Immigration may be a top state issue even if it isn’t

Illegal immigration is primarily a federal issue, as it is up to Congress and federal agencies to enact and enforce immigration policies. But that won’t stop it from being a big issue in state elections this year — particularly as Republicans attempt to unseat Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. In fact, a Survey USA poll conducted last week for The Eagle and KWCH 12 Eyewitness News asked Kansans what issue would be the most important in determining how they vote this year. Illegal immigration and health care (also mostly a federal issue) were tied at the top spot with 21 percent each.
The breakdown of those who picked illegal immigration is interesting. Those most concerned about illegal immigration were 18- to 34-year-olds (27 percent). A higher percentage of African-Americans (27 percent) and Hispanics (47 percent) picked illegal immigration as the top issue than did whites (19 percent). And 27 percent of western Kansans picked it as the top issue, compared with 17 percent of Wichitans (26 percent of Wichitans identified as their top issue education funding, which really is a state issue).
Other issues’ ranking: education funding (20 percent), abortion regulation (12 percent), taxes (8 percent), gambling (7 percent), other (4 percent) and rural development (3 percent).
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

18 Comments

  1. TRACY
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 6:29 am | Permalink

    Hispanics (47 percent)How ironic. I love it.

  2. Joe Blow
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 6:35 am | Permalink

    Gee, every paper in this state is in the minority view on this issue. Shocking.

  3. Posted June 6, 2006 at 7:08 am | Permalink

    Tracy…….how is it “ironic” with Hispanics with 47% concerned with immigration issues? Are you indicating some underlying racism on your part? The fact of the matter is that many Hispanic families have been here for generations and should not be lumped together with recent immigrants. After all, the USA is a country of immigrants. Could this immigration hysteria be another Bush/Rove inspired election year issue?

  4. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 8:16 am | Permalink

    So… This is a poll of KANSANS, right? Not just Wichita?

    “rural development (3 percent).”

    I think that just about says it all for the future of this state.

  5. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 8:23 am | Permalink

    heheheh I just went back to the full poll results.

    Even WESTERN kansans have given up on the rural areas. Only FOUR percent of them think rural development is important.

    Boy, a lot of people in every county are sure wasting their tax dollars to support a public activity that no one finds important. FOUR percent?

    That should be a wakeup call to the economic development industry. And make no mistake, it is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the kansas taxpayer. Can you say “return on investment”? NO? I thought not.

    So if so few people want it, why is economic development funded in almost every county?

    Boondoggle. Dog and Pony Show. Smoke and Mirrors. Politicians’ slush funds.

    And we keep funding it. How is that working for ks?

  6. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 8:30 am | Permalink

    More laughing. Out here in the west, where the economy sucks badly, TEN percent think abortion issues will decide their vote, while only FOUR percent say rural development will get their vote.

    Thomas Frank is a g.d. genius for spotting this first. Voting against your own economic interests in favor of some vague “moral issues” boogy man will get you, well, it’ll get you…

    …where we are today! Again, how is that working for us in the west, and also in the rest of the state?

    We trail the rest of the midwest states in economic growth, and that is the truth, no matter how cheerleaders like Williams wanna spin the “everything is working here” line.

    But cast a vote to develop our economy? Hell no, we have abortion, queers and gusn to worry about. God, guns and gays are WAY more important to kansans than their economic well being.

    Have another shot of koolaide.

    Kansas… as stupid as you think.

  7. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 8:35 am | Permalink

    hee hee, maybe if more than four percent of western kansans worried about their own economy, they wouldnt NEED to worry about immigration. There would be jobs for all. But nooooooooo, we gotta get them damn mexicans out of here. Wouldnt want them to buy our houses or put kids in our schools or buy their groceries in our towns.

    Nope. No worries about development here. Just get rid of the mexicans and everything will be fine. We dont need no stinkin’ jobs or investment or development. Just get rid of the feriners.

    Two words. Buffalo Commons.

  8. Michael
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 9:48 am | Permalink

    Illegal immgration is not a Federal issue. It is very much a local issue. It takes jobs away from local people, it cost local tax dollars to educate the children and it causes local cost to go up for social services such as police and fire dept. The only way to stop it is to let those busineses that hire illegal workers that we will not patronize them and it will cost them customers if they continue.

