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Here is video of former President George W. Bush today in a speech he gave at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, admitting that he went "against" his "free market instincts" when he decided to move forward with the Wall Street Bailouts in the Fall of 2008. But Bush warned: "History shows that the greater threat to prosperity is not too little government involvement, but too much."That's exactly right. He should have stuck to his principles and instincts. Obama is sticking to his principles and instincts in trying to ratchet up government involvement in everything to the greatest extent possible. Bush...

If vindication means anything its name is spelled George Bush. As former U.S. president George W. Bush spoke to a Saskatoon audience, I stood in the wings, sneaking a peek through the curtains at the spectators beyond the footlights. The crowd was friendly to be sure. But more than that, the relationship was like a musical virtuoso carrying the audience through every nuance, crescendo and dynamic of a composition. With every pause, smile, laugh and down stroke of seriousness, Bush had the crowd in his hand. Before the show, a friend who recently dined with the former Texas governor and...

The uber-establishment Council on Foreign Relations said Wednesday it favors granting legal status to many of the roughly 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., creating a guest worker program for low-skilled foreign workers to come and work in the U.S and opposes local police getting to conduct immigration raids. The CFR issued an immigration policy report Wednesday that looks to lift caps on foreign university students in the U.S. and allow skilled foreign graduates to get more work visas. The international policy group also wants to create legal paths to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already...

Sometimes good advice comes from the most unlikely of places. In this case, it comes from a Bush. In an interview with Tucker Carlson for Esquire magazine, Gov. Jeb Bush stated the most obvious fact of American electoral politics today: if the GOP is to rise again, it has to stop hating on Hispanics– or at least it has to stop appearing to be hating on Hispanics! He’s talking about you, Tom Tancredo, non-office-holding cable-news ranter. [T]he demographics are going against us. Alex [Castellanos, Republican media consultant] told me today, for example, that there is not a district in California...

(CNN) – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told an interviewer that he could not say whether or not President Barack Obama is a socialist, and that the president would not have been elected if he had been honest with Americans about his agenda. Bush would not answer the question of whether he agreed with the assessment of some congressional Republicans that the president is a socialist. "I don't know. Define socialism for me," he told Esquire magazine. "It's a word… I believe he's a collectivist. He believes that through collective action, through government, you can solve more problems." He added...

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 11:13 AM I'm reading my advanced copy of Senator Jim DeMint's new book, Saving Freedom. I'm still not finished, but wanted to share one part with you. When Bush was trying to pass his No Child Left Behind bill, he called then-Congressman DeMint into the Oval Office and pleaded with him to avoid a blood bath" over an amendment he had added to the bill. DeMint still voted against NCLB, but dropped the amendment because of Bush's "gentle persuasion." ... But things were different when it came to passing Medicare. As DeMint recounts the story,...

George W. Bush: After being pummeled by his successor, the 43rd president ends his silence on America's slide into socialism and timidity. He reminds us leadership is not something that comes off a teleprompter. Perhaps tired about being publicly blamed by the current administration for all our current ills, Bush spoke out in Erie, Pa., on Wednesday at the 104th annual gathering of the Manufacturers and Business Association. On the same day President Obama announced expanded policing authorities for the Fed to deal with a "culture of irresponsibility," another move many feel will stifle the risk takers and entrepreneurs needed...

ERIE, Pa. | Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were "within the law," declaring the private sector - not government - will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care. "I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in," the former president said to applause from members of a local business group. "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money."

Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector not government will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care. I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in, the former president said to applause from members of a local business group. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money. Repeatedly in his hourlong speech and question-and-answer session, Mr. Bush said he would not...

(snip) Meade: Tell me a little bit about Judge Sonia Sotomayor, she's someone that you appointed to a U.S. District Court. Bush: District Court. Meade: Now she's been nominated for the Supreme Court. What would her impact be on the Supreme Court, do you think? Bush: I think she'd pull a ripcord just at the right time and make a very nice parachutist. I'm going to leave that to others to analyze, but she should be given a fair hearing. She should be accorded every courtesy that goes with her record as a judge and her aspirations to be a...

