In the on going immigration debate, it appears immigration has become a hot button issue between Republican candidate Rick O’Donnell and Democrat candidate Ed Perlmutter in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, who are running to fill a seat being vacated by Rep Bob Beauprez, a Republican seeking the governorship.

Two years ago, while serving as executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Rick O’Donnell wrote an article proposing that every male forgo their 2nd semester of their senior year to perform compulsory service by guarding the border with Mexico or securing the ports for Homeland Security.

The article in question appeared in the January 2004 issue of Denver Post, entitled “A new rite of passage.” In the article, O’Donnell proposed that after the first semester of 12th grade, “all new men in America do six months of service.” According to O’Donnell, by eliminating the last semester of senior year for men, the money saved would go towards forming a national service corp. that would help establish “a society-wide rite of passage into manhood”. (A copy of the article can be found on Ed Perlmutter web site.)

I propose that after the first semester of 12th grade, all young men in America do six months of service. For those who drop out of high school, they replace those lost years with additional service….

Young men could have a choice of where to serve, such as homeland security, armed forces or community service. After a basic-training type orientation, they would be given various duties in sore need of attention: securing our border with Mexico; thinning our national forests to reduce fire risk; providing homeland security at ports and other vulnerable locations.

…They would undergo a society-wide rite of passage into manhood, one that provides discipline, positive role models, fraternity, physical effort and a sense of adventure and risk.

After finding out the two year old article, in an August 29 News Release, Ed Perlmutter quickly denounced O’Donnell’s “Immigration Plan” and accused him of formulating a “bizarre and dangerous plan.”

In what can only be described as a bizarre and dangerous plan in 2004, O’Donnell pushed for a “new rite of passage” that would make it mandatory for all male high school students, many only 17 years old, to forgo their last semester of school, end their college preparation, leave their families and do active duty “securing our border with Mexico.”

O’Donnell quickly fired back with his only press release accussing Perlmutter of misrepresenting the article as a “reckless distortion of the truth.” O’Donnell standing by his plan, defensed his proposal by suggesting his idea came from the Democrats.

As evidence of his bi-partisan, reform-minded approach to governance, Rick O’Donnell suggested a possible solution in his 2004 article based on ideas from Democrats. From Bill and Hillary Clinton to Senator Evan Bayh, since the 1990’s many new Democrats have advocated national community service. In fact, the Democratic Leadership Council strongly advocates something very similar to what Rick proposed in his article…

This is a clear indication O’Donnell is trying to bring back the good ole boys-club mentality by excluding women from his “national service corps for men.” One does have to wonder if O’Donnell places very little value on single mothers and their parenting skills or women in general when it comes to raising “boys successfully [to] become men of character.”

However, it is hard to see how patrolling the border or creating an all male national community service program intended to create “society-wide rite of passage into manhood” will ease the social ills that plague this nation such as poverty, homelessness, unemployment, lack of health care, lack of aid to un-wed mothers and the elderly – the main reason President Lyndon B. Johnson created the national community service programs in the first place.

Via / Migra Matters – Progressive Immigration Reform
Image Via / Denver Post