Where Does Tancredo Stand?

Niche marketing can be effective in politics as well as business. Tom Tancredo is perhaps the best of the niche marketers currently running for president. The large group of Americans who are strongly opposed to illegal immigration has not exactly been courted assiduously by either the Democratic or the Republican parties. Tancredo has taken advantage of this neglect by making opposition to illegal immigration the centerpiece of his campaign. It is the one issue he talks about constantly, and he frequently attempts to link other issues, such as the high cost of health care and homeland security, to the illegal immigration issue. Indeed, Tancredo has focused on illegal immigration to the extent that anyone who does not share his views on that issue would probably be very reluctant to vote for him. However, even those whose views do mesh with Tancredo's must wonder about the Colorado Congressman's other political stances. Discovering just what those are is not necessarily a simple process.

For all second-tier candidates like Tancredo, having a strong Internet presence is vital. Tancredo is definitely online, but I think he could take better advantage of the opportunities the Internet provides him to get his message out there. His campaign web site's On The Issues page summarizes his points of view on various topics and provides some links to text, audio, and video related to those topics. Unfortunately, these links do not do a good job of covering issues in depth. I don't quite know what to think about a candidate who links to a two sentence PDF file on an issue like abortion; is that really all he has to say? That said, Tancredo does have some strengths as a candidate which his web site and his online videos do demonstrate. His conservatism on abortion, gun control, and government spending matches the beliefs of the base of the Republican Party. Tancredo, however, has also shown a willingness to buck the party line on other issues: he wants to reduce troop numbers in Iraq by changing the military mission there, and he has opposed No Child Left Behind from the start. Of course, his stance on illegal immigration is also an example of his willingness to take on the big names of his party. There is a lot of popular support for nearly all of Tancredo's stances, so theoretically he ought to be able to win votes both among stalwart Republicans and disaffected conservatives.

That doesn't necessarily mean Tancredo's campaign will be going anywhere anytime soon. He has two major problems as I see it. Firstly, his presentation of his campaign hasn't been great. He has established himself as the anti-illegal immigration candidate, but has looked like a demagogue in the process. Whenever a politician uses all his time in the public eye to speak about one issue it creates doubts as to whether the politician has anything else to offer. Tancredo has often looked to me almost bored when speaking about issues other than illegal immigration. Secondly, Tancredo's virulence in discussing the immigration issue has made him susceptible to accusations of being xenophobic, and, given America's long history of welcoming immigrants, even anti-American. Actually, America has a long history of opposing as well as welcoming immigration, so I definitely consider Tancredo to be as American as any other candidate running for president. However, I cannot brush aside the xenophobia argument quite so easily; I've not made my mind up on that score just yet. One thing I have made up my mind about is this: Tancredo could continue to make noise in the primaries, but he needs to become more effective in promulgating his views on issues other than illegal immigration to be taken seriously by the country at large.