Over the weekend, President Obama named Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a telegenic Republican moderate, as his pick for ambassador to China, removing one possible 2012 challenger from the fray. Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, a straight-shooting right-winger I find it impossible to dislike, is loved by conservative activists, but not always by his fellow South Carolinians. Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has, for a variety of reasons, not all of them entirely fair, become a national punchline. My guess is that Republican primary voters won’t bite, just as Iowa Democrats turned against Howard Dean at the last possible moment....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Friday a White House suggestion that part of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout now will go to automakers means Washington might be "completely out of control.'' "I've been a U.S. senator for some time, and I have never seen anything like this,'' the Oklahoma Republican said. Inhofe was responding to a statement by White House press secretary Dana Perino that the administration might use part of so-called TARP money to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers. "A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy, and it...

Conservatism needs a fresh start. It is losing arguments ... and it is losing elections. One person, more than any other (even more than John McCain), has caused this: President George W. Bush. Conservatives have not been winning arguments -- or elections -- by defending President Bush and his record. We have been, repeatedly, thumped rhetorically and electorally in our efforts to support his policies. It is time for conservatives to move on.

President George Bush said he doesn't view the 2008 election as a repudiation of his presidency, but of his party. "I think it was a repudiation of Republicans," Bush said during an interview with ABC News that aired Monday. "And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me." But he said he thought most people voted for the president-elect because they "decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy." "In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as president," he said. Bush said his...

With the Bush administration ending and the Obama administration beginning, it is worth pondering John McCain’s gracious concession speech, giving due consideration to the ways in which the political opposition behaved during the tenures of our last two presidents. Even though President Bill Clinton governed as a centrist and most of his major accomplishments were ripped from the conservative playbook (balancing the federal budget, passing a major free trade act, enacting dramatic reforms of the country’s welfare program), he inspired a visceral hatred from the base of the Republican Party. Perhaps it was his draft dodging, his inveterate extramarital liaisons,...

As the Bush administration winds down and the Obama administration ramps up, immigration policy is right where it was at the start of the Bush administration: an unfulfilled promise, many Hispanic advocacy groups and immigration policy researchers say. “It’s been disappointing,” says Dr. Michele Waslin, a senior policy analyst with the Immigration Policy Center. “President Bush had spoken very strongly about the need for immigration reform. He came from Texas. He really understood the need for immigration reform. But, unfortunately, that fell apart in Congress.’ The failure to pass a bipartisan immigration reform bill in the spring of 2007 is...

(CNN) – Sarah Palin told local reporters in Alaska that unhappiness with the Bush administration’s Iraq war policy and spending record were responsible for the GOP ticket’s defeat this year.

Three Afghanis were arrested Wednesday at an international airport in India’s Kerala state for flying with forged Mexican passports. They had just arrived there from Kuwait, where officials examined the passports identifying them as “Antonio Lopez Juan,” “Javier Sanchez Alberto,” and “Atonio Lopez Ernesto,” and found that they didn’t understand any Spanish. Maybe they were also suspicious of these inept attempts to ape Spanish names. “Antonio,” “Javier,” and “Atonio” insisted they were trying to get to France, but given their newly-minted Mexican identities, that seems about as likely as the possibility that Hillary Clinton will cede the Democratic nomination gracefully...

MIAMI (FBW) – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could barely contain his amusement at the Democrat Party’s Florida and Michigan delegate dilemma in its tightly contested presidential race, saying it’s “ironic beyond belief” that the party which accused him and other Republicans of suppressing the vote in the 2000 Florida presidential election re-count now “got themselves in a hole” of “their own doing.” “My thoughts are filled with irony that every vote should count,” Bush said with a broad smile. “I mean this brings back memories of hyperbole and anger, mock anger …. It was a political circus for several...

The Department of Homeland Security, continuing to enforce what it calls a "strict policy of arresting, prosecuting and jailing" illegal immigrants, deported a record number of those caught on the nation's borders last year — more than 280,000 in fiscal year 2007 compared to 186,000 a year earlier. It was the largest number of illegals ever removed from the country in a single year. The increase is attributable to what veteran law enforcement authorities said is a revised apprehension process, adding that the department no longer is targeting only criminal aliens for removal, but seeks eventually to apprehend, charge and...

(The Politico) "The hot-button issue of immigration doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon – at least not in Republican circles. On NPR’s “Morning Edition” today, John McCain suggested that strong anti-immigrant rhetoric contributed to two recent, high-profile GOP Congressional losses – of former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who badly lost to Sen. Bob Casey in 2006, and Jim Oberweis, who lost the heavily Republican seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert this month in a special election.

