- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
During ESPN's coverage of the Paris Grand Prix event, they showed on screen a letter signed (typewritten, no signatures) by Dean and Lynn Mitchell, parents of U.S. ice dancer David Mitchell, addressed to Senator Hilary Clinton.
In the letter, they asked Sen. Clinton to block the legislation which would have sped up Tanith Belbin's citizenship process.
I can't find any link on ESPN's site about this story, nor anywhere else.
From what I can see on the TV screen, the letter reads in part (the emphasis is theirs, not mine):
Dear Senator Clinton
We are writing to you with urgency about a matter that is of extreme importance to us and involves legislation that Senator Carl Levin has introduced and plans to speak about. By supporting and passing this amendment you could quite possibly be denying an Olympic spot to one of your own constituents, our son.
...
<Long paragraph about David Mitchell's past results and his history of overcoming injuries. Relevance to the topic: unknown.>
They have worked very hard, and played by all the established rules for representing the US in international competitions. In our obviously personal opinion, no team where both are US born citizens should risk not getting an Olympic spot because the rules were bent or changed to help someone who is not currently a citizen.
...
Dean Mitchell, MD and Lynn Mitchell
I'm not sure what to make of it. Yes, they're parents who want their son to have his shot at glory, and politics is nothing new to skating. But it seems really cheap.
First, their letter completely ignores that fact that Levin's legislation is not designed to change the rules for citizenship, it's designed to fix an error in the original legislation -- the current rules -- so that the rules can be applied to people whose citizenship process began before the rules took effect, which happens to include Tanith. This fix would also affect the lives of many more people beyond a couple of ice dancers, so the act of blocking it solely for their son becomes even cheaper.
The U.S. can send 3 teams to Torino instead of 2. Why? Because of Belbin & Agosto. If their son gets that 3rd spot, will the Mitchells send B&A a dozen roses and a note which reads, "Thanks for the trip to Italy. Sorry about your spot. We'll send you a postcard. Talk to you soon?"
And then there's the attitude that a born citizen is somehow more important than an immigrant. No. A citizen of the United States of America is a citizen of the United States of America. Period. When Tanith gains her citizenship, the only difference between her and Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell wil be that Tanith will never be able to run for President (that rule is in the constitution).
Okay, end of rant. I'm just :banging:
In the letter, they asked Sen. Clinton to block the legislation which would have sped up Tanith Belbin's citizenship process.
I can't find any link on ESPN's site about this story, nor anywhere else.
From what I can see on the TV screen, the letter reads in part (the emphasis is theirs, not mine):
Dear Senator Clinton
We are writing to you with urgency about a matter that is of extreme importance to us and involves legislation that Senator Carl Levin has introduced and plans to speak about. By supporting and passing this amendment you could quite possibly be denying an Olympic spot to one of your own constituents, our son.
...
<Long paragraph about David Mitchell's past results and his history of overcoming injuries. Relevance to the topic: unknown.>
They have worked very hard, and played by all the established rules for representing the US in international competitions. In our obviously personal opinion, no team where both are US born citizens should risk not getting an Olympic spot because the rules were bent or changed to help someone who is not currently a citizen.
...
Dean Mitchell, MD and Lynn Mitchell
I'm not sure what to make of it. Yes, they're parents who want their son to have his shot at glory, and politics is nothing new to skating. But it seems really cheap.
First, their letter completely ignores that fact that Levin's legislation is not designed to change the rules for citizenship, it's designed to fix an error in the original legislation -- the current rules -- so that the rules can be applied to people whose citizenship process began before the rules took effect, which happens to include Tanith. This fix would also affect the lives of many more people beyond a couple of ice dancers, so the act of blocking it solely for their son becomes even cheaper.
The U.S. can send 3 teams to Torino instead of 2. Why? Because of Belbin & Agosto. If their son gets that 3rd spot, will the Mitchells send B&A a dozen roses and a note which reads, "Thanks for the trip to Italy. Sorry about your spot. We'll send you a postcard. Talk to you soon?"
And then there's the attitude that a born citizen is somehow more important than an immigrant. No. A citizen of the United States of America is a citizen of the United States of America. Period. When Tanith gains her citizenship, the only difference between her and Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell wil be that Tanith will never be able to run for President (that rule is in the constitution).
Okay, end of rant. I'm just :banging: