Carcieri blasts illegal immigrants to national press
5:54 PM Thu, Oct 01, 2009 | Permalink
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Governor Carcieri was a key player in dueling conference calls with national media outlets Thursday, serving as the Republican National Committee's latest voice in its fight against Congressional Democrats' push to overhaul the nation's health-care system. The Rhode Island governor spoke for just under 20 minutes, warning reporters from across the country that the Ocean State cannot afford federal legislation that would expand coverage for an estimated 50,000 low-income men and women through the Medicaid program. "These would be huge burdens on us as a state," he said of the expansion and proposals that would block cuts for the existing 180,000 Rhode Islanders who receive health coverage from Medicaid. "We cannot take on any additional cost right now. We're having a devil of a time trying to manage our way through the costs we have right now." When asked about a new study that predicts the number of Rhode Island's uninsured would climb by at least 10 percent over the next decade to 138,000, Carcieri largely attributed the high number to illegal immigrants. "A large portion of the uninsured, it's true nationally, but probably even a greater proportion in our case, are illegal immigrants, they're immigrants, OK, many of whom are illegal," he said, noting that another major group is young adults who decide against coverage. "From an actuarial standpoint, that's not a high-risk group anyway." Carcieri's comments came less than four hours after the Democratic National Committee conducted a similar conference call with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat who supports the health-care overhaul being considered by Congress. "The fact of the matter is that the status quo is as unaffordable in Maryland as it is in Rhode Island," O'Malley said. "We're at a point in our nation, where we need our federal government to step up and take this once in a generation opportunity and actually fix this. No state can go at it alone." The O'Malley call was specifically intended to "pre-but" Carcieri's conference call with the RNC, according to Democratic National Committee spokesman Michael Czin. 
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The governor has had some great ideas. It is just too bad he doesn't have any of the skills it takes to make things happen. This goes for his ideas on illegals and more importantly his total humilation at the hands of the state workers union. Nice try Don but you are totaly ineffective. Thanks for nothin.
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THANK YOU MR. GOVERNOR FOR EXPRESSING MOST OF RI.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT MOST OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S VIEW ON ILLEGALS AND PLEASE
GET BACK THOSE JOBS THAT US LEGALS ARE LED TO BELIEVE WE DO NOT WANT!!!
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I'm very proud of our Governor and will be sorry to see him leave. I pray our next one has as much integrity as he.
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RIGHT ON DON!
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Gov Carcieri is right, the state is having enough problems now with providing social services to illegals, the school systems are overwhelmed, and emergency rooms overfilled. Hell, we have to hire a interpreter to assist illegals to apply for food stamps. Rhode Island needs to put out the sign, Illegals are not welcome and enforce the laws and go after employers who continue to hire them, to include Govt agencies that refuse to use E-Verify. I can't afford to pay more taxes, enough is enough.
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What Carcieri forgets to mention is that his incompetence as governor multiplied by his hatred against immigrants has a lot to do with the sad situation found on this state. In his view, once undocumented immigrants were gone there would be plenty of jobs for natives. Immigrants left by a rate of 8 percent according to the census since Carcieri started his moral war against the so called criminals, I would make that more like an EXODUS of 35 to 40 percent. And the jobs are gone as well. You wonder why state taxes are 300 million dollars lower, wonder no more, take a drive down warren avenue in East Providence, once a street booming with businesses, stage of HBO series, home to hundreds and hundreds of immigrants, now empty, stores closed, empty apartments, ask the landlord wath happened to all the tenants and more important ask the city hall what happened to all the taxes they used to collect from everything and everybody. More important ask those 13 policemen who just got fired, the firemen who will be let go soon. Ask then who they want to see, the immigrants back or Carcieri happy.
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Of course the state can't afford it. It's obvious
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Hooraa!!! for you Gov. Carcieri I'm glad to hear at least one politician has the intestinal fortitude to tell it like it is. Its time we started taking care of legal residence not the Worlds problems let south America straiten out its own mess.
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Maybe there is a lack of health coverage in RI because there are NO JOBS!
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They already receive medicaid, food stamps and section 8 housing. Why would they be refused other things?
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I understand his point about the costs of expanding Medicaid. So why not push for a Federally-funded Public Option? Doesn't this take the burden off the State?
Close to 60% of Americans want a Public Option. I'm willing to bet a larger proportion of Rhode islanders want a Public Option. Why not show some political courage?
(Yawn....it's early, I'll think of something more creative later...)
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NO FEDERAL BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!
Good job GOV! Make it clear....if you are illegally here...you get NOTHING!!!!
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As of late I have blasted this Governor and lost confidence in him in many, many ways....However on this topic/issue I give him an "A-Plus"!!!!
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I have an idea. Take all of the money that La Raza and all of the other illegal alien support groups have and instead of using it to buy votes in congress by lobbying, open up illegal-only hospitals in sanctuary cities like Providence. They want them here, than they can pay. Also, when they come in for health services, find out their country of origin and deduct the cost for the services they require from the motherland's yearly foreign aid package. I bet that gets the feeder countries beefing up their borders pretty quickly. It's not brain surgery.
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I don't believe Gov. Carcieri hates immigrants, he hates ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Immigrants are LEGAL newcomers to a nation; illegal aliens are TRESPASSERS!
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What happened to that illegal immigration control order?! We need to get these illegals out of Rhode Island. They are running around undocumented and contributing to the high crime rate. Providence and Cranston are terrible places to live because of these people. There are so many clusters of areas where people don't speak English and you KNOW that several of them are illegal. If the Governor had any intention to do the right thing, he would send the cops in and get these illegals out of here.
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