Posted on 05/26/2006 2:31:43 PM PDT by VU4G10
WASHINGTON - The White House on Friday said a Senate bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants is analogous to a traffic law that allows a speeder to pay a fine and continue driving.
"If you had a traffic ticket and you paid it, you're not forever a speeder, are you?" White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said in response to questions from The Examiner.
"So the fact is, you have paid your debt to society," he added. "And we have come up with a way to make sure that the debt to society gets paid. Then you move forward."
The "traffic ticket" analogy raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill, where many House Republicans regard illegal immigration as a grave crime.
"I don't know if Tony meant to trivialize it or not," said Will Adams, spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. "But it's certainly misleading."
"The penalty for a speeding ticket is a fine," he added. "The penalty for being here illegally is being removed from this country. But the president doesn't want illegal aliens to go home."
Snow emphasized that illegals would have to pay fines, learn English and wait years for a chance at full citizenship. But Adams called that "a slap on the hand" compared to deportation.
"Here's a more apt analogy," he said. "You get stopped for speeding, and you say to the cop: "Hey listen, you're about to give me a $300 ticket. How about we make it 20 bucks and just call it even?"
Snow predicted that House Republicans would eventually drop their opposition to the Senate bill, which passed Thursday. The bill, which includes a guest worker program that would grant legal status to aliens, is headed to a conference committee for possible reconciliation with a House bill aimed at beefing up border security.
Snow suggested the guest worker program could be sold to even ardent opponents like Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
"Chairman Sensenbrenner, who's got some real problems with various aspects, has said publicly that the temporary worker program has merit," Snow said.
"There are areas in which members of the House are going to agree with the president," he added. "I certainly don't want to be speaking for Chairman Sensenbrenner, but the fact is, you know politics."
But Sensenbrenner appeared unmoved.
"What's going on now, in calling it a pathway to citizenship or earned legalization, is not honest because it is amnesty," he said at a news conference.
Hoo-Ha! So Tony has sold his soul to the devil!
We have a winner.
We have a winner.
I give Tony a year before he quits.
We will have to agree to disagree.
Lame-o Supreme-o!
why the hell would tony snow go from the radio gig to a job where he has to try to pass this B.S off to the american people with a straight face? This sounds like something froma rush limbaugh parody commercial!
You've got that right. America! The Mother Of All Pinatas.
Presidential pardons can be issued PRIOR to convictions too.
He wants to serve his country and President.
Do you really think any debt to society will ever be paid? Get real!
Sympathy for the Devil
Certainly can and has happened in the past but has never happened prior to some consequences for the action like resignation.
I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about the legal definition. Get Real!
The more B.S. Tony and the White House Spin Team keep pumping out there, the angrier Americans are going to get.
" Gee officer, I've been speeding, but I don't want to pay the fine." "Oh by the way the car is "borrowed", I have a phoney drivers license and I don't pay insurance or registration on the car". "But I'm not a criminal I just do the driving Americans won't do".
Surreal. I used to respect this guy.
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