Short of dawn-to-dusk curfews and a massive police presence on every street corner, gang violence is going to "occur". Is absolute full compliance your only criterion for whether or not to enforce the law against something? Are you a closet anarchist?
[[Is absolute full compliance your only criterion for whether or not to enforce the law against something? Are you a closet anarchist?]]
I happen to be a realist, you reveal the weakness in your argument when you have to engage in vituperative rhetoric. It has been my experience that those who engage in such polemicist debate have an inability to grasp the big picture, reason ruled by the narrow parameters of single issues, or unable to see the wider scope of that single issue.
Geopolitics, evolving technology require an ability to think ahead and not retract into the past. No one has said illegal immigration is not a problem, but the solution is not simple. The economics are complex, the political ramifications are very real, that if not pursued in a careful manner, could result in the overturn of any actions taken after the next election. Bush, while not perfect, and I have my share of complaints (Prescription Drug Bill to name one), is far better than the democrat alternative. Sometimes one has to swallow bitter pills to get the sweeter results down the line.
Political reality is that changes do not happen in one fell swoop, but in slow incremental stages. If you overreach, you risk losing any gains made and providing momentum to the opposite viewpoint. It will take time and a realistic approach to correct the socialistic direction the left and the democrats have taken this country since FDR and the 'New Deal' (some trace this movement back to Woodrow Wilson and the 16th Amendment and establishment of the Federal Reserve). Over half a century of political movement to the left cannot be undone in just one or two terms of a president. The entrenchment of the left in our education system, the judiciary and the old media are slowly being exposed and slowly being changed.
Fiscally, yes, I have complaints about Bush, but he does not control the purse strings, Congress does. Unless Congress gives him the line item veto, he is relatively hand tied. In order to veto bad spending, he would have to veto a larger amount of legitimate spending. It is just such a battle that could undo many of the gains made and give the opposition ammunition to swing the balance in the battle over the middle in today's polarized political climate.