A Plea to the GOP

This is a plea to the GOP, and every independent voter that wants to save America!

WHO AM I?

My name is Norman E. Adams, I have been a small business owner (an insurance agent) for 45 years. I have been active in the Republican Party for 40 years. In the last 25 years, due to the abortion issue, I have not missed a precinct caucus. I have been a delegate to every Republican Senatorial Convention and every State Republican Convention. I have been a delegate or an alternate to five National Conventions. I am proud to have been elected to the Texas Republican Party Platform Committee four times, and I hope to serve again!

WHO ARE YOU?

This is a plea to my fellow conservative Republicans! Did you attend a Tea Party in 2009? How many times have you called a so-called “blue dog” Democrat to try to convince him or her to vote against Obamacare? Do you fear the impact “cap and tax” will have on your pocket book? Are you sick of a government that cannot stop spending that seems intent on bankrupting our country, leaving it perpetually in debt? Are you happy our leaders are afraid to acknowledge that we are at war and seem perfectly willing to grant unlawful combatants constitutional protections at the expense of sound intelligence and our safety? What will you do the next time someone says there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Between 2004 and 2008, Republicans lost the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Presidency. Clearly, Republicans lost the faith of conservatives and the American people on a host of issues. One of the key issues was immigration.

It is no secret that immigration reform fractured the Republican Party. More than any other issue during George W. Bush’s second term, the immigration issue crippled the GOP coalition. Moreover, it reversed the growth of the party’s support in the Hispanic community. Richard Nadler has extensively chronicled this movement from 2004 to 2008. Read his “Edge of the Wedge: Immigration and the Congressional Races of 2008” to see how the congressional candidates who embraced a hard-line restrictionist approach to immigration reform underperformed their opponents.

Barack Obama and the Democrats understand this very well. In 2009, they faced a united opposition to their efforts to impose cap and trade and the takeover of health care. They are paying a political price for their efforts. They know exactly how to split that united opposition: immigration reform. Accordingly, Republicans need to get on the same page on immigration. We need this not simply for an electoral advantage, but because it is the right policy.

We will not support a mass amnesty that does nothing to solve our border security problem. Nor can we afford to embrace mass deportations that will disrupt our economy and destroy millions of households with citizens and non-citizens living under one roof. Moreover, the GOP cannot afford more anti-immigrant rhetoric that splits our coalition and makes it impossible to compete for the growing Hispanic vote!

I believe Republicans can embrace an approach on immigration that avoids these two policy extremes. We can embrace an immigration policy that upholds our principles and values, but also puts us on a path for future electoral victories. Please hear me out!

A GOP POLICY SOLUTION: “ID ’em and TAX ’em”

Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy is a coalition I helped form to offer a “sensible” solution to our immigration problem. It is not amnesty nor is it deportation. I believe that illegal immigration is a problem. We are right to be concerned that individuals are coming into this country illegally, without identification and avoiding tax laws.

For reasons I will explain below, I believe that a controlled flow of properly identified and properly taxed immigrant workers is a good thing. Having this flow will help us secure our border and manage our labor needs during times of economic growth and recession.

Texans for Sensible Immigration Policy www.txsip.com has suggested the following policy basics:

1. Require every non citizen within our borders to submit to a positive ID, including DNA, photo, etc.
2. Anyone with a violent crime history should be jailed or deported.
3. All others, once properly ID’d and deemed eligible, should be issued a worker permit.
4. Non citizens should not be allowed to work as independent contractors. They should only be allowed to work for “good faith” employers (those that withhold and match taxes).
5. The taxes on non citizens should be a minimum of 10% vs. 7.6% Social Security/Medicare for citizens. The employer should match the increased rate.
6. Non citizens should not be eligible for Social Security or Medicare benefits. This tax revenue should go to subsidize our Social Security and Medicare funds.
7. No shortcuts to citizenship

WHY AMERICA NEEDS IMMIGRANT WORKERS

More than a few Republicans have bought into the anti-immigrant rhetoric that flows freely in print, on the web, through email, and on the airwaves. We need to deport all of them. “What part of illegal don’t you understand?” goes the mantra. I agree there is a problem that needs fixing. But let’s use the brains God gave us to find a good solution. We need these immigrant workers! Why?

1. We need the workforce!

• The combined fertility rate of American born citizens is barely 2%, considered unsustainable!

• Every year more American born workers are retiring than are entering the workforce. This is especially true in lower skill trades.
• To compound the problem, since Roe v. Wade, we have aborted nearly fifty million children in the United States! This represents multiple generations of American-born workers!
• It is a simple matter of mathematics, we have more jobs than we have American-born workers to fill!

2. The argument that immigrants are driving down the wages of American-born workers is a myth! The Cato Institute has demonstrated in an article entitled, "As Immigrants Move In, Americans Move Up", that where the percentage of illegal immigrant workers is highest, the wages of American born workers has risen faster than those states with fewer immigrants. Economic activity drives wages and the need for workers higher!

THE GOP CAN WIN THE HISPANIC VOTE

The GOP made in-roads into the Hispanic community in the 2000 and 2004 election cycles. It is not surprising. The GOP’s commitment to economic freedom and opportunity, the protection of the unborn, support for traditional marriage, and even educational choice resonates with the Hispanic community.

The reversal of this trend in 2006 and 2008 was the direct result of extremist policy positions (e.g., support for mass deportations) and inflammatory rhetoric about immigration and specifically immigrants that repelled Hispanics. Republicans do not have to compromise their principles to attract the Hispanic vote. We proved that in 2000 and 2004!

IT MUST START WITH THE GOP PLATFORM

As Texas Republicans, one of our first steps should be to revise our Texas Republican Platform.

Currently the platform has two paragraphs, one on Legal Immigration, and one on Illegal Immigration. I propose substituting the following for both:

Stop Illegal Immigration: We urge Congress to develop a SENSIBLE IMMIGRATION POLICY! Americans deserve a policy that controls our borders, positively identifies all non citizens, imprisons or deports those with violent criminal records, and includes no short cuts to citizenship with the exception of military service. Visas for non citizens should be issued only to those who submit to a positive ID process and agree to pay a penalty tax in excess of Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes paid by citizens.

My fellow Americans! My fellow Republicans! I pray you will be moved to consider what I have said and give it a fair hearing. I believe this is the right approach on principle and politics. We cannot afford to be excluded from the levels of control in Washington one more election cycle. Looking at the polls today, it is clear that Democrats have done themselves great harm by pursuing a radical left-wing agenda. But it will not be enough for Republicans to simply expect voters to coming running back to them. The GOP needs to offer clear principles and clear solutions. A sound immigration policy is critical. It cannot be “amnesty,” nor can it be “deportation.” We need an immigration solution that will unite the GOP!

I pray God will move us to do what is necessary to right the wrongs in our great land. Stop the slaughter of the unborn. Defend us from evil, and move us to “do unto others.”