Mexican truck drivers allowed to travel throughout the U.S. under a Bush administration demonstration project may not be proficient in English, despite Department of Transportation assurances to the contrary. A brochure on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website instructs Mexican truck drivers, "Did you know … You MUST be able to read and speak English to drive trucks in the United States." Still, at the Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing Tuesday, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and DOT Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III reluctantly admitted under intense questioning from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that Mexican drivers were being...

The NAFTA Controversy by: Cliff Kincaid, March 14, 2008 On another critical issue, McCain has emerged as a vocal proponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), despite the fact that one of its major supporters, Robert A. Pastor, admits that, in one key respect, it has been a colossal failure. Pastor, a Democrat who runs the Center for North American Studies at American University, says that NAFTA has resulted in economic integration and increased trade but has “fueled immigration by encouraging foreign investment near the U.S.-Mexican border, which in turn serves as a magnet for workers in central...

Rove explained that he and McCain “got to know each other during the 2004 campaign.” In a separate interview, Mehlman noted that “McCain was completely loyal to the president in 2004 and worked incredibly hard to help him get elected.” According to Taylor, “The Bush Republicans here in town are excited for John McCain.”

WASHINGTON -- A largely unreported meeting held at the State Department discussed integration of the U.S., Mexico and Canada in concert with a move toward a transatlantic union, linking a North American community with the European Union. The meeting was held Monday under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, or ACIEP. WND obtained press credentials and attended as an observer. The meeting was held under "Chatham House" rules that prohibit reporters from attributing specific comments to individual participants. The State Department website noted the meeting was opened by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and...

Politics, ain’t it great? House Republicans are trying to force action on a Democratic-written immigration enforcement measure, the latest GOP attempt to elevate the volatile issue into an election-year wedge.Republican leaders hope that by pushing the bill - endorsed by 48 centrist Democrats and 94 Republicans - they can drive Democrats into a politically painful choice: Backing a tough immigration measure that could alienate their base, including Hispanic voters, or being painted as soft on border security in conservative-leaning districts. Which bill is this? It’s a bill that emphasizing the principles of attrition through enforcement. The SAVE Act addresses border...

Relentlessly, angry American voices are asking, “Why is our government deliberately refusing to secure our borders?” We now understand. The truth is indeed ugly. While Congress talks the good talk on border security and immigration enforcement, they are actually in the business of aiding and abetting the invasion by Illegal Aliens and their offspring while pillaging our tax coffers for illegitimate purposes. We have been and continue to be betrayed by what can only be described as an intentional dereliction of duty and responsibility to the American people. It’s lunacy……it’s reality………it’s a giant magnet and it’s the largest Underground Welfare...

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticized his Democratic rivals on Tuesday for pledging to renegotiate a hemispheric trade treaty that Democrats blame for U.S. manufacturing job losses. At a town-hall meeting in St. Louis, the Arizona senator also called for the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress to approve a free-trade treaty with Colombia that is being stymied on Capitol Hill. "On trade, I'm a free trader," McCain told employees at Savvis Internet company, a session dominated by questions about the ailing U.S. economy. McCain, the likely Republican nominee to run in the November election, is spending the week...

WASHINGTON – A senator wants Congress' investigative arm to determine whether the Transportation Department has broken the law by spending federal money on a program allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called for the investigation by the General Accountability Office a few hours after Transportation Secretary Mary Peters warned of economic losses if Mexican trucks are prohibited from driving deep into the U.S. Peters has been fighting in court to prevent the program's end. But Dorgan and others say Congress prohibited spending money on the program last year. “When Congress passes a law that says no...

ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has endorsed John McCain for president. "John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader," said Governor Bush. "Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good. He is determined and steadfast in his commitment to reducing the burden of high taxes, restoring the people's trust in their government, and winning the war against radical Islamic extremists. It is with pride that I...

