Posted on 11/10/2004 12:51:19 PM PST by VU4G10
(Washington, DC—November 10, 2004) It wasn't quite "Read my lips," but in the last presidential debate in Arizona, George W. Bush clearly stated that he would not support amnesty for illegal aliens. One week after being narrowly returned to office, the president has reneged on that pledge. Bush has dispatched Secretary of State Colin Powell to Mexico City to open discussions with the Mexican government about the size and scope of amnesty for illegal immigrants and for a massive new guest worker program.
"President Bush and Karl Rove have seemingly missed the message of their own, and the Republican Party's, success at the polls last week," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "In spite of a poor record on jobs, further erosion of the middle class, and staggering budget deficits, the people returned the GOP to office because they believed that the Republican Party was more in tune with them on values and respect for the law. One of those gut issues that led voters to ignore the administration's poor record in other areas was the belief that Bush and the Republicans would enforce laws against illegal immigration, not reward illegal immigrants and auction off every job in America to the lowest bidder."
The immigration plan being dusted off in Washington and Mexico City is essentially the same one the administration introduced last January, which proved to be so wildly unpopular among voters that they were forced to shelve it. "Who is the president seeking to reward by reintroducing his amnesty/guest worker proposal?" asked Stein. "Not middle class workers who made it very clear that they are feeling squeezed. Not the millions of families who have lost their health insurance benefits because their employers no longer feel that it is necessary to offer such benefits to attract American workers. Not Hispanic voters, whom polls indicate do not consider this to be high priority and who voted in significant numbers in favor of an Arizona ballot measure that bars illegal aliens from receiving most public benefits.
"The only interest group, besides the estimated 10 to 12 million illegal aliens and their families who could be in line for legal U.S. residency, are cheap labor employers who have come to believe that it is their right to have workers who will work at whatever wages they wish to pay," Stein said.
The latest White House announcement will touch off yet another surge in illegal immigration and further compromise homeland security, predicted FAIR. Last January, when the president first proposed this plan, the U.S. Border Patrol reported a marked increase in the number of people attempting to enter the U.S. illegally in order to benefit from the proposed amnesty. "Aside from betraying the interests of millions of people who voted for him because they believed the president shared their core values, this irresponsible renewal of talk of amnesty will betray those who voted for him because they believed the Republicans were the party that could be entrusted to protect homeland security. You cannot have homeland security and chaos at the border. You cannot have homeland security while granting amnesty to millions of people with only minimal background checks. And you certainly cannot have amnesty and unlimited guest workers, and preserve a solid middle class," asserted Stein.
I've never understood the knee jerk hatred for union members in some conservatives. The issue is union leadership, not the blue collar worker that elected Regan and now Bush.
"Nothing like arguing with the open-borders, globalist crowd. This has been going on all day."
Yep, and it will probably be going on every day for quite a while, I'm afraid. Better saddle up - it's going to be a long ride.
That's right, and a lot of them are conservatives who have voted GOP for years. People think blue-collar and automatically assume liberal democrat.
"It's unseemly to talk about physical labor and hourly wages.
That's little people commie-talk"
Exactly. They're so amusing. If you don't wear your "Kneepads for W" or if you say something they don't agree with they start yelling "liberal" or "commie". Please. They're TOOO predictable! :) It would be really amusing to watch some of these people try to cook a meal or fix a car. No wonder they need all that cheap third-world labor! :)
"So I take it you're a white-collar kinda guy, read the Wall St. Journal and all? In case you're unaware, blue-collar working class built the Republican party and elected Ronald Reagan. It's the corporate slugs who are along for the ride, not the other way around."
Shhh! Better watch that kind of talk around here! Everyone knows Ronald Reagan was only elected by the rich! (the sarcasm here should be obvious but I'll state it just to be safe!) :)
"How do you get that they receive their food, housing and medical care at the taxpayer's expense? The ones I know purchase all that themselves."
So you're telling me that you personally know carpenters making $6.00 per hour who are able to totally provide for their families without any taxpayer assistance? What planet do you live on anyway?
We need a law that requires verification of papers. Failure to verify would be straightforward to prosecute.
"Yes, and its the working class that fights this and every other war and has always kept this country alive. The Republican party uses the Christian right as surely as the Democrats use Black Americans."
Ahmen!
"I've never understood the knee jerk hatred for union members in some conservatives. The issue is union leadership, not the blue collar worker that elected Regan and now Bush."
Lord, don't tell them that! They'll be up all night trying to make that little fact fit in their twisted little worlds! :)
It's fun to watch the gears in their heads lock up when you confront them with facts.
I do.
[I composed a long answer to you about just that subject. I previewed it & went back to make a change and it was all gone, I hate when that happens, past my bedtime, bye.]
They're funny all the time! Like something straight out of "Animal Farm" - "White collar good! Blue collar bad!"
Oh, I've done that, too. It's the pits!
Not true. They're more religious on average than Americans, but not all that much.
Most Hispanics are very tight with their money, use it wisely, and don't expect much from the government (at least in Mexico) - so are republicans.
The welfare participation rate is higher for Hispanics than for the Americans as a whole.
Because of the high catholic background, most Hispanics are pro-life (just a guess there) - and so are republicans.
The abortion rate and illegitimacy rate are significantly higher for Hispanics.
Most Cubans are very republican, have a high rate of business ownership, stress higher education, etc.
The non-Cuban Hispanic highschool dropout rate is higher than for blacks, and it's somewhere around 40%. Large numebrs are functionally illiterate.
Most non-Cubans are hard working and wouldn't appreciate hiked taxes, for example.
Most non-Cubans are in the low income brackets, so they don't pay much in the way of taxes anyway. They won't mind tax hikes as a reasult.
"I've noticed they have the flip side of liberalitis, in which corporations and CEOs are always evil. Instead, they think just because some business interest likes something, that makes it conservative. Silly, silly people."
Exactly! :)
Poor people impose social costs. We're stuck with those that are already here and have an obligation to pay for them. Why must we import more?
Perhaps you would like to take up Swift's proposed solution then? You did read it, right?
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