Free Republic

Doug Bandow: If only George W.Bush were a real conservative January 13, 2004 PRESIDENT George W. Bush is widely seen as a right-wing conservative, an extremist even by American standards. But in most areas he could be a social democrat, replacing a limited, constitutional republic with an ever-expanding state. The Bush administration is widely reviled abroad. Equally strong are the criticisms at home. For instance, writes Jonathan Chait of The New Republic: "It's not much of an exaggeration to say that Bush would like to roll back the federal government to something resembling its pre-New Deal state." James Traub charges...

Will President Bush's proposal to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens affect your vote in the 2004 presidential election? "Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government." ---George Washington, 1793

Like It or Not, Bush Leads January 8, 2004 Listen to Rush...(…discuss the substance and politics of the immigration disagreement) BEGIN TRANSCRIPT 12:10 PM ET RUSH: What's still on everybody's mind out there is this immigration business. And we've got some audio sound bites on this and some stories. I want to start out though with a little ditty, if you will, how should I phrase this? I guess I could call it leadership. And I do to want contrast some things going on here, President Bush with recent Democratic presidents, or a recent Democrat president, in the current...

<p>The debate over President Bush's new immigration reform has so far been mainly about election-year politics. But what we believe most commends it is that it recognizes the world as it exists.</p> <p>Like it or not, the U.S. is part of an integrating regional and world economy in which the movement of people across borders is inevitable. Despite nearly 20 years of efforts to "crack down on the borders," the immigrants keep coming--an estimated eight million without legal U.S. documents today. As long as the per capita income differential between the U.S. (nearly $32,000) and Mexico ($3,679) continues to be so wide, we can't stop immigrants short of means that will violate our traditions, our conscience, and our national interest.</p>

The Bush proposal Linda Chavez January 8, 2004 President Bush announced a sweeping new immigration reform proposal this week that could become a hot-button issue in the November election. For months, insiders have hinted that the president would propose a new guest worker program aimed at allowing more foreign workers into the country on a temporary basis. Widely favored by the American business community, a guest worker program would allow employers to fill jobs in industries that routinely experience shortages of workers willing to do the often difficult, dangerous jobs Americans shun -- at least at wages that allow employers...

Yesterday, President Bush proposed a far-reaching, innovative and compassionate revision of American immigration policy. It instantly drew predictable howls from those who fear the economic and social costs of immigration, and inadvertently comic howls from Democrats and moans of disappointment from liberal Hispanics who reacted with barely concealed rage at the prospect of Bush making profound inroads into the 2004 Latino vote. The specifics and their efficacy (or lack thereof) will be debated over the coming weeks by policymakers and advocates on both sides of the issue. But there's no question that, by planting his flag firmly in the pro-immigration...

Some comments from the largest powerhouse station on the west coast. Playing tapes, Loretta Sanchez was gushing over this plan stating she loves the plan. John and Ken asked some basic questions: How is an employer going to prove that he offered a job to an American citizen first? How is the federal government going to check every single employer? How could this ever work? Who is going to send them home? It's not *automatic* amnesty, but incremental amnesty. This is exactly what this is, slow motion amnesty. They both stated this is going to be a nightmare on top...

Vanity: An Open Message to the Republican Party Cheerleaders on this Forum...