Posted on 01/13/2004 5:54:13 AM PST by JustPiper
Conservative talk-radio star, author says amnesty is betrayal of country
In the latest indication President Bush is having problems with his conservative core political constituency, Michael Savage, one of talk radio's biggest stars, tonight called for the impeachment of President Bush over his plans to legalize millions of illegal aliens.
"This is the worst betrayal of our country in my lifetime," said Savage, whose program is heard on more than 350 stations with an audience reaching some 6 million. His book, "The Savage Nation," last year was No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller's list for five weeks. His follow-up, "The Enemy Within," out just one week, is already No. 8 on the list. Both were published by WND Books.
President Bush
Tonight Savage called Bush a liberal and described him as part of the "enemy within" that is destroying the nation.
Savage created the phrase "compassionate conservative" in 1994, a term picked up by Bush during his presidential campaign – a campaign supported by Savage.
"This is much more serious than dropping your pants for an intern," said Savage. "This is a policy that represents a danger to national security."
Savage is hardly alone in his strong feelings of opposition to Bush's proposal to offer legal status to illegal immigrants. A new ABC News poll finds 52 percent of the nation opposes an amnesty program for illegal immigrants from Mexico, while 57 percent oppose one for illegal immigrants from other countries. Both results are roughly the same as when the administration floated the idea two-and-a-half years ago.
But today in Monterrey, Mexico, Bush reaffirmed his support of the proposal, despite its unpopularity at home. He said it could help illegal immigrants "leave the shadows and have an identity."
At a joint press conference with Mexican President Vicente Fox, Bush warned that his government will not allow the existence in the United States of an underclass of illegal immigrants, but claimed again his proposal is not an amnesty. Amnesty, he said, would only promote the violation of the law and perpetuate illegal immigration.
Bush said his immigration proposal would benefit both the United States and Mexico as it recognizes the contribution of thousands of honest Mexicans who work in the United States.
For his part, Fox embraced Bush's proposal.
"What else can we wish?" Fox said at the news conference with the president.
In the U.S., the latest poll on the controversy shows at least twice as many Americans "strongly" oppose the proposal as strongly support it.
Opposition peaks in Bush's own party: Fifty-eight percent of Republicans oppose his immigration proposal for Mexicans, compared with 50 percent of Democrats. For illegal immigrants other than Mexicans, 63 percent of Republicans are opposed.
Bush reportedly will disclose more details of the plan in his State of the Union address Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, the National Border Patrol Council, which represents all 9,000 of the Border Patrol's non-supervisory agents, has told its members to challenge President Bush´s proposed guest-worker program, calling it a "slap in the face to anyone who has ever tried to enforce the immigration laws of the United States," the Washington Times reported today.
The agents were told in a letter from Vice President John Frecker that the proposal offered last week during a White House press conference "implies that the country really wasn't serious about" immigration enforcement in the first place.
"Hey, you know all those illegal aliens you risked 'life and limb' to apprehend? FAH-GED-ABOWD-IT," said Frecker, a veteran Border Patrol agent. "President Bush has solved the problem. Don't be confused and call this an 'amnesty,' even though those who are here illegally will suddenly become legal and will be allowed to stay here. The president assures us that it's not an amnesty," he said.
Last week Bush proposed the sweeping immigration changes that would allow the 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens thought to be in the United States to remain in the country if they have a job and apply for a guest-worker card. The immigrants could stay for renewable three-year periods, after which they could apply for permanent legal residence.
Savage cited a new report published in the City Journal by the Manhattan Institute suggesting there is a major crime wave in the U.S. caused by illegal immigration.
"Some of the most violent criminals at large today are illegal aliens," the report charges. "Yet in cities where the crime these aliens commit is highest, the police cannot use the most obvious tool to apprehend them: their immigration status. In Los Angeles, for example, dozens of members of a ruthless Salvadoran prison gang have sneaked back into town after having been deported for such crimes as murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and drug trafficking. Police officers know who they are and know that their mere presence in the country is a felony. Yet should a cop arrest an illegal gang-banger for felonious reentry, it is he who will be treated as a criminal, for violating the LAPD’s rule against enforcing immigration law."
