HB 474 - in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Fergus "The Fringe" Cullen believes it's a "choice" - Granite Grok

HB 474 – in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Fergus “The Fringe” Cullen believes it’s a “choice”

You see, this former NH GOP Chair and now political mercenary is trying to push HB 474, a Democrat sponsored bill that would have NH Citizens pick up the slack by offering in-state tuition to the kids of illegal aliens.  He calls his group “Americans for Choice” – like, there is a choice anywhere in this process for taxpayers?

He decided to harangue Republican legislators – the normal rent-seeking process of a special interest group that takes the easy way of “persuade politicians to open the purse strings”.  Like any good Democrat, look to Government FIRST to solve your problem, eh Fergus?  But of course – it’s too HARD to do it the right way – form a group and go beg for money from individuals.  Knocking on all those doors in your community to ask your neighbors to reach into their pockets to give to you to individually hand out scholarships to these kids?

Naw, too simple.  I, of course, had a response to his pitch to pols instead of personally pressing the flesh: 

Hey, Fergus The Fringe!  What’s the “equity” in taking additional taxes from me, to pay that extra monies that you say is “equitable” to kids that aren’t supposed to be here?  Where is the equity for my two COMBAT VET sons that fought in COMBAT zones to have to pay more than illegal aliens if they wanted to go to school in another state?

And where is the equity for Americans parents who have to pay for your notion of equity because the parents of those illegal aliens succeeded in their mission: getting someone else to pay for their kids’ education?

That is not equity; that’s not even kindness – that’s theft by taking simply because you persuade a bunch of politicians to extract it from us.  There is no notion of charity in your supposition, this is not kindness.  Charity and kindness are reflections of the individual who gives willingly out of their own pocket – and not a Collective spending involuntary made by law.

Here’s his email – notice the use of the Politically Correct “undocumented students” instead of the legally correct “illegal aliens”?  We oft on the Right say we are the Party of Reason (all usage of “the Stupid Party” aside), of the Rule of Law while the Democrats love the “emote” or “the feeling”; Fergus is using more of the latter than the former. Tuition Equity?  I see no equity at all – just the use of a leftist buzzword.

On Jan 19, 2014 7:17 PM, “Fergus Cullen” <fergus@americans-by-choice.org> wrote:

As you consider HB 474, the tuition equity bill which I encourage you to support, I thought you might be interested in the following:

  • Seventeen states allow tuition equity, charging undocumented students the same price to attend in-state colleges as other in-state students pay. Among them are Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, and Nebraska – deep red states.
  • Last month Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation making New Jersey the most recent state allowing tuition equity at state colleges. “The fact is that the taxpayers of this state have made an enormous investment in these young people,” Christie said. “The question is: Do we want to maximize our investment through giving them nothing more than an opportunity?”

Here’s a New Jersey Star Ledger story on Christie signing the law (Jan 7, 2014): http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/chris_christie_trumpets_signing_of_dream_act_in_union_city.html

  • Florida appears likely to be one of the next:

Florida Legislature may back in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants (Jan 18, 2014): http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/18/3879449/florida-legislature-may-back-in.html

“I know this issue brings strong opinions, particularly in my party,” [Republican Speaker of the FL House Will] Weatherford told the Herald/Times. “But I think it’s right. It’s got my support.”

“The federal government requires us to educate all children in the state of Florida, regardless of their immigration status,” he said. “But when some of those children get to college, we pretend they are no longer Floridians.”

Let’s be clear here – technically and legally, they are not “Floridians”.  Again, this is the result of parents willing to break our laws for their own purposes – and we should reward that crass breaking of the Rule of Law?  But those trying to mainstream and normalize these “Dreamers” only talk about the kids – and never place the blame and the responsibility on the parents.  In reality, by concentrating on the kids and “hiding” the actions of the parents, we again see those of some import (hey, I have to give him at least some kind of bone) willing to brush the notion of society demanding responsibility for one’s actions.  What does that tell the parents, and the future parents to come that see no downside to their illegality?

We already make big investments in these students who attend New Hampshire high schools, too. They are achievers, kids who have worked hard and done well enough academically to get accepted to our colleges. We have every reason to expect that they will contribute as much to New Hampshire’s future economy as we expect other students at UNH and other state schools will. We should treat them all the same and give these kids the same opportunity as other NH kids.

Respectfully,

Fergus Cullen
Founder, Americans By Choice
152 Boxwood Ln
Dover, NH 03820
fergus@americans-by-choice.org
603-520-5450

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