I am disappointed in Michele Bachmann. Turns out she is willing to use the tactics of the Left to neuter Newt.

Welcome to the morning rant by J Smithson

I am a TEA party member who happens to agree with Newt on border/immigration policy; at least, I think I do. One thing for certain, Michele Bachmann, is misrepresenting Newt's position, telling anyone who will listen that "Newt wants to give amnesty to all 11 million illegals in this country."

That assessment is not true.

For starters, he was very specific in his debate statement, talking about a family that had been in this country for 25 years. For Bachmann, then, to assert that Newt was really talking about giving amnesty to all illegals is absurd.

Don't like what Newt said? Fine, but disagree with what the man actually said. I have no idea who I will support for the nomination, but Michele Bachmann just crossed the line.

Understand that Gingrich intends to deport all recent illegals. What does that mean . . . . . "recent?" I don't really know, but I am confident it doesn't comport to "zero deportations."

Know this: our idiot immigration POLICY is not the fault of the illegals. It is the fault of our government . . . . . . emphasis on "our" government. Reagan dealt with this problem, back in the 1980's, but without closing off border access to illegal, unlawful, immigration.

I can almost hear folks saying, "Yeh, but they were illegal in coming across the border and they knew it." And anyone with a brain has to agree. But that does not change the absolute fact that "policy" allowed them to stay. There is "culpability" on both sides.

Newt's only concern is with those who have been ALLOWED to stay in the country for years and years. He wants to set up local citizen panels whose responsibility it will be to review the circumstances of those folks. Understand that long time illegals have kids who are American born, teaching our children and fighting our wars.

There is no debate that the Speaker wants to shut down the border and Obama does not. There is no debate (unless you are listening to Bachmann) that Newt wants to send all recent illegals back to their homeland and, "recent" in this context, cannot mean "in the past 24 hours or less."

Ask yourself this question, and be honest about it: what, specifically, does Michele Bachmann want to do with these 11 million illegals? And, even more to the point, exactly how would this been done?

Imagine this: Bachmann takes the presidency on Thursday and on Friday, we round up all 11 million illegals and send them out of this country. If you think that is not going to happen, then you have to admit that the problem is more complicated than you want it to be. . . . .

Continue reading here . . . . . . . . I live in a heavily populated Mexican community. To be sure, there are plenty of whites, but, still, the majority of folks in my 23,000 member community have ties with South-of-the-border. So Bachmann becomes president. Now what? Does the Border Patrol buy the 300,000 buses it would take to cart these people away, drive into our communities with squad cars and buses, and start running around our neighborhoods arresting and deporting folks without any hearings or legal procedures? What, are you nuts?!

So, there has to be hearings and all such hearings would be "local," and a great deal of time would be involved. Understand that most Mexicans in this country are legal. Don't we have to sort through that complication?

I have a good idea: why don't we stop with this Bachmann litmus test crap, and get real with what and how we are going to deal with this problem. One thing for certain, I have heard nothing from Bachmann. What is her specific plan? Anyone know? Anyone heard the Representative detail that plan? Anyone have an idea on how she is going to circumvent the legal processes involved in sending these folks back where they came from? Anyone know exactly how she intends to shut down the border? And what is her specific plan for picking these people up? Does she plan on throwing them into jail until we get around to reviewing their cases -- all freaking 11 million of them?

Could it be, that Bachmann is trying to win the nomination on the strenght of a sound bite?

Understand that this blog is "anti-comprehensive immigration reform" . . . . . as sponsored by the open border Marxists who rule our nation at this time. But, I resent the idea that I have to be stupid in my opposition or reactionary to false accusations, even if coming from folks I respect.

Here is what I know: Newt has a plan that does not include amnesty for 11 million people. Admittedly, it needs further discussion, but, Bachmann has no stated plan, at all. And, Romney has taken the easy way out and said nothing that would "get him in trouble" with the base. I, also, know that the financial mess, the regulatory nightmare, and, the rule of lawlessness as practiced by the current Democrat leadership, has nothing to do with the immigration issue.

Surely, we are not going to make "immigration" the more important issue in this campaign?