The situation is similar, the report says in New York, Chicago, San Diego, Austin and Houston. These "sanctuary policies" generally prohibit city employees, including the cops, from reporting immigration violations to federal authorities, says the report.
"These people are destroying America," said Savage. "That's all I have to say on the subject. But you can talk about it. Talk about it while you can – while America is still a free country, because it's not going to last."
Exactly right - irrefutable. Bush and Congress are "whistling past the graveyard" with their immigration policy! They had better hope that a terrorist attack does not spring from the south or there will be consequences for all of them to pay!
Whistling past the graveyard.
Yup. It comes down to this brilliant idea: President Bush is too liberal for us, so we're going to take our balls home and ensure that the noted conservative, Howard Dean, gets elected.
Brilliant.
This comment is moral relativism. The people do not decide what is constitutional unless they can pass an amendment - the Constitution does, and the Constitution is clear. Life trumps privacy. There is no right to privacy. And today, more Americans oppose abortion than support it.
Again, show me these rights in the Constitution - court rulings must rely on one thing and one thing only - the Constitution.
LOL.
No, I'm a multi issue voter and Bush has failed on a multiple of issues.
And, no, I won't be voting for Clark, Dean or any Democrat, I'll be voting my conscience.
No, they take an oath to defend and protect it, and in order to do so, they must read the plain language and interpret it plainly without inserting their cultural, moral, or legal agenda. How hard is that? The Constitution does not mean anything a corrupt judge says it means - it means what it means.
I strongly disagree with the Prez's immigration proposal, but this statement by Savage is savagely idiotic. ....No different than leftists who call for Bush's impeachment because he "lied about Iraq."
I remember Savage calling for us to "annihilate China with nuclear weapons" when they forced our Navy surveillance plane down in early '01. He repeated it the next day, just to let us know he wasn't kidding. When a caller to his radio show reminded him that China possessed ICBM's and would likely respond by nuking the very west coast city Savage resides in (among others), he cut him off before the caller could finish his thought ....and then promptly resumed his insanity as if the call never happened.
Savage is certifiably insane.
Have you studied economics before? Can you explain what removing 8 million workers from our economy would do to labor rates and therefore corporate profits, real income, the stock market, investment returns, etc.? Are you arguing that economically this would be a good thing?
!
Can you explain the differences in Reagan's 1986 amnesty plan and this one?
Should it "spring from the North" (CanaDUH) then what, oh knowing sage?
The last intercept aimed for New Year's 2000, was made at the CANADIAN border.
Wave to Tard, exmarine, you're his "hero."
This is hyperbole. Our founders set up this constitutional republic, and said that its survival depends on morality of the leaders. Is Bush being moral when he ignores right and wrong for the sake of political expediency. Do you think Washington would have compromised on these issues? Think again. The first anti-abortion laws were passed about the same time as the Bill of Rights was ratified. What does that tell you?
It would lead to civil war, and in the end, probably wouldn't even end abortion.
People are being murdered. 43 million since 1973. I don't believe in peace at any price. And neither did our founding fathers.
Really? Did God approve of the war to end slavery in 1861? What do you think? Did he agree with the war to end the slaughter of jews in Nazi Germany? What do you think? God hates the shedding of innocent blood and he does not compromise on right and wrong. God does not tolerate murder - why should I?
You are too impatient for change, and you would destroy us, to save us. Good intentions are not sufficient to attain redemption, if through them you destroy what is good.
In case you hadn't noticed, we are being destroyed day by day. Look around. 43 million babies dead, homosexual marriage, Christianity under assualt by the courts and schools, erosion of freedom of speech, religion and right to bear arms, ever expanding and instrusive govt. - where do you think all of this will lead? Utopia? Think again!
I guess that's where we differ. Principles are not something I care about or expect from a politician. I expect them to represent my interests.
Good question... I can't think of a single issue (where Bush would support anything that even the Rats propose) that would make me support Dean or Clark (which you're doing by withholding your vote) over Bush.
Bush is ALWAYS better than a Rat. Always.
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