Kerry Appears To Flip-Flop On Arizona Initiative Denying Illegal Aliens Services
The Washington Times reports that Sen. Kerry "said over the weekend he won't get involved in the fight on the Protect Arizona Now initiative to deny illegal aliens some social services in this state, although last year he called it 'both heartless and divisive.' Speaking to reporters from Arizona newspapers on his campaign train Sunday night, Mr. Kerry said states should be allowed to make such decisions. 'It's up to states to decide what the states want to do with respect to their own expenditures,' Mr. Kerry said, according to the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff." Polls "show the initiative, which would deny state and local social services to illegal immigrants and require proof of U.S. citizenship before voting, has the support of nearly three-fourths of Arizona voters." But Kerry "has argued against the initiative. Last August, he wrote a letter to the Tucson Citizen, signed as a U.S. senator and candidate for president, blasting the initiative. He said it resembled California's Proposition 187, which also sought to deny benefits to illegal immigrants, and which Mr. Kerry said was pushed by 'forces of hate and discrimination.'" Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade "denied the two positions are inconsistent. He said Mr. Kerry opposes the initiative, but doesn't think the president should interfere with states' rights on the matter."
Kerry Stops Campaign Train At Request Of Handmade Sign.
According to the AP, in Winslow, AZ, "supporters brought John Kerry's train to a halt with a homemade sign made of white bedsheets asking for just a few minutes of his time. The train should have slowly rolled through and allowed the Democratic presidential candidate just enough time to wave and thank supporters, but Kerry ordered it stopped when he saw the plea. Late for his next stop, a rally in Flagstaff, Ariz., Kerry apologized to the crowd. 'Somebody put up a sign, and it said 'Give us 10 minutes, just 10 minutes.' And another sign said 'Give us 8 minutes and we'll give you 8 years,' Kerry said. 'So just for an insurance policy, I gave them 15 or 20, and that's why we're late.'"