  9. Joe Williams
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 10:13 am | Permalink

    Well KSG, the economy might suck in rural Kansas, but it doesn’t here or in the KC area.

    The reason why that rural Kansas economy sucks so bad is because it is a product of decades of government welfare handouts. They are net reciepents of tax money and not exporters. Meaning they live off the backs of the working person that ACTUALLY pays taxes.

    It’s not going to change either. You have a bunch of farmers that did nothing but inherit their land, then they go to their local county extention office and ask “what do I need to grow and how much subsidies will I get?”.

    While their grain crops are growing, they set their irrigation sprinklers to dipense water from seed to harvert and hire poor illegal immigrants to do the hard work and make them live in dirt floor shakes, while they bark orders from their pick-up trucks with a cigeratte in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

    They then go down to the local gas station in a small town and play Keno all day and then hit the samll bar at night. And every once in awhile they’ll take their European Ski Vacations or go to their time share in Vale Colorado, while complaining that the government isn’t doing enough for them.

    Good Luck!

  10. J R
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 11:48 am | Permalink

    Either I am having a moment of dejavu or clueless Joe is re posting one of his earlier and more stupid sentiments.

    Thought I was in the archives there for a minute!

    Joe that post is just as all around stupid as it was the last time you inflicted it on us.

    The economy DOES suck here in Wichita. Joe Williams observations being almost entirely wrong, I single out his contention that the economy in the Wichita area “does not suck” as particularly egregious.

    But back to the point.

    Illegal immigrants lower wages for all workers. They put employers at an unfair advantage. I can think of NO issue more important.

  11. Posted June 6, 2006 at 11:55 am | Permalink

    Heh, funny, JR.

    I’m starting to think that Apophis is gaining on Joe W’s strong lead for most obtuse post-er.

    He completely whiffs the conclusion that hispanics are concerned about immigration. Of course they’re concerned about immigration–they don’t want Grandma to get shipped back to Durango just because she’s illegal.

    Duh.

    For every redneck who hates hearing Spanish-spoken, there’s a Spanish-speaker who’s going to vote against the Republican hate-mongers.

  12. Joe Williams
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 12:52 pm | Permalink

    JR. Good Luck! You can always move.

  13. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 1:45 pm | Permalink

    Dont ya just love it how the most pro-growth cheerleaders are the ones always suggesting people move away?

    Joe, wanna talk about how GOOD the economy is under this preznit?

    “The economy sucks unless you’re in big oil, or one of the other big corporate interests supported by the Bush administration. As the NY Times reported the other day, “Jobs Report Signals Cooling Economy.”

    The American economy added a surprisingly weak number of jobs in May, a sign that nervousness over a cooling economy may be spreading among the nation’s employers.

    The net increase in nonfarm payrolls in May — 75,000 — is a significant falloff from April, when the Labor Department estimates that 126,000 jobs were added, a figure it revised downward today from the 138,000 it initially reported.

    Anything below about 150,000 net new jobs a month is regarded as too little to keep up with population growth, so in effect, workers are losing ground.

    The Labor Department statistics were the latest in a series of recent reports pointing to a slowdown in the expansion of the economy.

    And as Martin Crutsinger, an economics writer for AP News, said on Sunday, the “economy may be heading for less sunny days.”

    Factory orders fell in April. The five-year housing boom is cooling, with home sales falling and price gains slowing.

    In the biggest shocker of all, the government reported Friday that businesses created just 75,000 new jobs in May — 100,000 fewer than expected.

    If the onslaught of weaker economic data was not bad enough, there also are signs that long-dormant inflation may be starting to be a problem, and not just in the pain from $3 per gallon gasoline.”

    And let’s not talk about the stock market yesterday…

    Please, tell me how much BETTER it is in Wichita, or any place in kansas OTHER than joco?

  14. J R
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 1:58 pm | Permalink

    Dang kfg

    You aint supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be in your truck barking orders with a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other!You better get at it! You’ll be late for Keno!

    You’re a cartoon Joe.

