Illegals: ACCEPTED
In 2001, Betty voted
to grant in-state tuition (which is lower than that granted to college kids from out-of-state) to the children of illegal
immigrants. The kids whose parents live in the country illegally had to meet several requirements, including
attending at least 3 years of high school in Texas (most attend high schools funded by taxpayers) and promising to become
a citizen.
Betty has since received criticism for her vote and has tried to explain it away by saying that
the vote occurred before 9/11, before anyone knew this could be a problem.
Betty's recent quote in the Kaufman
Herald: "It was simply not high on the list of priorities at the time. It was before 9/11 and we just weren't
tuned into the issue of illegal immigration. It was an education bill and that is what it was centered around was to
get as many Texas high graduates into college and graduate."
Apparently, Betty's getting "as
many Texas high graduates into college" didn't include soldiers returning from Iraq.
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Soldiers: DENIED
In August 2005, a decorated Marine
who had just returned from a second tour in Iraq applied to attend a Texas community college so he could learn to be a paramedic.
He had been born in Texas to parents who are legal residents, and he possessed a valid Texas driver's license, but that
wasn't good enough. Corporal Carl Basham was denied in-state tuition by a publicly funded college
in Texas.
The reason? State law says that an individual must be
a resident for twelve consecutive months prior to qualifying for lower in-state tuition. Basham had spend most
of that time serving in Iraq, and therefore he did not qualify for the lower tuition rate. Instead of paying $500
for the semester, Basham was required to pay $2,600. A school administrator was quoted saying, ""We don't
make the laws. The legislature makes the laws. We only adhere to them" (News 8 Austin, 8/18/05).
The news
of this injustice went national--citizens all over the country were incensed that a soldier would be treated with such
disrespect; however, the legislative session had already passed, and there was no time to change the law to benefit this brave
young man and many others like him. Basham reached out to statewide elected officials (Betty is not one of them), and
they were able to help him get the rules relaxed, but the law remained the same.
A year-and-a-half later, the 2007
legislative convened, and the law was not changed: the children of illegal immigrants qualify for in-state
tuition (with the aforementioned requirements); soldiers just returning from the war must wait twelve months before they are
eligible.
Basham's response: "Born in Texas, raised in Texas, gonna
die in Texas, but I might not be a resident" (News 8 Austin, 8/18/05).
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They Fought for Us--Why Isn't Betty Fighting for Them?
Folks, this is a travesty. Betty blithely waves her hand and says, "But that was before 9/11,"
when asked about her vote on lower tuition for illegal immigrants. Meanwhile--after 9/11--brave warriors who wanted
to better themselves were told to wait 12 months, and Betty never changed the law. What in the world
does she think we expect of our representative? Somebody needs to stand up and fight for these men and women who fought
for us, and Betty acts as if it's no big deal.
This election is important, because it gives us a definitive
choice: we can settle for the embarrassment Betty has settled for, or we can put in office someone who will fight with
all his might to steer state government in the direction it should go--particularly when it comes to how we treat our soldiers.
Again in interests of full disclosure, I must mention that my brother was called to serve in Iraq as a soldier,
and once his tours were over, he has returned as a private citizen to serve as a fireman on one of the bases. While
my brother's service makes me passionate about this issue, I don't think it is a stretch to believe that, as Republican
voters who care about our soldiers, you are equally as interested.
If we were to rely on Betty's
account of her time in Austin, we would never know any of this had happened. That's why we can't depend on her,
and that's why we need to remove her from a position that affects so many people.
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