Saturday, May 24, 2014

Ben Carson and the Immigration Issue

By Douglas V. Gibbs

A listener to Constitution Radio with Douglas V. Gibbs (airing today at 2:00 pm) emailed me about Dr. Ben Carson, a black conservative that many would like to see run for president in 2016, accusing me of being a huge fan of Mr. Carson, and then making accusations against both Carson and I as being a bigger part of the problem than the democrats.  This is the same listener that asked me if I had made an oath to the GOP.

Among his challenges against Ben Carson was that the good doctor supports amnesty, which is not entirely true.

I usually like what I have to hear from Dr.Carson, but as I wrote to the listener, there are certain nuances that Carson and I don't necessarily see eye to eye on, such as detailed definitions regarding the 2nd Amendment, and that Ben Carson supports a path to citizenship (politically defined) when it comes to the immigration issue.

The listener replied that a "path to citizenship" is a buzz word for "amnesty."

I disagree, to a point.  Here is my email response:

Dear ******:

Amnesty and a path to citizenship are related, but different. Amnesty is the wholesale legalization of illegal aliens. A path to citizenship is a process that requires that they earn that citizenship through a network of fees and actions. The rules would be a little stricter than wholesale amnesty. I am not defending it, I am telling you what it is.

That said, none of it matters if we don't secure the border first. Stop the flow, then we'll deal with who's here. Amnesty, as Reagan signed, was coupled with the promise that the border would be secured, and it wasn't. The democrats did not hold up their end of the bargain. This is a part of what led Reagan to create his "trust but verify" mantra. It was a mistake to sign amnesty while leaving the floodgates at the border wide open.

Article IV. of the Constitution tasks the federal government with protecting the States from invasion, making securing the border a constitutional requirement. So, on the issue of illegal aliens, I believe we need to secure the border first. I don't even want to hear talk about immigration reform, or whether or not the States should be enforcing immigration law currently on the books, because none of it means anything until we secure the border.

So, that all said, Mr. Carson and I disagree on some of the details of the immigration issue. Should I then, throw him under the bus even though he may be a valuable ally in unseating Obama, and getting the government out of the hands of the liberal left democrats?

Or better yet, is there anyone that meets your expectations, and if there is, are there enough of them to take back this country without making allies with those that you may not always agree with, but for the most part is in your corner?

Douglas V. Gibbs

Constitution Radio, KCAA AM1050
Author, 25 Myths of the United States Constitution
www.politicalpistachio.com
www.douglasvgibbs.com
www.constitutionassociation.com

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