Bob Schaffer's Senior Advisors: Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff

Bob Schaffer, in attempting to bring the failed issue of immigration back to the table in his Senate race against Democrat Mark Udall, recently praised the Mariana Islands as some sort of viable immigration solution:

He pointed to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate that imports tens of thousands of foreign textile workers, as a successful model for a guest-worker program that could be adapted nationally.

....snip....

"I think members of Congress ought to be looking at that model and be considering it as a possible basis for a nationwide program."

One member of Congress who actually worked on that model was Tom DeLay, who defended the sweatshops on those Islands:

Frank Murkowski became furious at the abusive sweatshop conditions endured by workers, overwhelmingly immigrants, in the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, of which Saipan is the capital.

Because they were produced in a territory of the United States, garments traveled tariff-free and quota-free to the profitable U.S. market and were entitled to display the coveted "Made in the USA" label.

Among the manufacturers that had profited from the un-free labor market on the island were Tommy Hilfiger USA, Gap, Calvin Klein and Liz Claiborne.

....snip....

But one man primarily stopped the U.S. House from even considering that worker-reform bill: then-House Republican Whip Tom DeLay.

According to law firm records recently made public, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, paid millions to stop reform and keep the status quo, met personally at least two dozen times with DeLay on the subject in one two-year period. The DeLay staff was often in daily contact with Abramoff.

DeLay traveled with his family and staff over New Year's of 1997 on an Abramoff scholarship endowed by his client, the government of the territory, to the Marianas, where golf and snorkeling were enjoyed.

And who else traveled to the Marianas to investigate? Bob Schaffer. We know Bob enjoys the benefits of being a friend of Big Oil. They certainly love having Bob on their side. Can we trust this guy to work fairly on immigration problems when his prime example is an abusive, corruption-filled affair led by the two most notorious Republicans in recent scandal history?