Hill conservatives warn Bush of amnesty anger

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | By Charles Hurt

[Rick_Michael]

House conservatives yesterday issued a dire warning to President Bush and Republican leadership that they will pay a devastating political price if they proceed with a guest-worker program or anything resembling amnesty for illegal aliens before securing the borders and enforcing existing immigration laws.

[raybbr]

The majority of Republicans including Bush are spineless as they have let the Democrats set the agenda from day one.

I beg to differ....

We are now one of the largest Spanish-speaking nations in the world. We're a major source of Latin music, journalism and culture.

Just go to Miami, or San Antonio, Los Angeles, Chicago or West New York, New Jersey ... and close your eyes and listen. You could just as easily be in Santo Domingo or Santiago, or San Miguel de Allende.

For years our nation has debated this change -- some have praised it and others have resented it. By nominating me, my party has made a choice to welcome the new America.

As I speak, we are celebrating the success of democracy in Mexico.

George Bush from a campaign speech in Miami, August 2000.

You can read the speech here.

Here is an excerpt of a good critique of that speech:

In equating our intimate historic bonds to our mother country and to Canada with our ties to Mexico, W. shows a staggering ignorance of the civilizational facts of life. The reason we are so close to Britain and Canada is that we share with them a common historical culture, language, literature, and legal system, as well as similar standards of behavior, expectations of public officials, and so on. My Bush Epiphany By Lawrence Auster

[Rick_Michael]

Absolutely. A side of my family still does the farm work that they're supposedly 'not willing to do'. It's just owners out there whom are willing to exploit the situation for cheap labor.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

The communist left is doing conservatives, and especially Republicans, a (huge) favor with their jingoist, foreign-flag waving in your face anger and anarchy. The longer the "reconquistas" drive the agenda, the quicker the American people will swing en mass, against their Che Guevera type socialist mob nitwit mentality.

With this I agree. The Muslims and the Hispanics, IOW the left in general, is pushing its luck to the limit. The backlash is going to occur so fast as to give the Democrats whiplash as they try to get back ahead of a parade that just did an about face.

However, many conservatives are turning a blind eye toward the real economic problem of the years of illegal immigration and millions of illegals now embedded in our economy. We are at full employment and if we had the resources, which we don't, to magically round up and return them all today our economy would take a big hit. Many businesses would close and the construction industry would come to a near stand still.

Those Americans who can't find jobs now won't be jumping into the bus boy, maid, waitress/waiter, lawn mowing, roofing, framing, etc., jobs that are now filled by illegals no matter what they pay. If they do they will do them slovenly and resentfully. There really are jobs Americans don't want to do.

This is not an easy problem to solve. Our economy will take a big hit. It would have been far better had it never gotten to this. However, the left, especially under the Clintons, have for years been encouraging the Hispanics and the Muslims to do just as they are doing.

It is not easy to put the brakes on now and reverse course. We are in Afghanistan and Iraq now just trying to do part of the job. We, real American citizens, may be taking to the streets in this country as our military is elsewhere.

[onyx]

SPAM for breakfast?

[teldon30]

It would have been far better had it never gotten to this.

---

We'll be saying this about China one day also...hopefully i will be an old man when they whip up the youth to bravely go fight the enemy we created...another topic though.

[CheyennePress]

You know, it's sick, but I laughed at this post. Well done!

[MonroeDNA]

I don't know what to do about the illegals here, but what I DO know is that we need a fence, NOW.

As another Freeper mentioned, when a pipe is leaking, and flooding your house, you fix the leak before you start bailing.

[onyx]

LOL! I like sick and upon a reread, I see my unwitting humor too...lol. It's late for me (not early). I have stayed up all night.

[madconserv]

Ah yes. The good old days. Back in high-school when the farmers used to hire HS kids nights and weekends to help out. I remember enjoying it because I was working with so many of my friends. It was more fun than work! Bring them back!

[starbase]

If they do they will do them slovenly and resentfully.

