It's ludicrous for you to say that it was my claim that the president was not referring to the Minutemen.
The statement was a clear-as-day warning about what he didn't want to see on the border. It wasn't an identification of what was on the border nor was it a prediction of what he thought would be on the border.
In short, he didn't call anybody a vigilante nor did he call any group(including the Minutemen) vigilantes. Instead he said people and groups(including the Minutemen) shouldn't act like a vigilantes.
Your calim has no credibility.
And said:
No, and the Minutemen weren't even on the border at the time....Most likely, the President not knowing who the reporter was talking about, gave his general philosophy of what he did not want to see at the border. Thanks for the transcript. (To hell with common knowledge and conventional wisdom)And said (post #787): Again looking at the transcript his most likely intent was to give his general philosophy of what he did not want to see at the border. He later confirmed that was his intent.
And said (post #794)...In short, he didn't call anybody a vigilante nor did he call any group(including the Minutemen) vigilantes. Instead he said people and groups(including the Minutemen) shouldn't act like a vigilantes.
And said (post #902): The Minutemen weren't even on the border yet. Yet you want the President to comment on the Minutemen's activity at the border before it happens.
And said (post #980): It's ludicrous for you to say that it was my claim that the president was not referring to the Minutemen.
But here's what Scott McClellan said about what the President stated six days earlier, on March 23, 2005, about whom the President was speaking, and about which neither Scott McClellan, who speaks on behalf of the President, did not DENY the denouncements against the Minutement, nor to deny that the word "vigilantes" was addressed....he was asked "point-blank" the reporter, and he REFUSED to OUTRIGHT make a detraction by saying "NO." Instead, we get more evasive answers to direct questions.
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, March 29, 2005.
March 29, 2005 | Reporter: Mexico's President Fox announced during his news conference that our border fence between San Diego and Tijuana, in his words, must be demolished. My first question: During their subsequent Waco summit, did President Bush in any way reply to this Fox demand, which Senator Kyl of Arizona called, downright insulting, other than Mr. Bush denouncing the American Minutemen as "vigilantes"?March 29, 2005 | MR. McCLELLAN: Les, a couple things. First of all, this goes to a much larger issue, this question, and the larger issue is making sure that we have a safe, orderly and humane migration system. We have worked closely with Mexico on issues relating to our borders. There is more that we can do to control our borders, and the Department of Homeland Security is working to do that every day. We have an increase in the number of agents along the border, they're working to address the situation in some of the areas where you're referencing, as well.
And the President put forward an initiative, his temporary worker initiative, to address some of these issues, because we have a problem in this country where now I think it's some 10 million undocumented immigrants working in this country. And they oftentimes are coming here simply to support their families back home. And they're also filling jobs that otherwise are not being filled by American citizens. So there is an economic need that we can address.
And there is also -- by addressing this situation, the President believes we can do a better job of enforcing our borders and going after those who are coming here for the wrong reason -- whether it's terrorists or people intent on criminal activity. This will free up our border patrol and border agents to go after those who should not be coming into this country in the first place.
March 29, 2005 | Reporter: The Washington Times has listed nine countries who have either built or are building border fences. Has President Fox, to your knowledge, condemned any border fence, beside our border fence? And why is denouncing the Arizona Minutemen any better than denouncing neighborhood crime watchers?
March 29, 2005 | MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. I mean, the President spoke to this issue last week and I think he addressed it very clearly for you all.
In terms of President Fox, I'm not going to try to comment for him -- you might want to direct those questions to his office. But I know that the Department of Homeland Security, regarding the question you're bringing up, tomorrow is going to be having an announcement in Tucson, Arizona, about an initiative they're undertaking along the Arizona border to better control the border there.
In terms of the issue of the Minutemen that you bring up, again, the President spoke to that issue last week. And it's one thing if people are working along the border, simply to report suspicious activity, and that activity should be reported to the proper authorities -- the Department of Homeland Security officials, who are there to enforce our borders. If people are operating outside of the law, that cannot be tolerated. That's a different --
March 29, 2005 | Reporter: Well, that's my point. That's what they're doing -- they're neighborhood crime watch.
March 29, 2005 | MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on. Hang on. That's a different matter. People cannot take things into their own hands. But if they see suspicious activity, they should report that suspicious activity to the proper authorities and --
March 29, 2005 | Reporter: And that doesn't make them vigilantes, does it?
March 29, 2005 | MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if you're talking about a group of armed, untrained individuals roaming around the desert [Amendment II : A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed], that would be something that would concern us and it would increase the chance that someone could get hurt. And we don't want people operating outside the law [ILLEGALS ARE "operating outside the law" and so is the government by not enforcing the law] -- the President made that very clear last week. So if you're talking about people reporting suspicious activity, that's one thing. If you're talking about people operating outside the law, that's another matter and it's one that cannot be allowed to happen.
It is very clear that the President has denounced the Minutemen more than once and referred to them as vigilantes. As a postscript, as of April 2006, there has not yet been an instance when the President has praised what the Minutemen have done or are doing: AMERICANS DOING THE JOB CONGRESS REFUSES TO DO.