The Second Battle of NAFTA By Patrick J. Buchanan If Canada and Mexico do not renegotiate NAFTA, said Hillary Clinton in the Cleveland debate, she would "opt out" of the trade treaty that was the legislative altarpiece of Bill Clinton's presidency. Barack agreed. NAFTA is renegotiated, or NAFTA is gone. Barack went further. He has denounced "open trucking," the feature of NAFTA whereby Mexican trucks are to be free to roam the United States and compete with the Teamsters of Jim Hoffa's union, which just endorsed him. The trade issue is back, big-time. For to blue-collar workers in industrial states...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jurors deliberating the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with fatally shooting an illegal immigrant from Mexico said Thursday that they are deadlocked. The jury had spent about 11 hours deliberating when they sent a note to the federal judge hearing the case late in the morning. The judge sent them back after telling them to redouble their efforts to reach a verdict. But U.S. District Judge David C. Bury told attorneys after jurors left the courtroom that he was inclined to declare a mistrial if they couldn't reach a verdict by the end of...

A federal appeals court considered Tuesday whether the Bush administration can go ahead with a pilot program that allows a small number of Mexican trucks to travel freely on U.S. highways, despite a new law by Congress against it. Members of the Teamsters Union and their supporters packed a courtroom at 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where an apparently divided three-judge panel heard arguments in the case, which may boil down to the meaning of "establish." Several tractor trailers also were parked outside the courthouse and union members and their supporters carried signs opposing the program, which allows participating...

WASHINGTON – In her first public statements on the Mexican trucking controversy, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters defended yesterday the pilot program that allows Mexican trucks to travel throughout the United States in defiance of a congressional order. U.S. officials also responded to complaints that a Mexican carrier that withdrew from the program several days ago never should have qualified because of an allegedly poor safety record. Peters got an earful of criticism from several lawmakers during a House appropriations transportation subcommittee hearing on President Bush's proposed budget. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, accused Peters of being in violation of the...

DeMint Introduces “Complete the Fence Act"Sets 2010 Deadline for Completion of 700 Miles of Physical, Pedestrian Fencing on Southern Border   March 5th, 2008 - Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) introduced the “Complete the Fence Act” that will require the completion of 700 miles of reinforced pedestrian fencing along the nation’s southern border by December 31, 2010. The bill also requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report to Congress by June 2009 on fence construction progress and how it plans to complete the full fence by the 2010 deadline. “Americans demand...

THE PRESIDENT: It's been my honor to welcome my friend, John McCain, as the nominee of the Republican Party. A while back I don't think many people would have thought that John McCain would be here as the nominee of the Republican Party -- except he knew he would be here, and so did his wife, Cindy. John showed incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance in order to get to this moment. And that's exactly what we need in a President: somebody that can handle the tough decisions; somebody who won't flinch in the face of danger. We...

President George Bush today signed an executive order granting ‘amnesty’ to foreign-born Sen. John McCain, allowing the presumptive Republican nominee to bypass the Constitutional requirement that a president be a “natural born citizen.” John Sidney McCain III was born in the Panama Canal zone when his Naval officer father was stationed there in 1936. The Supreme Court has never definitively interpreted the phrase “natural born”, but no person known to be born outside U.S. borders has ever been elected president. Under President Bush’s order, Sen. McCain would be granted an immediate ‘P visa’ allowing him to remain in the U.S.,...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Mel Martinez, the public face of the Republican National Committee as its general chairman, announced Friday he was stepping down from his post after serving only 10 months. "I believe that our future as a party and nation is bright and I have every intention of continuing to fight for our president, our party, and our candidates," the Florida senator said in a statement. He said he was relinquishing the post to spend more time focusing on his constituents, and because the RNC reached the objective it set out to when he assumed the role last fall.

Written by JB Williams ©2008 USA Whether the RNC is trying to destroy the GOP or not, it’s clear that they couldn’t do a better job of destroying it, no matter how hard they try. Making John McCain the RNC nominee is the most certain way to lose the 2008 election. But even if McCain could actually win in November, almost a numerical impossibility by the way, many conservatives have already predicted that even a McCain victory would be the end of the GOP as we know it. What’s the RNC thinking? Can McCain Win? While MSM polling data aims...

Whether the RNC is trying to destroy the GOP or not, it’s clear that they couldn’t do a better job of destroying it, no matter how hard they try. Making John McCain the RNC nominee is the most certain way to lose the 2008 election. But even if McCain could actually win in November, almost a numerical impossibility by the way, many conservatives have already predicted that even a McCain victory would be the end of the GOP as we know it. What’s the RNC thinking? While MSM polling data aims to make McCain look like the best the RNC...

