I have immense respect for Dane, so that is a compliment. If you were wiser you would thank us for educating you.
No facts or anything, just sharp rhetoric and personal cheap shots.
I have little respect for people who are so angry and frustrated by illegal immigration they propose suicidal solutions like letting the rats win. At best it is a juvenile tantrum, but many of the voices on your side are simply liberal agitators playing a role.
You may not like my opinion but you have yet to dispute it. The best your side can hope for is a defeat for the Senate bill while illegals continue to invade.
This problem can't be solved by those who fear losing their jobs to hardworking but uneducated illegals. Illegal immigration is caused by a demand for laborers. Our unemployment rate is less than 5%. People who are unemployed in this economy are either lazy, disabled, drug addicts, mentally ill, or just irresponsible. Employers don't want to hire these people, but even if we forced business to take these rejects it still would not fill the void of 20 million illegals some working 2 or more jobs. The failure to succeed in America is one's own fault, but for some it is easier to scape goat rather than admit the truth.
The demand for laborers will intensify as the baby boomers retire and legal Americans continue to abort their children. Do you realize that America's legal population has decreased for the last 2 years?
"MAKE THE PRISONERS WORK FOR THEIR KEEP!" shouts a border kook from another thread. I don't want a house built by a criminal. I don't want a thief vacuuming the bank floor. I don't want pedophiles on the payroll. I don't want to buy their goods or services for safety reasons.
An increased border security cure by itself can't solve the problem, yet this is the demand of the border fringe. Barriers can be gone over and under and even sabotaged and gone through. Weak points through legal ports will be exploited until there is no gain in coming. Sadly, time in prison may be more enticing to illegals than starvation in their homeland. Unless your side finds a charismatic leader who can desensitize enough voters to suffering and authorize lethal solutions I see little chance barriers will be successful...they will just produce stronger and cleverer illegals. The pressure producing illegal immigration is supply pressing into the USA from outside the border and demand from within the US to fill the labor vacuum. Increased border security does nothing to address the supply or demand. It's natural result will be new and more ruthless paths of entry. That pressure will favor illegal entry if legal entry is unattainable until the businesses determine it is more profitable to outsource as much labor as possible.
A country with a shrinking workforce is a weaker nation. That is not a situation we can endure for long. The best solution to fill the labor vacuum is to import the workers...perhaps on a temporary basis like a guest worker program, or a permanent basis by speeding up legal means of immigrating. Right now many qualified people wait several years to enter and some who are perfectly qualified to flip burgers, clean offices, stock shelves, or mow lawn would never even be considered for entry...what do they have to lose by entering illegally? To a man with nothing to lose even criminal charges may not dissuade.
I believe some Freepers don't take the time to actually think about the issue beyond "what part of illegal don't you get?" I have thought deeply on this issue. I have thought about the incredible pressure to expand the economy in the coming years with the baby boomers retiring. Next year SS will pay out more than it takes in. Soon it will force a tax hike or a cut in benefits.
Some posters shriek hysterically "illegals steal all the good paying jobs and collect welfare checks. They spread disease while draining the American health care system dry. They commit murder and rape and fill up the prisons even though our corrupt government looks the other way. They are destroying our American culture even though they refuse to assimilate and take part in the communities in which they live. We spend billions educating their children and they still can't speak English." Even a skinhead should see the contradictions. Some posters claim deportation of 20 million people is a panacea for all American woes. Call it intellectually dishonest or just bigotry, I can't respect this either. America survived Reagan's amnesty and has thrived. I'm expected to believe this problem, which America has endured since it's conception must be fixed now or voters will abandon the GOP in favor of the rats. right.
I actually don't believe illegal immigration is an issue that motivates voters. There will be 2 issues in 06 and 08. The WOT and the economy and I've got election history to back it up. Look at the candidates for President in the last 50 years from both parties. Name one that ran on the issue of (illegal)immigration.
