Posted on 12/16/2003 9:56:12 AM PST by JustPiper
You‘re about to enter SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY. No passport required, no free lunch allowed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCARBOROUGH (voice-over): The White House is admitting it wants to give amnesty to Mexicans who broke American laws by sneaking into this country illegally.
SCARBOROUGH: But, first, George Bush and the Republican Congress and Democratic politicians are playing political games with illegal immigration. And it could cost you and your family your lives.
It‘s time for tonight‘s “Real Deal.”
Now, by now, you know how craven politicians are when it comes up to grabbing Hispanic votes. They cynically believe that minority voters in border states are going to like them a lot more if they reward Mexicans for breaking American laws. We have told you about how California and maybe even your state wants to give illegal immigrants their own driver‘s licenses.
And even that crass move makes us all less safe in those post-9/11 world. And last night, we reported how Congress wants to give illegal immigrants Social Security checks when they return back to Mexico, even though the Social Security system is going to be bankrupt in the next 10 years.
And this morning, we got the shocking news from “The Washington Times” that the Bush White House now wants to grant amnesty for up to 12 million illegal immigrants. Why? Of course, it‘s to buy votes. They know that conservative Republicans have nowhere else to go, so they can kiss up to illegal immigrants and not have to pay any political price for it.
Now, that may be good politics in the White House, but it‘s a lousy public policy. And the fact that it severely weakens our country simply doesn‘t seem to matter to some politicians or bureaucrats that are running your government in Washington, D.C. It‘s a disgrace and it‘s tonight‘s “Real Deal.”
Well, immigration is a hot-button issue.
I want to bring in Jack Burkman. You‘re a Republican strategist, Jack.
Why are Republican congressmen and a Republican president caving in to illegal immigrants?
JACK BURKMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you had it about right, Joe. It‘s just—it‘s a craven desire to court Hispanic votes.
I love Mr. Bush. I raised money for him. But this is really, really bad. If you have got an all-Republican town, both chambers Republican, the White House Republican, if you can‘t govern now, when can you govern? And what is all this power for? Are we gathering this power simply to gain more power?
And I would tonight remind the president that it was illegal immigration that is exclusively responsible for all of those terrible 3,000 deaths. My friend, your friend, Barbara Olson is lying dead in a pile of rubble at the Pentagon, burned to death, charred to death, because we, the United States of America, did not enforce is immigration laws.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: Jack, you know what? It is so offensive. I‘m glad you brought that up. It‘s so offensive to so many Americans that it was illegal immigration that led to the deaths -- 3,000 deaths on 9/11. And yet, as we get close to 2004, the White House, Congress, and politicians across America seem to have just forgotten the lessons of 9/11 for votes.
BURKMAN: You know, Joe, I will tell you something else.
I have talked to Hispanic leaders all over this country who don‘t want this kind of sickening pandering. It may surprise a lot of politicians, but there‘s an intelligence, sensible wave of the Hispanic community that doesn‘t want this kind of nonsense and what you saw during the election in the California, giving driver‘s licenses to illegals.
There are a lot of people in this country that don‘t like that. There was a day and age in this country when we had a very sensible immigration policy. I‘m an Italian-American. My people came over here, oh, 100 or 120 years ago. In that day and age, sure, we had free-flowing immigration. But people—there were some language barriers. People were checked for disease.
We didn‘t have an open border, with people just running across and politicians waiting to court them. In today‘s culture, what is really at the heart of all of this is P.C., because outside of a few programs like this in the conservative media, where you can really talk about these things, you will never see this in the mainstream media. Why? Because anyone like you or me who raises these issues, they call us a racist. The say, oh, go out and live in a militia tent in Montana.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: Jack, though, the thing is, though, this is an 80/20 issue; 80 percent of Americans are offended by the fact that politicians want to give illegal immigrants driver‘s licenses.
I would bet it‘s 90 percent against the United States Congress giving illegals and legal immigrants that move back to Mexico Social Security. How far—I‘m asking you as a strategist. How far do you think George Bush, Karl Rove, and the Republican White House is going to push this illegal immigrant issue? Do you really think they‘re going to give amnesty to 12 million Mexicans? Are they going to give Social Security benefits to Mexicans that are here illegally, when our Social Security system is going bankrupt?
(CROSSTALK)
BURKMAN: They will try if we don‘t put the heat on them.
Here‘s the political equation, Joe. They figure they got the far right locked up, because there‘s no Pat Buchanan. There‘s no primary. There‘s no problem. They figure, if you do this Hispanic pandering, you do pick up Hispanic votes. And then they feel—here‘s the real thing, though, because there are not that many Hispanics registered to vote right now.
It‘s more futuristic. But here is the real thing. This kind of soft-pedaling stuff is really aimed—it‘s aimed at the soccer moms. It‘s aimed at those swing suburban voters that people like Karl Rove—and I don‘t know if I agree with him, but Karl‘s perception is that those people want to see this kind of stuff, because it gives Bush a soft image.
I think he‘s wrong on substance and I think he‘s wrong on politics. But that‘s the political equation that you‘re working with in the White House.
SCARBOROUGH: And I think it‘s a mistake.
And, last night, we told SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY viewers again about the shocking new plans to give Social Security benefits to immigrants who move back to Mexico.
I want to bring in right now Kathleen Walker. She‘s an immigration lawyer.
And, Kathleen, do you think that illegal immigrants that come to America and work here and go back home to Mexico should get Social Security benefits?
KATHLEEN WALKER, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: Well, let‘s talk about what the real issue here is.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: Well, no, no, no. I want you to answer that issue first. Do you think that they should get—illegals should get Social Security?
