Press Releases fly over Immigration Debate

The Inbox was busy Thursday afternoon as campaigns for Claire McCaskill and Jim Talent as well as their respective parties unleashed a barrage of press releases related to immigration.

Rich Chrismer with Talent for Senate struck first:
McCaskill is trying very hard to agree with Senator Talent, but Senator Talent does not agree with McCaskill’s view that we should prioritize legalization for immigrants who are in the U.S. unlawfully. Senator Talent opposes amnesty and he supports a border security fence.

Paul Sloca from the Missouri Republican Party fired next:
Claire McCaskill’s positions blatantly ignore the national security issues at stake and run contrary to the feelings of a majority of Missourians on the issue of illegal immigration.

Rather than headline their press release with their own candidate's plan, the McCaskill campaign sent us an e-mail with this subject line:

Talent Supports Amnesty for Illegal Employers, Talent Is Their #1 Senator To Fund in 2006

The release goes on to outline McCaskill's plan to increase penalties for employers caught hiring illegal workers. It also details contributions Talent has received from companies like Tyson, Cargill and Conagra.

A quick search of the FEC website finds the Tyson PAC gave money in this and in previous election cycles to Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, Roy Blunt, Tom Delay, President Bush, and a whole host of other candidates. Lest we overlook that Tyson also gave $5,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in March, a group which has given tens of thousands of dollars to the McCaskill campaign.