Posted on 05/10/2006 7:15:13 PM PDT by Dems_R_Losers
Disaffection over spending and immigration have caused conservatives to take flight from President Bush and the Republican Congress at a rapid pace in recent weeks, sending Bush's approval ratings to record lows and presenting a new threat to the GOP's 12-year reign on Capitol Hill, according to White House officials, lawmakers and new polling data.
Bush and Congress have suffered a decline in support from almost every part of the conservative coalition over the past year, a trend that has accelerated with alarming implications for Bush's governing strategy.
The Gallup polling organization recorded a 13-percentage-point drop in Republican support for Bush in the past couple weeks. These usually reliable voters are telling pollsters and lawmakers they are fed up with what they see as out-of-control spending by Washington and an abandonment of core conservative principles more generally.
There are also significant pockets of conservatives turning on Bush and Congress over the their failure to tighten immigration laws, restrict gay marriage and to put an end to the Iraq war and the rash of political scandals, according to lawmakers and pollsters.
Bush won two presidential elections by pursuing a political and governing model that was predicated on winning and sustaining the loyal backing of social, economic and foreign policy conservatives. The strategy was based on the belief that conservatives, who are often more politically active than the general public, could be inspired to vote in larger numbers and would serve as a reliable foundation for his presidency. The theory, as explained by Bush strategists, is that the president would enjoy a floor below which his support would never fall.
It is now apparent that this floor has weakened dramatically and collapsed in places.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This may come as a HUGE shock to you, but not everybody has been breathing the Minutemen and immigration 24/7 for the last few months.
Our police do arrest illegals, our jails are full of them, we are not a sanctuary at all. You said my state needed to enforce the border itself- that is not a state function, the Feds control the border- or not as the case may be. Feds do not want states meddling in their business- even when they can't manage the job. It's not as simple as you think. Being a day's drive from the border is just not the same as being a few minutes walking distance, I can assure you.
Don't know about a Bush bash, but the President is most certainly no going by what almost the whole country thinks on this issue.
I think we are another 9-11 away from sealing borders though.
HUH? PUNCH HERE.
I'd bet the farm on it, if I had a farm.
Tammy, do they arrest them only for violent crimes or for being illegal?
In CA they arrest them for only violent crimes, which increased the size of the prison population by 50%.
Is that a reference to BJ's "I did not inhale" line?
LOL
love that phrase...gotta remember it,
If you dumped weed on my shoe, I would say "Are you high?"
You mean sort of like calling Bush a traitor and calling for his impeachment?
While that may also be frowned upon by conservatives, though I think Republicans is the word you should've used for your real intent, it isn't a crime that I'm aware of.
How is such a statement criminal? I'm guilty of calling for x42's impeachment, as were you at the time if I recall, and that makes us both...what?...criminals?
Yeah!!!, the crowd loudly yells from the sideline.
People keep saying that, and they must base it on polls. I think all polls are worthless, but if polls are what are being used as support, than I will say that they do not indicate "almost the whole country" is as spun up about this issue as the anti-Bush crowd on FR is. In fact, illegal immigration is a top concern of less than a third of most of this country in even the most favorable poll I've seen to support that claim. And in a recent Foxnews poll, only 50% of Americans supported building a wall if "cost was no factor". What do you suppose that number would be once the hundreds of billions of dollars a wall would cost were dropped on the public?
All states have an illegal invader problem. States should enforce the law even when the Fed won't. Not sure what state you are referring to, or which ones are plagued by do-nothing governors who do control the National Guard.
One thing I haven't noticed on this thread...where's the amnesty supporters?
Anyone who was calling for Clinton's impeachment wasn't using logic either, it eludes to two words : "President Algore"
You all just cannot stop telling people whether they can or cannot be "conservative," can you?
But let me make this perfectly clear: if being a "real, true conservative" means I have to support a child molester just because he's with the Minutemen, then I don't want to be a 'real, true' conservative.
