe that many Americans are beginning to see that. Once a bright star of the Republican ultra-conservatives, his star seems to be going out. Nevertheless, whatever I think of the man as a candidate for the presidency, I will give him due where it should be given. His policy on immigration is commendable. It is realistic, it actually deals with trying to change our unworkable immigration system, and most important it is far more humane than anything the other candidates have come up with. The other candidates, from Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum, believe in a law enforcement only policy that somehow will “solve all the immigration problems and cause the undocumented to deport themselves.”
Such a policy has already been tried under former U.S. President George W. Bush and current U.S. President Barack Obama. It has failed. Gingrich on the other hand has called for a different approach. First, he believes that those undocumented who have been here a long time, have families, and have never been in trouble with the police, should be given legal permanent residency. Further, Gingrich believes that our immigration policy should be changed to make it easier for people who wish to come to this country to work on a temporary basis to have that chance. He is certainly for expanding programs for those immigrants who wish to bring in their investments into this country that will employ Americans. He was very correct in stating that “how can we say we treasure family values when we tear families apart?” This is what the current immigration system is doing. Even though the ultra-conservatives o call this change “amnesty,” does it make more sense to keep families apart? What Gingrich is doing is trying to make the current immigration system more in touch with the reality of what current immigration to this country is.
No, I do not agree with Gingrich’s view that English should be made the official language of the United States. But I do agree with his idea that the United States should establish better relations and more extensive ties with Mexico and Latin America. As he said, “Afghanistan is far away, and Iraq is far away. But Mexico is our neighbor.” This is something America has been ignoring since the September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, and in my view we need to reestablish this priority with our neighbors. We need to work on changing the whole immigration system. The sad thing is that Gingrich has been backtracking on his views on immigration due to extreme pressure from the ultra-conservatives. No matter what any candidate or groups may say, this has to be the best and brightest spot in the Gingrich campaign.