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NPR’s reverberating investigation into the players behind Arizona’s controversial immigration law reveals that the nation’s largest private prison company, Corrections Corporation of America, had a hand in crafting the legislation—and stands to profit handsomely from it. As conservative politicians lobby to spread similar laws into other states, Tom Tancredo, the former Republican congressman who campaigned for president of the United States on an anti-immigration platform in 2008, says he would like to bring the law to Colorado, where CCA currently manages correctional facilities in Bent, Crowley, and Kit Carson counties.
In these final days of Tancredo’s campaign for Colorado governor as the American Constitution Party candidate, The Associated Press takes a trip through some of Tancredo’s most recent incendiary moments, noting that in addition to allowing police to ask anyone in the state for proof of citizenship, as the Arizona law permits, Tancredo also would like to require proof of citizenship for students enrolling in public schools, as well as limits on federal spending.
It’s a good time to review Tancredo’s remarks. While campaigning this week in Cañon City, he claimed to have identified a greater threat to the American way of life than even terrorism, writes the Daily Record. “It’s not al-Qaida,” Tancredo said. “It’s the guy sitting in the White House.” And now, The Denver Post reports, Tancredo is falsely accusing President Barack Obama of using the phrase “bitter white people” in a recent speech.
That kind of language is what inspired the Post’s editorial board earlier this week to beg voters not to cast ballots for him: “The erratic and extreme musings of Tancredo are suitable for the loony talk radio circuit that has devoted countless hours to his ideas. But we question whether they’re appropriate for someone who wants to be Colorado’s next governor. And while we’ve disagreed with Tancredo’s rhetoric over the years, this election obviously is about much more than bombastic—or, dare we say, backwards?—statements.” The editorial is an unusual step for the Post, which already endorsed Democrat John Hickenlooper for governor. And with the polls showing a close race with Hick, Tancredo spokesman Cliff Dodge says, “we’ve got a horse race,” adding, “so much for [Tom’s] baggage.”
Should Tancredo succeed in his bid, Glenn Beck says he’ll consider making Colorado his home, notes Westword.
Vanessa Martinez co-wrote this post.