NEWS AND OPINION:
He’s said it before, and he’s said it again. Presidential hopeful Rick Perry is opposed to sanctuary cities, citing the potential for crime should officials overlook the criminals among the undocumented and unauthorized visitors.
“There are over 200 sanctuary cities and counties in this country, and the U.S. Department of Justice has done absolutely nothing — nothing — to prevent this,” Mr. Perry told WNYM talk radio host John Catsimatidis on Saturday. “It’s dangerous. It’s got to stop. We should pull the federal funding on these cities and counties that are promoting sanctuary policies.”
A new poll finds that the voting public agrees with him.
“Voters want to get tough on so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to enforce immigration laws,” says a new Rasmussen Reports survey revealing that 62 percent of likely U.S. voters say the Justice Department should take legal action against cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Seventy-nine percent of Republicans, 65 percent of independent voters and 43 percent of Democrats agree. The findings specifically cite San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston and Detroit. Another 58 percent say the federal government should cut off funds to cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants; 79 percent of the GOP voters and 61 percent of independents also agree while 54 percent of Democrats are opposed to it.
Meanwhile, where is Mr. Perry at the moment? He is in Iowa on Monday, joining a Supporting Israel presidential round table in West Des Moines — followed by meet and greets at the Pizza Ranch in Fort Dodge and the Rustic Brew in Hampton, plus a Cerro Gordo County Republican barbecue in Clear Lake.
THE SCOTT WALKER BLITZ BEGINS
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Seventeen events in four days in 17 cities in five states: That is Gov. Scott Walker’s schedule once he formally declares his intention to run for president in his home state of Wisconsin late Monday afternoon. He immediately departs for Nevada, South Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire and Iowa — and includes stops at three Harley Davidson shops along the way.
Mr. Walker, a deft Harley rider himself, is very much at home here. He faces an unfriendly and often dismissive press that has already decided who and what he is, however.
The Washington Post declares that Mr. Walker is “a penny pinching fiscal hawk” with turmoil in his own state legislature and feuds with both parties. The New York Times predicts that Mr. Walker is destined to inherit “Sarah Palin’s problem — becoming a candidate who is initially popular among Republicans, like the 2008 vice-presidential nominee, but loses luster because of missteps as the campaign goes on.”
Dozens of news organizations waggishly noted that an earlybird tweet for the Walker campaign noted, “Scott is in,” characterizing it as a telling misfire. More dumped on his new campaign logo, claiming he “stole” it from America’s Best Eyeglasses. “Bad optics,” the clever scribes note.
Mr. Walker is a man who knows his route. He’ll simply steer around these distractions and be on his way.
THE BUNNY RANCH GUY GOES LIBERTARIAN
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Dennis Hof — a self described “legal brothel mogul, HBO-TV star, best-selling author, successful business entrepreneur and Nevadan” — has joined the Libertarian Party and organized an exploratory committee to run for U.S. Senate. Mr. Hof is very interested in running for Sen. Harry Reid’s perch next year.
“I’m fed up, and not going to take it any more. I’ve voted for Democrats and Republicans all my life, and all it’s gotten me, and all Nevadans, is more taxes and regulations and less freedoms. I’m disgusted with them both,” says Mr. Hof, owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch and six other licensed Nevada brothels.
“I have changed my party affiliation to the Libertarian Party and I am supporting the Libertarian Party of Nevada and encourage other people to do the same,” he adds. “And if I really want to change things in this state, and this country, I have to have some skin in the game — and running for U.S. senator may just be the best way to do it.”
RISE OF THE CONSERVATARIANS
Could you actually be a Libertarian hybrid — or, egad, a progressive? Sens. Bernard Sanders and Rand Paul would certainly be interested in the answer. But then, so is Charles C. Cooke, a National Review staff writer and author of “The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right’s Future.” He gathers Tuesday at the Cato Institute to hash things out with Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow at Cato; Katherine Mangu-Ward, managing editor of Reason; and Ben Domenech, publisher of The Federalist — moderated by Trevor Burrus, another fellow at Cato.
“Are libertarians and conservatives just variations of the same ideological species, or do they represent unique and separate philosophical traditions?” ask the organizers, who say that such “fusionism” animated Cold War conservatism and influenced the likes of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.
With the 2016 election season already underway, they urge curious onlookers to “decide for yourself whether conservatives and libertarians should work closely to advance their common goals.”
Watch the whole thing live on at noon EDT Tuesday at CATO.org/live.
GROWLING AT HR-9
A trio of powerful conservative groups — the American Conservative Union, Club for Growth and Eagle Forum — strike back Monday with considerable outreach against the “Innovation Act,” or HR-9, now meandering through the House, with a vote expected next week. The legislation is aimed at curbing the activities of “patent trolls,” abusive patent legislation and other disconcerting matters in the marketplace. Critics say there’s more at stake, however.
“The patent legislation working its way through Congress is harmful to American innovation, inventors and small businesses. HR-9 weakens patents and property rights as guaranteed in our Constitution. And it gives a big assist to China in the global marketplace,” said Dan Schneider, executive director of the American Conservative Union. “We’ve yet to see any of President Obama’s massive overhaul proposals to produce good results. We don’t think this latest effort will be any better than Obamacare” he added.
“Our economy is still struggling. We have had one of the worst post recession recoveries in American history and we continue to teeter on the brink of another recession. The American people need Congress to promote and pass pro-growth policies that help American innovation, not harm it. This legislation is anti-growth and stifles innovation. The timing could not be worse,” says David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth. “The American people did not give the GOP a majority in both Houses of Congress in 2014 so they could pass laws that harm American ingenuity and economic growth.
POLL DU JOUR
• 52 percent of Americans say they believe in “fate”; 61 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats agree.
• 44 percent of men and 59 percent of women also agree.
• 30 percent overall say a zodiac star sign “can tell something about yourself or another person”; 32 percent of Republicans, 23 percent of independents and 40 percent of Democrats agree.
• 21 percent of men and 39 percent of women also agree.
• 14 percent overall say a horoscope “can tell you something about what will happen in the future”; 11 percent of Republicans, 11 percent of independents and 21 percent of Democrats agree.
• 10 percent of men and 19 percent of women also agree.
Source: A YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted June 30-July 1 and released Thursday.
• Cautionary tales and polite applause to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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