Well, you should really dislike Morris Dees, then. I'm surprised any self-respecting FReeper would give credence to anything that man says, let alone condemn a conservative on that basis. There were charges that came to light in court proceedings, pertaining to Dees' behavior toward an underage girl. In fact, there are several threads on that very topic on FR:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/971214/posts
Not this time. Hillary is running. Jeb will pop up later.
It's an ugly dance, especially when they press up against each other (tsunami- Bill and GHWB) or when a hurricane shows up and it's a rush to see who can shovel the greatest amount of taxpayer's dollars into a rathole the fastest.
Excuse me! Police Officers have nothing to do with this, they're not even allowed to ask an illegal alien for proof of residency or anything of that nature.
Perhaps this will give you a little more knowledge about the situation.
http://www.bakersfield.com/619/story/50120.html
21 who skipped work for boycott fired
Erik Loyd | Friday, May 5 2006 10:25 PM
Last Updated: Friday, May 5 2006 11:07 PM
America’s immigration debate has hit home for a Bakersfield business owner.
Burns Drywall and Plastering owner Jeff Burns fired several employees who stayed home from work last Monday to observe the immigration boycott.
Jeff Burns, owner of Burns Drywall & Plastering Inc., fired at least 21 Latino employees who he said didn’t show up for work on Monday because of the “day without immigrants” boycott in Bakersfield.
Although Burns’ decision to terminate the workers has won praise from supporters, it has also hurt him financially — and placed him on uncertain legal ground.
Burns knew that the men were discussing the planned protest of legislation that would attempt to seal off the U.S.-Mexico border and make criminals of illegal immigrants and those who assist them.
“I got together with everyone who works for me,” Burns said. “I had bilingual people there. I told them, ‘We’re here to work. We don’t play politics. Do that on your own time.’”
To make his policy unmistakably clear, Burns drew up a memo warning the workers that they would be fired for participating in the boycott. Workers were instructed to sign an attached sheet to acknowledge the warning.
“By not showing up for work, you do harm to Burns Drywall & Plastering, Inc. and our customers,” the memo reads. “We lose jobs, good customer relationships, it harms our name and reputation and we lose money.”
By about 7 a.m. on Monday, Burns knew where he stood. Several men were missing.
“It was pretty lonely here,” Burns said. “I knew they weren’t coming. I went on with the skeleton crew I had.”
But the absentees showed up the next day. Burns said he called a meeting and asked their whereabouts the day before. “We had to march,” was the reply, Burns said.
“So I said, ‘You can march on out that gate — you can’t work here anymore. I told you what would happen,’” Burns said. There was no trouble as the workers left.
Burns’ actions raise questions with cloudy answers. While he is certain that most, if not all, of his crew are illegal immigrants, he is uncertain if he is obligated to verify the authenticity of the documentation they present when applying for a job.
Burns said he doesn’t have the means to perform such checks, and he needs the manpower. What’s more, he doesn’t know if there are legal ramifications to terminating the workers over a dispute that’s as much political as it is about the bottom line.
Dean Fryer, spokesman for California Department of Industrial Relations, said an employer could be found to have discriminated against employees if they are fired for taking part in a political event. On the other hand, “If they didn’t show up as scheduled, the employer has every right to take discipinlnary action against employees,” Fryer said. “There’s a fine line here.”
And whether the workers are illegal is irrelevant to the state, Fryer said.
“Documentation is not an issue,” he said. “That’s a federal issue.”
Burns said he fired some of his most skilled employees, which is costing the business $2,000 to $3,000 per day in lost production, but he has made a few new hires. While Burns was talking to The Californian by phone at midday Friday, two more Spanish-speaking job seekers were heard in the background.
Burns and his wife, Debbie, said they’re receiving a wave of calls from supporters across the state, reinforcing their conviction that their action was correct — even if it hurts personally and financially.
“My decision was based on the fact that I’m an American,” he said. “I’m not worried about my dollar today — I’m worried about my country tomorrow.”
"But let me make this perfectly clear: if being a "real, true conservative" means I have to support a child molester just because he's with the Minutemen, then I don't want to be a 'real, true' conservative."
Well, what does it make you, to quote a flat-out socialist child molester, as shown in records of divorce court proceedings, in order to smear a fellow conservative?
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