Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,

Don't fence me in

Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,

Don't fence me in

— Lyrics by Cole Porter made famous by Bing Crosby

B ing Crosby and Cole Porter are no longer with us — and that might be a good thing.

If they were still alive they might find themselves dead in the sights of Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, a politician who has waged the only anti-immigrant campaign that could steal the thunder from CNN's Lou Dobbs.

When one listens to some of Tancredo's proclamations, it becomes easier to understand Sen. Barack Obama's observations about bitterness.

Several weeks ago Tancredo, whose presidential campaign based on anti-immigrant vitriol never gained steam, was in the headlines because he decided Pope Benedict XVI could not possibly be expressing his faith-based views when he came to America and said, "I want to encourage you and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrows and trials and to help them flourish in their new home."

Citing a prior report that the Catholic Church had been losing many American-born members but was gaining many new immigrant members, Tancredo responded to the pope's call for benevolence saying, "This isn't preaching; it is faith-based marketing."

For a politician so focused on shutting down our nation's southern border to illegal immigration, Tancredo certainly seems to recognize few boundaries when it comes to civility and tact.

As if to prove that observation, the bitter lawmaker tried to trump even his own callousness this week when visiting Brownsville, down in the region where his beloved border fence would have to end when it reaches the sea.

Tancredo was not warmly received in Brownsville. He was actually greeted with boos and hisses when he contradicted some Texans' views that a border fence as envisioned by Tancredo and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff would be a travesty for people living in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Of course, the rude behavior might have started with Tancredo, who at one point dismissively described a local woman's objections as a "multiculturalist attitude toward borders."

Yes, congressman, there are many people in our state with multicultural attitudes toward borders and a host of other issues. That may well be because our state has, since its inception, been blessed with a multicultural population.

When people in the crowd at the Brownsville hearing jeered Tancredo's rejoinder, he added, "I suggest that you build this fence around the northern part of your city."

People in Brownsville might want to adapt Porter's lyrics to: "Don't fence us out . . ."

All we know is that Tancredo and leaders of his ilk are doing little to really advance the kind of changes that could help our nation comprehensively address the issue of illegal immigration. Their brand of vitriol and their unwillingness to consider the views of people who disagree with them have resulted in a long, acrimonious stand off that ultimately allows the problem to not only continue, but to grow.

First he tells the pope to keep his nose out of our business and now he tells Americans to keep their nose out of our business. He doesn't seem to understand that Americans who disagree with him are still "us."