The Senate, by opening the door to U.S. citizenship for millions of illegal aliens, has cheapened something Americans used to consider priceless. That the Senate would put on a path to U.S. citizenship people who, only a month ago, were marching under Mexican flags is a manifestation of national decline. In 1963, as Churchill was approaching death, a debate was held in our country and Congress on whether that friend and ally in World War II should be granted U.S. citizenship, an honor previously accorded only to the French hero of the American Revolution, Lafayette. That is how we treasured...

Republican calls president 'derelict' in duty: 'This is not Ellis Island, this is an invasion' Author Pat Buchanan says President Bush should be impeached for failing to stop the invasion of illegal aliens across the U.S. border with Mexico. "I think he's committed an impeachable offense in refusing to enforce the immigration laws and in failing to uphold the Constitution by defending the states against this invasion," Buchanan told radio talk-show host Curt Smith this weekend on National Public Radio stations in upstate New York. "When you have 6 million people apprehended on the border and several million got in...

Friday, November 17th 2006 To The Point News GEORGE BUSH’S BETRAYAL AND DESTRUCTION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler Wednesday, 15 November 2006 The worst fears of conservative Republicans in Congress came true this Monday (11/13), six days after their November 7 wipeout. The tapping of Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) as RNC Chairman is confirming evidence that George Bush is intent on destroying the Republican Party. The most stunning defeat the GOP suffered on election day was that of Michael Steele for the open Senate seat in Maryland. Here is a black Lt. Governor who is really...

Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who was named general chairman of the Republican Party only nine months ago, has advised associates that he will leave the post as soon as somebody clinches the party's presidential nomination. That probably will come after the Feb. 5 primary elections next year. When Martinez took the party post Jan. 19, it was expected he would stay on through the 2008 elections as the GOP's principal national spokesman. Many Republicans now grumble that Martinez has been ineffective in that role, partly because he has been drowned out by the many presidential hopefuls. Kentucky lawyer Mike...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who took over as the first Hispanic chairman of the Republican National Committee earlier this year with a pledge to reach out to minorities, is expected to resign the post early next year.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Florida Sen. Mel Martinez stepped down Friday as general chairman of the Republican National Committee, after serving just nine months on the job. Martinez, who is the GOP’s most prominent Latino lawmaker, said he accomplished his goal of helping put the RNC in the best position for the 2008 elections. “It was my goal as General Chairman to lead the Party as it established the structure and raised the resources necessary to support our Presidential candidate and ensure Republican victories next November,” the Florida senator said in a prepared statement released by the RNC. “I believe we...

Isn't John McCain a disloyal Republican who's been sniping at President Bush's policies for the last six years? On the other hand, he's been pushing some things the president liked, too. "Amnesty" anyone. Of course McCain did support the "surge" in Iraq. But that's something McCain said he always wanted, more troops in Iraq. I took note when the surge was announced after the 2006 election results came in. I saw it as political preparation for 2008 and couldn't help but notice that the President was "aligning" himself with McCain on that issue. The Republican Party seems to have developed...

The dumbest, most destructive economic policy of the Bush Administration has been its weak-dollar position--letting the dollar slide in value against the euro, the yen, the pound and gold. The repeatedly disproved theory in operation here is that cheapening your currency will improve your trade balance and that an improved trade balance makes your economy stronger and wealthier.

Invading Mexicans Run Over, Kill BP Agent: Where Are the Marines Sunday, 20 January 2008 Invading Mexicans Run Over, Kill BP Agent: Where Are the Marines? By John W. Lillpop In one of the most blatant and outrageous acts in the undeclared war that Mexico is waging against America, Mexican invaders ran down and killed a brave Border Patrol agent who was simply doing his job at the Yuma Sector. Repeat: Mexican invaders ran down and killed a BP agent and then raced back across the border into Mexico. Under better times, American could count on the president to respond...

MIAMI- Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida has decided not to endorse Republican presidential hopeful Arizona Sen. John McCain. McCain was planning to campaign Monday in Miami with Martinez to help woo Hispanic voters,The Miami Herald reported Sunday. A factor in Martinez's decision to withhold his endorsement of McCain's candidacy is that he feels badly for McCain rival, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was a Martinez supporter and had expected his backing in return, the newspaper reported. McCain supporters had been told by the campaign late last week that Martinez was coming to stump with the Arizona senator. But,...