And I'm playing fast and loose with the topic association here, other than Corey Stewart's name is synonymous with the immigration issue (I'm being kind).

Why not pass federal legislation that says to the illegals -- register with the government, pay taxes on your income, and for the benefit of staying here illegally pay DOUBLE Social Security taxes, and after x years (assuming no felony convictions) you become a citizen?

We can't deport them (nor do I want to) -- but this way we can help bolster the Social Security fund.

(This is a spur of the moment idea -- so I have no other details.)

I almost like your idea.  I'm o.k. with selling amnesty in this way, but I wouldn't require doubling the Social Security taxes for two reasons:

1) I don't think it's fair; and,

2) We don't need to, because it's only the pro-privatization crowd that keeps pushing the Social Security system in in trouble meme.

Health care, primarily Medicare, but also Medicaid, is the real long-term problem.  And, on health care, beware of calls for "health care for all;" that's code for retaining the employer-based system that the private health care industry wants.  The best plan is "single payer," or "Medicare for all."  Unfortunately, we're a long way from sensibly addressing real problems and not being distracted by phony ones.  Even Barack Obama is talking about "solving" Social Security, and even the AFL is supporting the employer-based health insurance reform that's being pushed by Illinois' Democratic Governor.

I agree with you.  I would like to see any immigration plan not penalize illegals to the extent that they would face an uphill battle to join mainstream America.  In fact I have not liked the idea of illegals paying monetary penalties.  I'd rather they invested their hard earned money buying the American dream, e.g., buying homes. I want them to succeed. I think the right approach has to have a real reward attached to it, because I think rewards produce the best end results.  Pragmatically, though, to appease anti groups, there probably should be something in an overall plan that "sells" and I thought something like extra SS contributions would be one such selling point.  I'm happy to have a very low cost selling point with big symbolic value.

Agreed -- exploding health care costs are going to be more and more of an issue especially as the baby boomers (me included) get to the stage where expensive care is needed.

As a personal aside, I know a fair number of immigrants from Mexico and Central America, mostly legal.  There is no more upstanding group.  They're very family oriented, hard working, etc.  But every new group of arrivals to the U.S. seems to go through this period where the xenophobes make noise.  I know, because my grandparents were once a disfavored group.

I don't think Stewart's immigration demagoguery would go down as well in Fairfax as it apparently has in Prince William. Connaughton is a conservative, but he's not dogmatic about it, so he would be attractive to swing voters. (Had he won the Lt. Governor nomination in 2005, I think he would have won in a landslide.)

He knows he has no hope of ever winning Fairfax in a congressional election.  Plus, he has his mind on Richmond.  He'll use 2008 to keep his name on the front page and make a run for Lt. Gov.  In the unlikely event that he might win, he'll figure he's on a roll to move into the Governor's Mansion four years later.  If not, he won't have given up his position as Chairman (unfortunately) so he won't think he's lost much.