My FRiend, this is simply NOT a problem! They can pout, frown, drag their feet, ooze resentment out of every pore, it doesn't matter.

If anything it will give them the healthful motivation to improve themselves by trying for something better. This is the way it's always been, and it doesn't matter if anyone likes it or not.

What does matter, and is a massive, irreconcilable problem, is foreign invasion, coast to coast gang violence brought from South America, linguistic Balkanization, hospital bankruptcies, school overcrowding, etc., etc., etc., I know you are familiar with the problems of massive illegal immigration.

To put a bad attitude in the balance against that is meaningless.

[CheyennePress]

Does anyone find these numbers extrememly fishy?

"According to a poll by the Pew Research Center and Pew Hispanic Center released yesterday, 52 percent of Americans view immigrants as a burden because they take jobs and housing -- up from 38 percent in 2000 -- compared with 41 percent, who believe they strengthen the country. The poll also found 53 percent of Americans support sending illegals home, while 40 percent said they should be put on some sort of path toward citizenship."

They seem awfully low and that 40% figure awfully high.

[Right_in_Virginia]

It really is up to Congress to write tough legislation. Doubt they will.

I agree. This issue is just too complicated for the members of Congress, especially in the Senate.

They have to come up with a plan to deal with the illegals already here (deportation is not an option), stop the continuing flood of new ones, and get reelected.

The travesty we call the US Congress has neither the collective brain power nor the collective will to solve any problem, including this one.

[onyx]

Scant, damn few of them are even talking the right talk and they ought to be trying to persuade their colleagues day and night.

This is out of control and they know it.

Shame on them! AMERICANS FIRST! Serve us.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Those are both, clear majorities.

There's hope.

[starbase]

Does anyone find these numbers extrememly fishy?

They seem awfully low and that 40% figure awfully high.

Yes, those numbers seem padded to me too. I don't believe so many Americans (41%) believe uneducated foreigners who can't speak English and make a few dollars (read: suppressed wages) under the table are somehow making us all rich. Or as the article phrases it "compared with 41 percent, who believe they strengthen the country."

In fact, on second reading that's even more unbelievable, not only strengthen the economy, but strenghten the country!

Wow, that's some trick!

[starbase]

Ah yes. The good old days. Back in high-school when the farmers used to hire HS kids nights and weekends to help out. I remember enjoying it because I was working with so many of my friends. It was more fun than work! Bring them back!

I was working in technology in Oregon recently. Oregon has a vast farm industry. One lady who worked in a different department told me resentfully how her kids could no longer get hired to do extra harvesting work because tons of foreigners showed up, driving down the wages and sucking up the positions.

One young man who worked in the neighborhood barber shop told me he was dying to find a second job for some extra money, but there was nothing, so he was constantly short.

Americans LOVE to work, and work extra jobs to get ahead. I did, worked my way through college, sometimes working 48 hours a week PLUS a full load of classes (it can be done, take all your classes before 3pm, then head to the factory and work till 11pm, get up the next day and do it again!).

I repeat, Americans LOVE to work, and I am very angry to see illegals breaking rungs on our American ladder of personal advancement. I'm angry to see a "peasant class" taking embryonic form in our great Republic, and I'll try my best to stop it!!!

//righteous indignation

[willyd]

I don't buy the "these are jobs that Americans don't want to do". If the wage erosion was eliminated by clamping down on illegal hiring practices, the wages for these jobs would have to rise until the positions were filled. Also, the unemployment numbers don't take into account part time laborers or people who are currently seeking employment. Many people would work these jobs if they paid enough. We also have to reduce the welfare state and we will start seeing more applicants for these jobs.

[kjo]

Of course it's too late. The GOP has really, really let us down on this one. Large part of the southwest will be reclaimed by Mexico on at least a defacto basis within twenty years.

Vote Libertarian!

[1234]

"...Try to sell your home when 2 doors down the duplex has a yard full of cars ( and trucks, the newest & gaudiest ), three satellite dishes, and 15 or so people living in a space meant for four?..."

well-stated for 'JOE 6 PACK's education.