Politics: USA: Republican Tancredo officially enters race for his party's nomination as President, Nov 2008

Associated Press reporter Henry C. Jackson inform us via Washington Post that American's leading Republican opponent of illegal immigration has announced he is entering the primaries to win his party's nomination for President. "Tancredo Enters 2008 Presidential Race" (Apr2,2k7). The outspoken Congressman (R, Colorado) made his announcement "during a radio talk show appearance at the studios of WHO Newsradio 1040 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Des Moines, Iowa -- Criticizing other GOP candidates as weak in their efforts to stop illegal immigration, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo announced Monday he would seek the Republican presidential nomination.

"The political elite in Washington have chosen to ignore this phenomenon," he said.

The U.S.-Mexico border is at the forefront of a growing debate over U.S. immigration and border security reform.

Tancredo, a congressman who has gained prominence in recent years for his staunch stance against illegal immigration, said immigration would be the primary focus of his campaign.

He said he would not enter the race if he thought one of the leading candidates was sufficiently conservative on the issue.

It's, "the field, the field," he said when asked why he was entering the race. "You look and you see no one is going to make this the primary issue of their campaign." ...

Tancredo's goal for the Iowa caucuses are fairly modest. He said he would like to finish third or fourth in Iowa, a placement he contends would be enough to help launch him to the GOP nomination. ...

"We have something they don't have _ a group of people out there who are there because of an issue," Tancredo said. "And they're never going to have that. They can use their 100 million to try and buy constituency. I have it. It's natural. It's there."

Tancredo's entry adds a volatile dimension to the campaign within the GOP, a factor that could put the financial leader Mitt Romney, and the second-place former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Guiliani, and third-place Sen. John McCain, all in tailspin. The movement to stem the flow of illegals and to constrain the illegals already in the USA, penalizing the sleazy employers who exploit their situations, is a quite strong one. The constitute a bloc that could well stay home during the actual election should Tancredo's case not be heard and become part of the party's election platform with clear support from the candidate nominated at the Republican convention in the summer of 2k7.