Shame on Connie Mack
To the editor:
Conservative’s wake up! Is it time to put Rep. Connie Mack with those Washington politicians who will do anything, say anything, to get votes from anyone. Is he a CINO, (Conservative In Name Only)? His Saturday, June 5, Op-Ed against the Arizona law certainly read like it, calling on we true, God-loving, law-abiding, American conservative Citizens to be “concerned” about Arizona’s effort to crack-down on illegal criminal aliens to protect their citizens.
I have known the Mack family for my 41 years in Cape Coral, and never thought I would ever write a letter such as this. While not having any personal contact with the representative since he was a child, his father and mother were great people, so I naturally backed Connie in his adventure into politics. His Op-Ed gives me serious second thoughts.
In his about 1,000 words he used the word illegal only once, in a generic way about immigration, not referring directly to Arizona’s problem. He seemed to want to lull our senses into shame and sympathy. Instead Mack uses the words, “freedom,” “citizen,” “immigration,” “liberty,” 24 times. He never made any reference to the danger those who must live in Arizona face daily from illegal criminal aliens. From his use of words it sounds like he is on-board with Democratic liberals in pushing for amnesty and citizenship for illegals.
Mack did use the words, “shameful,” and “outrage,” at our own government’s attempt to keep us safe during World War II (before he was born) by the internment of Japanese Americans, on the basis of taking away “constitutional rights of citizens.” His attempt to compare Arizona’s law against illegal criminal aliens, breaking federal law, with this WWII strategy is shameful and an outrage. He is trying to compare legal citizens with trespassing, illegal aliens who are criminals, violating federal law.
Again, he sounds like members of Obama’s cabinet who admit they never read Arizona’s law when he wrote, “This law clearly challenges citizen’s freedoms.” He goes on to say later, “Conservatives’ most important responsibility it to remember to protect freedom, liberty and the right of every citizen. The Arizona immigration law doesn’t do that, and that’s why I oppose it.” I say, our most important responsibility in 2010 is to make sure we rid Congress of liberal representatives who put the rights of law-breaking illegals to get votes of minorities over American citizens.
Mack summed this opposition up at the end saying, “I do not want to live in a nation where American citizens are asked, ‘where are your papers?'” I say to that, “I do not want to live in a nation where police officers cannot identify, arrest and jail illegal, law-breaking, aliens, who do not have any right to be in this nation, before they can kidnap, rape, rob and murder a member of my family.” I would rather show a police officer my driver’s license 10 times a day than go what Arizona citizens have to fear every minute.
It also is shameful and an outrage to me that a federal lawmaker we sent to Congress, who calls himself a “Conservative,” is apparently so unfamiliar with federal law to not realize that Border and Immigration officers in Arizona can legally profile and do exactly what Mr. Mack says he is opposed to, ask an American citizen for his/her papers without any probable cause, even while taking their child to get an ice cream cone like Obama was so afraid would happen. If Mack read the Arizona law, he would find that the only ones who are asked for identification are people who come to the attention of an officer for another law enforcement reason.
I haven’t seen Rep. Mack writing Op-Ed’s about the millions of American citizens who are inconvenienced, delayed, questioned, and asked for driver’s licenses and other “papers” at DUI and other roadblocks when they are just driving down our streets minding their own business. And if the officer detects a smell of an alcoholic beverage, the citizen then is made to get out of the car and perform physical testing. I’m sure if Mack saw a “citizen” loitering outside his home at 3 a.m., he would call the police. Would he be inclined to not want to live in this nation if the arriving officer asked the citizen to produce identification and explain what he was doing? These are but two of many cases where citizens who may not be guilty of any crime can be asked for their “papers.” It is one of the small inconveniences we have to bear as citizens in order to keep our nation safe from those who undermine it, the law-breaking criminals, like illegal aliens.
Mack called it, “trampling on the rights of some Americans to protect the majority.” What an asinine statement for a public official to make about law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe for the “majority” of citizens from the “minority” of anarchists and criminals.
I think his Op-Ed is reason for all good citizens, especially conservatives, Tea Party and 9-12 members, and the Republican Party to take a long, second look at Mack’s views. Maybe it is time for him to be included in those who should be sent packing. I think his closeness to Gov. Crist, and the “election at any cost” attitude without moral conviction is showing.
To prove this last statement, Mack toned down his comments from the April 29 article which appeared in the Washington Post, “Rep. Mack: Ariz. immigration law has echoes of Gestapo.”
He apparently didn’t want his South Florida constituents to read his statement about the law being, “reminiscent of a time during World War II when the Gestapo in Germany stopped people on the street and asked for their papers without probable cause.” He also called it “frontier justice” saying “it shouldn’t be against the law not to have proof of citizenship on you.” Shame on you Mr. Mack for comparing our Border Patrol and ICE officers with the Gestapo, because federal law that members of your congress passed give them authority to stop people without cause to ask for their papers.
Dick Wylie
Cape Coral