Tom Tancredo to Drop Out of Presidential Race
Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo plans to drop out of the race during an announcement Thursday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, GOP sources close to the campaign have told FOX News.
Tancredo, who has aggressively pushed his anti-illegal immigration message throughout the GOP primary race, has not been able to break through in the polls against his better known competitors. He and California Rep. Duncan Hunter typically poll in the single digits behind Texas Rep. Ron Paul in national surveys.
Tancredo would not personally confirm whether he will pull out of the race.
“I will neither confirm nor deny that report,” Tancredo told FOX News. But he added, “I wouldn’t have a press conference if I didn’t have anything to say.”
The five-term Colorado representative already announced in late October that he would not seek reelection to the House of Representatives in 2008. He said at the time that his core issue of illegal immigration has been elevated to national prominence and that he doesn’t need to remain in Congress to promote it.
Tancredo aired a startling ad a month ago tying illegal immigration to terrorism. The ad showed a man in a hooded sweatshirt and backpack walking into a crowded shopping mall, with the sound of an explosion ringing out after the screen goes dark. The ad then showed bloody pictures of victims of terrorist acts in Europe, while the narrator said: “The price we pay for spineless politicians who refuse to defend our borders against those who come to kill.”
Tancredo focused on the issue at the Republican presidential debate a week ago in Iowa, saying immigration without assimilation is a “catastrophe.”
He also refused to participate in a Spanish-language debate on Univision in early December. He told FOX News he did not want to encourage immigrants in America to speak Spanish as their primary language.
FOX News’ Carl Cameron and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Thank God your gone Mr. tancredo, chauk one up for the immigrants.
go byron and byrons family. my ancestors were german/latvian immigrants three generations ago. they learned english and also got to be pretty well off. my father lived with his fmily in iran (my g.dad worked for westinghouse) and they learned… iranese or watever they speak over there. and also, tancredo dropped out before most people even knew the race was starting. why are we all commenting on it now?
I could repeat the argument that requiring immigrants to speak English in America is not racist, but the politically incorrect liberal crowd wouldn’t understand. (They seem to fear, hate, or simply refuse to acknowledge anything they know they can’t argue with.)
I spoke German when I lived in Germany. I spoke French (as best I could) when I was in France. I’m slowly learning Tagalog on my wife’s and stepdaughter’s behalf. For their part, both my wife and stepmonster speak fluent English (including some words I wish they hadn’t learned!)
This year, the missus will be taking her citizenship test. Why can’t all these others? Oh, right. The whole legality issue. While the liberals refuse to open their eyes to the fact that illegal immigrants are, by definition, criminals, the rest of us understand and want to solve this problem.
But I waste my time here. Continue to whine and weep and bemoan Americans as “ignorant” and “racist” when they’re so unreasonable as to insist on laws being obeyed and having our culture respected like everyone else’s. Keep on blaming America for being a victim of other nations’ lawbreakers.
The rest of the country will move on without you.