Posted on 03/31/2006 3:41:14 AM PST by pageonetoo
As Congress battles over immigration, the consequences are likely to be far greater than the details of border walls or green cards. The most important political outcome may turn out to be the message that Republicans send about the kind of the party they are and hope to be.
To wit, do Republicans want to continue in the Reagan tradition of American optimism and faith in assimilation that sends a message of inclusiveness to all races? Or will they take another one of their historical detours into a cramped, exclusionary policy that tells millions of new immigrants, and especially Hispanics, that they belong somewhere else?...
...The immediate danger is that Republicans will ignore their longer-term interests by passing a punitive, and poll-driven, anti-immigration bill this election year. Any bill that merely harasses immigrants and employers, and stacks more cops on the border, may win cheers in the right-wing blogosphere. However, it will do nothing to address the economic incentives that will continue to exist for poor migrants to come to America to feed their families. And it will make permanent enemies of millions of Hispanics, without doing anything to draw illegals out of the shadows and help them assimilate into the mainstream of American culture and citizenship.
This is not Ronald Reagan's view of America as a "shining city on a hill." It is the chauvinist conservatism usually associated with the European right. How Republicans conduct and conclude their immigration debate will show the country which kind of "conservative" party they want to be.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Fox played Reagan's speech last night. He granted 4 million illegals Amnesty, PROMISED to prosecute employers to the maximum extent of the law, promised to close the borders to further illegals, and stated he was PROUD to welcome 4 million new citizens the the melting pot that is America.
Funny, I didn't see anyone pressuring him. I was against what he did at the time.
You guys love to look at the past with rose-colored glasses!
Deport all illegals, secure our borders, and then we institute a very limited guest worker plan with NO strings towards citizenship.
LLS
There is one simple solution to the illegal immigration problem on our southern border:
BADGES!
"WSJ ... are the Rockefeller wing of the party"
I don't think so. They make fun of those guys all the time.
Since you live in Florida, are you un Cubano? If so, you are nothing more than a traitor, as long as you defer your allegiance to the (actually less than) United States of America.
If you wish to display the American flag on your homepage, it should be properly recognized, and placed foremost, especially on this site. We are Americans, and JimRob's stated purpose is to promote conservative pricliples in America.
Your first section on your homepage is in spanish. I guess you prefer not to speak Englih, as our official language. FReepers post in English.
The whole cost of immigrants question could be solved pretty quickly with a replacement of income taxes with a sales tax. This won't solve security issues or some other issues, but it would certainly solve the big financial burden question.
So, illegals don't work?
Then how are they taking jobs from Americans?
There's one excuse.
" It is difficult to gather conservatives "en masse" for just about anything."
Another excuse.
We hit the streets "en masse" during the recounts in 2000, and in Miami we hit the streets in massive numbers during the Elian Gonzalez affair, so we do it when we care enough. For conservatives to claim that illegal immigration is destroying our nation, and then put up a bunch of excuses for why they don't take to the streets to make themselves heard, is sending a message that we don't care enough about the nation being destroyed to do anything other than bitch about it.
"This face has been proudly displayed this week!"
I've seen that face displayed by many...including many native-born Americans.
/All the signs are in English.
Not bad for a bunch of people who "refuse" to learn the language/
Nice retort!
Only if the tax was placed on transfers south of the border! The financial burder would be enlarged even more, imho...
Do you understand freedom?
You apparently don't.
You believe freedom to be you telling me how to behave, what to do, and what language to say it in.
I pay my taxes, obey the laws, and carry out all my civic duties.
Past that point, what I do is none of your damned business.
Are these people traitors?
I see your State flag in your home page, but not our flag.
Are you ashamed of it?
The WSJ is as credible on immigration and border security as is Hillary Clinton, the Chamber of Commerce, or La Raza ("The Race").
Exactly. The reason they are living ten to a room is because they are sending back approximately $17 billion a year to Mexico, eclipsing the revenues of oil sales to the US and making illegal immigrants in the US the biggest source of foreign revenue. The more illegal immigrants in the US, the greater the benefit to Mexico. Fox has no incentive to stop the flow, but rather, a reason to increase the flood of illegal immigrants.
More traitors.
Soy el Freeper desde 1998, y tenduro a veces en Espanol...
Cubans took to the streets of Miami over the Elian affair. They had an axe to grind. Did you ever hear of the "silent majority"?
As for taking the jobs, it isn't just about filling positions. It is about lowering wages for those here legally. I drive into DC once a week, and pass by gathering sites set up by the local gumts, to aid the "day laborors". I see dozens, and sometimes hundreds, standing around waiting for the odd pickup truck to whisk them away to their $6-8 an hour jobs. A comparable "local" would get paid twice that.
They are hard workers, but they are also invaders. I have no problems with hispanic peoples (yo habla). I do have a problem with illegality. I have to play by the rules, or go to jail (or pay a fine).
I am a businessman. I pay top wages for the works performed. I am finding it increasingly difficult to compete with those who don't play by the rules! I have loyal workers, and low turnover. They all speak english, and don't take from my grandchildren's heritage. Why should I want to employ an invader? Money is only one part of life, and it is not the MOST important!
I have mostly Norwegian ancestry with Irish, German and Lebanese mixed in. I do not carry their flag and I do not speak their language. I actually have no ties to them emotionally or any other way. I see myself as an American and only an American. I am not Anglo as many "Latinos" have tried to label me., I am an American. I have my own culture and language and am quite different from Europeans, Africans,Asians and South Americans. Americans whose people came from Africa, Asia, Europe or South America, if they are really Americans and not in name only, would have no allegiance to the peoples or the lands of their ancestors except as it relates to the US's relations to them.Why would I, as an American with no ties to anyone but Americans, trust you or those like you to not side with "Latino" over American interest. The truth is I can't. The other truth is that Whites, blacks, Asians and legal immigrants of non Hispanic decent agree with me and not you. I also have a hunch you might throw a fit if these illegals were Russian, you know what? so would I.
WSJ just wants cheap labor for the companies, these are the Rockefeller wing of the party.
###
You nailed it.
We also took to the streets in massive numbers to stop the Democrats from stealing the election in 2000.
Did you?
Quit double-talking.
Out of one side of your mouth you claim that illegals march because they don't have jobs, and out of the other that they steal jobs from Americans...which is it?
Here's another thing we never discuss, the only reason that ten million plus illegal aliens are taking jobs from Americans, is because millions of Americans are giving them jobs.
There are TWO guilty parties here, and two people breaking the law...the person who enters the country illegally, and the person who hires him.
Punish the employers and see how fast the jobs dry up.
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