In Mortal Danger, by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R, CO): on Principles & Values

Audacious agenda: limited government & individual freedom

I have always wanted to advance the agenda of limited government and enhanced individual freedom. I want to participate in the reintroduction of the concept that America is a unique place, not just a place we can reap the economic & political benefits afforded by the labors of those who lived before us. I want our borders to be secure and those who have violated them to be deprived of the benefits lawful citizens enjoy. I want immigrants seeking that citizenship to assimilate & sever their ties to their country of origin. I want to do what I can to defend the West in the clash of civilizations that threatens humanity.

The parts of my agenda that have generated the most trouble for me deal with the security of our borders and with my criticism of what I refer to as the “cult of multiculturalism.”

Label “lightning rod” suits me fine

There is a price to pay for standing up for what I believe rather than going along. My differences of opinion with my GOP colleagues & m willingness to voice them mean that I almost certainly will never be the chair of a major House committee. After Karl Rove told me to “never darken the door of the White House” because of my criticism of the president, I expected no calls to confer with him on immigration issues. If ever Congress does pass immigration reform, my name won’t be on it as a principal sponsor. During a debate with a colleague, he said I should resign from the party because my views were not the same as his or the president’s

We’ve lost 1950s selfless devotion to civic duty

Today, our schools and almost every social institution send a totally different message. Civic duty, for instance, is currently considered by too many office holders as an obligation to erase any vestige of pride in the symbols or the substance of the land of the free and home of the brave.

Terrorists have no identity crisis, while we do

The terrorists who seek to kill us know exactly who they are. They have no identity crisis. They know and believe with all their being the philosophy and religious underpinnings of their worldview. They are intent upon spreading it with word and deed, by violence, if necessary.

We must use our schools, churches, and government to reestablish an allegiance to the principles of Western civilization. Those principles are embodied in the Judeo-Christian ethic and whether we follow them or not will surely determine the fate of the nation.