It is the issue that launched the political failures of William Jennings Bryant, David Duke, Pat Buchanan, and Tom Tancredo. In May 1999, Tancredo founded the House Immigration Reform Caucus. He's been in the forefront of this issue for a long time. Tancredo could have run unopposed for the CO GOP Gov nomination in 04. He is taking in big money from supporters around the country, but he lacks the will or fortitude to lead on the immigration issue by running for high office.
Where is Gov Wilson? The Hero of Prop 187!
Where are the national leaders jumping on this sure fire election position of the ages?
What about the polls that show people care about illegal immigration? The media paid exit polls said Kerry won in 04 and Gore won in 2000...on election day. Many Americans see illegal immigration as a problem including me. I'd like to have some evidence besides the lying-stinking drive-by-media telling me illegal immigration is an important issue to voters.
Lame.
Whatever. I've spend a great deal of time to express my opinion. I've provided "facts" to support it. "Sharp rhetoric" is my style, but I've tried to keep the "personal cheap shots" to a few good humored jabs. I invite you to point out where I am wrong.
Thank you for the compliment Once-Ler, although I don't seek them constantly as a politician like tom tancredo does, they are nice to get once in a while.
Also did you see this. Tancredo and Bay Buchanan's picked candidate(John Jacob) going against good conservative, Chris Cannon, is promoting an immigration plan based on Disneyland's fast pass, it's hilarious(and also that is why the thread is basically silent as of around 10:30 AM, 6/20/2006), even the tancredo zealots on FR can't twist themselves into their usual rhetorical pretzel defending Jacob's remarks.
Thank you for putting that on the record. You have just allied yourself with the worst leftist lie spreading, race-baiting, conservative attacking whackjob on Free Republic. I'm sure that your credibility as a poster here will be enhanced by your alliance with Dane. Let me know how that works out for you.
No one - I mean NO ONE - wants increased border security "by itself". They want increased border security coupled with actual enforcement of our interior immigration and employment laws. HR 4437, which was passed by the REPUBLICANs in the House of Representatives and opposed by the FRINGE DEMOCRATS puts border security first and then relies upon enforcement of our immigration laws in the interior. Further laws should be passed to strengthen interior enforcement but none of it will work if we don't first secure the border.
You ally yourself with the DEMOCRATS, not the conservative Republicans when you support amnesty and rewards for criminals who have violated our national borders, committed document fraud and identity theft, etc. You ally yourself with Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the Democrats in the Senate when you wish to excuse lawbreaking employers from their crimes. You ally yourself with the racist, leftist La Raza organization when you oppose enhanced border security. You are in OPPOSITION TO THE REPUBLICANS in the House and the Senate when you take the position you've taken. Yet, you want to say that WE are in the "fringe" on this issue. When, it is YOU and DANE and people like you who are the fringe leftist whackos on Free Republic who are attacking and opposing the conservative Republicans on this issue.
Free Republic is a CONSERVATIVE website. Not a Democrat, leftist, or moderate website. Maybe your views would be more acceptable on a moderate website that supports RINOs like McCain and Democrats like Kennedy. But this website is reserved for promoting the CONSERVATIVE view and your opposition here is opposition to the mission and purpose of this conservative forum. That you ally yourself with someone like Dane who daily abuses this website to continue his slanderous attacks against solid conservative Republicans is very telling. That you consider his constant leftist race-baiting and non-sequitur, red herring, illogic attacks against conservatives here to be worthy of "respect" is also very telling. I urge you to find a more appropriate "moderate" website that may be more to your liking. We FReepers will continue to promote the conservative position despite the trolls who come along and attempt to undermine our purpose here.
Interesting, considering that Pete Wilson jumped on the Prop 187 bandwagon at the last minute- he was hardly a "hero", more of an opportunist.
And where is he? He was term limited out of office after being reelected- but you would have known that if you knew anything about California politics. But that's okay, it's always entertaining to read posts by someone who has only the thinnest sense of what she's talking about.