Savannah Morning News - Vernon Jones Wants to Keep His Name and the Word 'Amnesty' From Appearing in the Same Sentence

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Savannah Morning News - Vernon Jones Wants to Keep His Name and the Word 'Amnesty' From Appearing in the Same Sentence

ernon Jones is trying to outflank U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss on immigration.

Jones, chief executive officer of DeKalb County, is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against the Georgia Republican in November.

Chambliss leads all comers in the polls and is sitting on millions of dollars in campaign cash.

But the senator, due in Savannah today on his re-election announcement tour, has at least one potential soft spot - the immigration issue.

Eager to help Georgia farmers keep their access to foreign workers, Chambliss helped lead last year's ill-fated effort to broker a deal in the Senate.

In the end, he voted against the resulting bill, saying it did too little to secure the border.

Chambliss took flak from conservatives for even considering a measure they said would have granted amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Last year, another Democratic candidate, Dale Cardwell, saw an opening and hinted that he'd be tougher than Chambliss on illegal immigrants.

Now Jones, who spoke to the Savannah Morning News editorial board last week, sees an opening, too.

"Our senator was lax on that," Jones said. "He was for amnesty."

Describing his own position, Jones uses the word "comprehensive." That's the term used by backers of last year's failed proposal to describe their position.

They say it's wrong - or at least impractical - to attempt to round up and deport the 12 million-plus illegals across the nation. So, some way has to be found to let them stay legally, or so the argument goes.

But Jones doesn't want to be comprehensive all at once; he wants "to do it in stages."

Stage One?

Secure the borders. Enforce the law. Deport illegals nabbed on other charges.

Then, at some point, figure out what to do with the others - but in no case let them get ahead of legal immigrants on that much-debated "path toward citizenship."

Sounds sorta like Chambliss on Immigration, 2.0.

"I don't see any real difference," said Emory University political science professor Merle Black.

The conventional wisdom is that Democrats won't nominate folks who back crackdowns on illegal immigrants.

But this is Georgia, where polls suggest that people in both parties have little sympathy for them.

That's true even of Georgia Democrats' increasingly black voter base, in part because at least some blacks feel they're competing with illegals for jobs.

Like Black, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock isn't sure Jones can hurt Chambliss on the issue.

But at the very least, Bullock said, "he wants to make sure that his name and amnesty are never used in the same sentence."

In case you wondered, Jones wasn't in town just to talk to folks at the newspaper.

He spent much of the St. Patrick's Day weekend introducing himself in Savannah.

It made sense.

Although Jones is black, and so are most Savannahians, he is little known outside the Atlanta area.

An airplane with a banner touting Jones flew near the parade route.

A few signs sprouted up around town, and a supporter stood at DeRenne Avenue and Abercorn Street waving a placard at rush-hour traffic.

The candidate also spoke at a local event sponsored by state Rep. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah.

Not a bad start.

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