05/06/2011
The motion at the Intelligence Squared Debate was "Don’t Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses … "
For the motion: Kris Kobach (from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo) and Tom Tancredo; against: Tamar Jacoby and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.
I've not heard an original or even factually true immigration enthusiast argument since we first overturned the Julian Simon snake oil consensus nearly twenty years ago. Jacoby and Castro were certainly no exception, but the interesting thing here was that the audience agreed — Tancredo and Kobach were declared the winners by Intelligence Squared’s sophisticated voting system because they changed more minds, mostly by converting Undecideds. This was quite an achievement in the heart of the dragon — New York City — and left the always-vocal enthusiast contingent visibly frustrated.
Tancredo is effective — too nice a debater for my carnivorous taste, but his sweet personality probably makes him more effective at converting Undecideds. Kobach, whom I'd not seen before, is a real force.
One of them should run for President!
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