  15. Ian Santiago
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 4:07 pm | Permalink

    That traitor yellowback came in last. rotflmosrfao

    Robert B. Bluey, Human Events Online, June 5, 2006

    Rep. Tom Tancredo’s get-tough-first attitude on immigration reform is having a positive impact on his possible presidential run in 2008. The Colorado Republican won tonight’s GOP straw poll in Macomb County, Mich., located in the Detroit metro area.

    Tancredo took about 18% of the vote of 325 votes cast at the Lincoln Day Dinner. Although it was only a plurality on a fractured GOP ballot, Tancredo beat out GOP heavyweights Rudy Giuliani, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

    Here are the complete results, courtesy of Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis:

    Candidate Votes PercentTom Tancredo 60 18.5%Rudy Giuliani 45 13.8%Mitt Romney 40 12.3%Condi Rice 39 12.0%Newt Gingrich 38 11.7%John McCain 38 11.7%George Allen 21 6.5%Mike Pence 15 4.6%Ron Paul 14 4.3%Mike Huckabee 6 1.8%Bill Frist 4 1.2%Alan Keyes 2 0.6%Candice Miller 2 0.6%Sam Brownback 1 0.3%

    Perhaps most surprisingly are the first and last-place finishers. Tancredo is an immigration hawk who leads the House Immigration Reform Caucus, while the normally reliable Brownback has strayed from the conservative base to back President Bush’s immigration plan.

    UPDATE—June 6: I just computed the figures from the monthly HUMAN EVENTS straw poll and, sure enough, Tancredo slightly edged out Condi Rice with 18.7% of the vote compared to her 18.3%. This is a huge boost from the month before when he placed third (12.4%) behind Rice (21.5%) and Sen. George Allen (18.6%).

    Click here to vote in the June presidential straw poll.

    Original article

    (Posted on June 6, 2006)http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2006/06/tancredo_wins_s.php

    V.L.R.B!!!

  16. Joe Williams
    Posted June 6, 2006 at 8:00 pm | Permalink

    Oh! I forgot. How stupid of me. I forgot that I was living through the Bush economy where there is so much mass starvation and long soup lines and unemployment is out of control.

    What we need is a saviour of some kind. Somebody to show us that everybody can be rich and have full bellies. It has to be a leftist Democrat I believe. Am I far off? Will somebody save us?

  17. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted June 7, 2006 at 8:15 am | Permalink

    Nice jokes joe, but it doesnt hide bush’s horrible performance on the economy, the federal budget, the federal deficit, etc.

    You can joke, but you cant hide the wreckage that is the bush administration’s economic policy.

    Changing the subject to dirty mexicans, queers coming after YOUR marriage, homegrown canadian fools, etc.

    You can change the subject, but not the facts. As Mary Chapin Carpenter says “the stars might lie but the numbers never do”.

    Too bad we are a nation of math illiterates. That is the ONLY way bushco’s economic policies make sense to the koolaide crowd.

    Be afraid and be stupid.

    Have another shot of grape.

  18. Joe Williams
    Posted June 7, 2006 at 8:34 am | Permalink

    I for one don’t believe that Presidents have much to do with the economy. It is between me and you. The people of this country that makes the economy happen.

    Sure! Government can stiffle the economy with socialist programs of income redistribution or apply unfair subsidies and rules upon certain industies and even companies, but for the most part, it is up to us.

    It is not the Federal Government’s duty to provide jobs for people.

    But I will give you that Congress is recking the Federal Budget, especially since Bush just lets them do it. That is bad!

    Meanwhile: Just Reported——————————–The Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area gained 2,100 jobs in April while unemployment dropped under 5 percent, according to statistics released by the Kansas Department of Labor.

    Total non-farm employment rose to 290,700 in April, up from 288,600 in March and up 3,900 from April 2005.

    Meanwhile, unemployment dropped by almost 1,700 workers in April. A total of 14,537 workers were unemployed, a decline of 10.3 percent from the 16,203 jobless workers in March. The unemployment rate fell 0.6 percent in April to 4.7 percent.———————————

    I guess the Economy sucks around here, the state, and the Nation. While unemployment is hitting its historical lows and about the shatter the record, the economy still sucks because people have to pay more in gasoline for their oversize SUV’s. How dare they!