Tancredo to visit Miami -- or is it 'Third World'?

[peejay 327]

Tancredo to visit Miami -- or is it 'Third World'?

The Colorado congressman who irked Gov. Jeb Bush by likening Miami to the Third World is braving a visit to the city.

Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo is scheduled to speak at the Rotary Club of Miami's weekly meeting Thursday at the Rusty Pelican restaurant on Virginia Key.

A spokesman for Tancredo said the club extended the invitation to the controversial congressman, telling him that many people agreed with his views.

''They wanted a speaker that would go out there and tell it like it is,'' said spokesman Carlos Espinosa.

The title of Tancredo's talk is "Renewing America: The Need for Assimilation.''

Tancredo last month ruffled local feathers when he pointed to Miami as an example of what could happen to the United States if immigration policies are not tightened and said of the city in an interview with a conservative online news site, ``You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country.''

Bush, who adopted Miami as his hometown more than two decades ago, called Tancredo's remarks "naive.''

Tancredo ran for office with the intent of spreading his belief that uncontrolled immigration and what he calls a ''cult of multiculturalism'' poses a threat to the United States.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16218294.htm

Here is someone that is brave enough in America to say what Tony Blair said in Britain!

[Sofiyya 1,687]

His visit to Miami has been canceled due to threats against him and the Rotary Club.

[peejay 327]

His visit to Miami has been canceled due to threats against him and the Rotary Club.

It sounds like America really is becoming more Third Worldish. Freedom of speech isn't what it used to be...now it is more "tell me what I want to hear" or else! What a dirty shame. I think Jeb Bush is the one that is "naive".

Edited December 15, 2006 by peejay

[pedroh 21]

why is miami a 3rd world country like city? because there's a lot of hispanics? hispanics = poor dirty place? that's what he's saying

[peejay 327]

why is miami a 3rd world country like city? because there's a lot of hispanics? hispanics = poor dirty place? that's what he's saying

Maybe if he was allowed to speak...we could all hear what he is trying to say instead of conjecture. Or is America a Banana Republic where thugs decide who does or doesn't get to speak?

[peejay 327]

Tancredo's Miami speech canceled

Restaurant cites threats, worker gripes

By Anne C. Mulkern

Denver Post Staff Writer

Miami -- U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's planned speech Thursday in Miami -- a city he compared to a "Third World country" -- has been canceled amid threats of violence and complaints from workers at a restaurant where he was to appear.

Tancredo, R-Littleton, canceled his flight to Miami this afternoon after his aides and a local chapter of the Rotary Club, which had arranged the speech, failed to find an alternative location.

Tancredo had planned to speak to the club, which meets at the Rusty Pelican restaurant in Key Biscayne, Fla. But managers at the eatery decided the planned appearance by Tancredo would cause pandemonium.

"Short of Fidel Castro coming to the restaurant tomorrow, there's not a more controversial person who could come here,'' said Rusty Palmer, regional manager for Specialty Restaurants, which owns Rusty Pelican. You call Miami a Third World country (and) word gets around pretty quick.''

Tancredo last month spurred outrage in Miami when he said it resembled a "Third World country.'' He pointed to what he said was high crime rates, low high school graduation rates, and a lack of people able to speak English.

A threat against Tancredo reportedly was called in to The Miami Herald newspaper, and police believe it was credible, Palmer and Tancredo spokesman Carlos Espinosa said.

Additionally, other threats were called in to police, said Espinosa, including one from a person who said "they were going to put a bullet in Tom's head.''

Rusty Pelican employees told management today that they were not comfortable working at the event if Tancredo were there, Palmer said. The restaurant's staff is about 80 percent Latino, as is the clientele, he said.

The restaurant also received "more than 100'' calls from citizens criticizing the facility for allowing the speech, Palmer said.

After Tancredo's comment that Miami resembles a Third World country, Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican congresswoman from the area and a top hotel invited Tancredo to visit and discover the area's attributes.

"The governor and everyone who invited Tom to witness Miami's greatness probably spoke too soon,'' Espinosa said. They have a perception of Miami that doesn't jive with reality.

"What says Third World Country more than a bomb threat at a speech by a politician?'' Espinosa said.

http://test.denverpost.com/ci_4832611

[pedroh 21]

Tancredo got owned

[peejay 327]

Tancredo got owned

Getting "owned" by a Banana Republic ain't a disgrace. It's a badge of honor!