Steelman’s late ad push stresses immigration
Remember immigration? The issue seems so six-months ago now that foreclosure rates and gas prices have teamed-up to weigh down the economy.
Republican hopeful for governor Sarah Steelman, though, believes the debate still has enough political punch to make it the focus of her latest ad, which comes with Election Day just over a week away.
The ad praises Steelman’s record on immigration, and, predictably, disparages her primary rival, U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof.
Steelman credits herself with forcing a company using illegal immigrants to replace the workers with local employees. This is fairly accurate: As state treasurer, Steelman threatened to withhold $1.4 million in tax credits from a St. Charles County construction site where illegal immigrants were discovered.
On the other side, Steelman takes a bit more liberties with her attack on Hulshof.
True, Hulshof did vote against a measure that prohibited authorizing funds on inspections that would allow Mexican trucks into the U.S. (Sorry for all of the double-negatives — that’s Beltway speak for you.)
But the Democratic-sponsored amendment was more a union-backed attempt to bolster American jobs than, as Steelman suggests, a crackdown on smuggling.
What about the Mexican ID cards, which is the real question on immigration for Congressman Hulshof. That is differant than the truck inspection vote you mention. How does he defend the ID cards in light of the FBI warning?