WALKER: If illegal immigrants have paid into the system and have 40 calendar quarters, and we have the agreement with Mexico that we‘re talking about, the totalization agreement, then they have paid into the system. They are paying for our health care on a going-forward basis that we can‘t pay for, because Social Security is going bankrupt. What is your point?
SCARBOROUGH: Well, my point is that they‘re here illegally. That‘s my point.
WALKER: Well, then, let‘s talk about...
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: And we‘re paying for their health care.
WALKER: No, we‘re not paying.
SCARBOROUGH: We‘re paying for their kids to go to our public schools.
They come over here. Oh, come on. Are you telling me that illegal immigrants that come over here don‘t get benefits from the United States government?
WALKER: What benefits do we receive from their labor? What do they fill regarding the work force? What are we talking about regarding amnesty? I also didn‘t have the opportunity to clarify the earlier point on the amnesty point.
The Bush administration is not pushing the amnesty program that we had back in 1986. What we‘re talking about is an earned adjustment for those that are here who are filling our economic needs. Those individuals being given an opportunity to be able to prove themselves of good moral character and that they‘re filling a labor need are those that would be able to earn adjustment. That is not the same as amnesty. I was here in 1986. And that is based on...
(CROSSTALK)
BURKMAN: I can‘t believe I‘m hearing this.
When Kathleen talks about what benefits do we receive from their labor, those people should kiss the ground, they should lick the ground of this country that they have the right to be in this country. They should wake up every morning, get down and lick the ground that they‘re privileged to be here.
WALKER: Don‘t you think they do that?
BURKMAN: I do not think they do that.
WALKER: Don‘t you think they realize that?
BURKMAN: I think very few of them do that. And that is the reason I
feel
WALKER: Oh, I disagree with your entirely.
BURKMAN: You are endorsing—in the makeup room tonight, I saw a picture of my friend Barbara Olson. And it made me feel sick, because the system you‘re endorsing took her life. And it is wrong! It is wrong!
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: Let me tell you what system that you‘re not endorsing.
You‘re not endorsing reality.
Those people that came here, those 19 hijackers, all had visas. They got those visas through our system. And why did our system fail? Because we didn‘t have the appropriate intelligence to figure out whether or not they were a threat to our country.
(CROSSTALK)
BURKMAN: That‘s not why our system failed.
WALKER: Yes, sir, it is.
BURKMAN: Our system failed because we lack the physical will to enforce our immigration laws. It did not fail for reasons of technical failure.
WALKER: We lack the political reality to deal with people who are here filling immigration needs for our economic necessity in this country.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: I want to read both of you all what Director Tom Ridge said when he went to Miami and he talked about amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
WALKER: No, he did not.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: And, again, what I want to know is, why should we reward foreigners who come to our country illegally and break our laws with American citizenship?
WALKER: We‘re not rewarding them with American citizenship.
What we‘re doing is recognizing an economic reality. We‘re trying to create legality as the norm within this country. And Secretary Ridge had the gumption and political correctness to be able to address it.
SCARBOROUGH: Kathleen, though, again, you talk about that he is trying to set something up here to set a legal norm.
They‘re here illegally. That‘s one thing that I have never heard anybody on your side of the debate come forward and just admit, yes, they are breaking the law. They are coming into our country.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: Joe, have you ever had a traffic ticket? Have you ever had been arrested? What is the difference in—what are we dealing with here, what level?
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: Kathleen, are you saying their coming over here is the same thing as having a traffic ticket?
WALKER: No, sir, I‘m not saying that‘s the same thing.
But what I‘m saying is, there‘s a differentiation of risk here. And what we‘re talking about are people who are filling labor needs, not terrorists. What is our focus and what are we wasting our time dealing with? Let‘s go ahead and create...
(CROSSTALK)
BURKMAN: Let me tell you something. An America that can only satisfy her economic needs through crime and promotion of crime is not an America worth having.
(CROSSTALK)
BURKMAN: And when the day comes that we can only fill our economic needs in this country through the promotion of crime and criminal behavior, then this America needs to change.
WALKER: You really think that we‘re promoting criminal behavior?
SCARBOROUGH: Jack, I want to ask you a quick question.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: Let me—I certainly think you‘re promoting illegal behavior when you give people benefits and talk about giving them Social Security if they come to our country illegally and then go back home.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: But, Joe, we‘re not addressing the issue.
SCARBOROUGH: Let me ask you, jack, as we close this, what price do you think the Bush administration is going to pay if they grant amnesty...
WALKER: It‘s not amnesty.
SCARBOROUGH: ... if Social Security benefits are given to illegals, and if they continue down this path of pandering to try to win a few extra Hispanic votes?
BURKMAN: Well, I think the price they will pay is, I think their political equation is wrong, because a lot of it is aimed at the swing voters.
And I don‘t think the soccer moms in suburban Illinois, suburban Philadelphia, etcetera, are going to respond favorably. I think more people in this country got the message about what caused the World Trade Center disaster than they realize. So I think just the political equation is wrong.
SCARBOROUGH: All right, Jack, I agree with you. I think, once again, you‘re right. You hit it right on the nose.
Jack Burkman, Kathleen Walker, we want to thank you both for being with us on SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY tonight.
And coming up next on SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY, much more.
The charges are flying in the Michael Jackson case, the latest, that the singer was roughed up by the police department during his arrest. A Jackson spiritual adviser is going to give us the inside story.
And the battle for the White House begins to shape up, but how bruised will the Democratic contender be when he finally faces President Bush?
And former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan on the Democratic preshow fight.
"crass..."
"offensive.."
Yup.
How does she know?
For that matter, how does anybody know?
Most illegals have illegal Social Security numbers, many using the same number. So, who knows what these illegals paid and into what accounts they paid, if any? They are doing it illegally!!
Talk about an open-ended scam...
This woman is evil.
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