The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Political Action Committee has announced its support of Aubrey Dunn in the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary.
“We generally get involved only with campaigns where there is a clear-cut difference on the issues and a real opportunity to win,” said Carmen Mercer, honorary chair of the PAC, in a recent e-mail to Minuteman supporters. “The question is: Will the GOP nominate a pro-amnesty candidate in the primary, or will they support a pro-American sovereignty, pro-national security, anti-amnesty conservative like Aubrey Dunn?”
“New Mexicans simply can’t afford to lose this congressional seat to a candidate who takes his marching orders from
The “pro-amnesty” candidate Mercer is referring to is Republican Ed Tinsley, a former president of the National Restaurant Association, which backed a controversial immigration reform bill last year that moderates supported but the Minutemen and other groups condemned as providing amnesty. Their lobbying efforts killed the proposal.
“This election is a choice between a candidate who will support amnesty in
Update, 8:10 p.m.
Tinsley spokesman Christopher Maloney pointed out that Tinsley was not president of the restaurant group when it lobbied for the immigration bill in question.
“Ed Tinsley has never supported amnesty, period. Our nation’s broken immigration system is an epidemic that will not be solved with empty rhetoric, outsourced endorsements or disingenuous attacks,” Maloney said. “Ed Tinsley has campaigned throughout the district talking about the substantive ideas and solutions that are needed to stop illegal immigration. Mr. Tinsley believes we should complete the border fence in high-traffic areas, continue to fund a larger, well-trained Border Patrol and utilize the latest technology for enhanced surveillance and monitoring.”