Don't let immigration split GOP, official says

Jody Berger, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 5, 2006 at midnight

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COLORADO SPRINGS - Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman warned Republicans against letting immigration tear the party apart in a speech before the party's state chairmen at their annual meeting Thursday.

"Ronald Reagan practiced the politics of 'and,' " Mehlman said before a ballroom-full of GOP chairmen in Colorado Springs.

"I believe that we still can and still must practice the politics of 'and,' " Mehlman said. "We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants."

In welcoming the party chairs to the two-day meeting, Mehlman spoke exclusively about immigration. He said he wanted to speak to both sides of the debate.

"They are both right and they are both wrong," he said. "And no good will happen until (both sides) come together to discuss the issue, not politicize it."

In his 25-minute address, Mehlman raised issues of fairness to immigrants who came through legal channels and praised the cultural contributions of all immigrants. He argued for tighter border control and for holding employers accountable for hiring illegal immigrants.

Mehlman supported a guest worker program which, he said, would ensure that the U.S. can meet its economic demands.

Three days after national demonstrations about immigration, the topic of his speech was as telling as the location. Colorado is increasingly seen as a swing state where voters choose candidates from either party.

Democrats made big gains in 2004 when they seized control of both houses of the state legislature for the first time in decades.

"Colorado is a big targeted state," said Colorado GOP Chairman Bob Martinez. "Democrats smell blood in the water."

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