Base to Bush: Stop illegals

The Washington Times ^ | June 19, 2006 | Stephen Dinan

[kellynla]

Top conservative leaders have written President Bush telling him to drop his insistence on a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens and instead support the 85 percent of congressional Republicans who want to tighten law enforcement first.

Signers include William J. Bennett, Robert H. Bork, Ward Connerly, David A. Keene, Phyllis Schlafly and a number of think-tank academics and pundits.

The immigration debate is the first major issue on which Mr. Bush finds himself opposing a majority of Republicans in Congress and depending on Democrats to deliver a victory. In their letter, the conservatives tell Mr. Bush to side with his fellow Republicans in Congress or risk repeating the 1986 immigration law that promised enforcement and amnesty but delivered only the amnesty.

"Border and interior enforcement must be funded, operational, implemented and proven successful and only then can we debate the status of current illegal immigrants or the need for new guest-worker programs," 39 conservative leaders write in the letter, to be released today. A copy was obtained yesterday by The Washington Times. The letter was addressed as well to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.

Across the House and Senate, 85 percent of Republicans voted either for the House bill, which is an enforcement-only bill, or against the Senate bill, which dramatically increases immigration and offers a new right to citizenship for illegal aliens.

"That's pretty overwhelming among congressional Republicans. That shows a distance from [Senate bill sponsors Sens. John McCain and Edward M. Kennedy] and what the White House has been saying recently," John Fonte, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who is helping organize the letter, said in an interview.

[nathanbedford]

The Miers fiasco was Bush's jump the shark moment.

In the event, the uproar saved him from himself and spared us perhaps a generation of liberalism by judicial fiat and left Bush free to commit the next public relations fiasco, Katrina. But from this, no one could save him.

The immigration mess has much in common with the two preceeding fiascos: It was easilly avoided. Bush had merely to quietly enforce the law and the issue would have leached back into Mexico. But he would not.

He could have avoided the Katrina rap by eschewing cronyism in appointments to FEMA, but he was tone deaf. He could have anticipated the seriousness of such a calamity in the new age of terrorism merely by reflecting on the criticism his father receceived when he failed to get out in front during Andrew. But he learned nothing.

Bush had a stable full of thoroughbreds, as Roberts and Alito illustrate, but he dabbled in cronyism again in the Miers nomination.

What's next?

[brytlea]

Well, he needs to get out more!
susie

[RoseofTexas]

While he's saying NO, the 11million count has risen to 13million and more to come....heck, just open the borders and tell'em to COME ON IN! Mi casa es su Casa!

[bassmaner]

The vast majority of Mexicans that enter the US have assimilated faster than ANY other national immigrant group or race. They are almost 10% of the US military. And unlike the images seen from LA, in Phoenix, they are completely integrated and become middle-class in short order.

If they all put away the Mexican flags, pictures of Che Guevara, and signs exhorting us gringos to go back to Europe, then maybe I'll have a little sympathy.

If they endeavor to learn English and stop demanding us to communicate with them in a foreign language, then maybe I'll have a little sympathy.

Until then, I and many other Americans want them OUT. Period.

[ckilmer]

The trouble is that no one quite sees that the very best thing we could do for Mexico is to send their now well trained citizens home.

Suddenly Mexico would have a skilled workforce who knew something about how a world class country worked.

Think these folk would propel a great leap forward for Mexico?

I do.

Basically the ruling class in Mexico will not change of its own volition--even if those changes were in its own interest. But it can be forced to change.

The Mexicans in the USA have had the picture of what a well run country looks like tatooed on the back of their eyeballs. And they'll have an idea of how to get there. Send them back to Mexico and they'll get a revolution in Mexico that'll do that country some good.

The shock troops for that would be the 12 million repatriated Mexican citizens. Having seen what a well run country looks like they would not want to be stuffed back in the old wineskin.

There's something more.

I follow water desalination research pretty closely. While water desalination costs have dropped to about a third of what they were 15 years ago--the rate at which prices will drop over the next seven years will accelerate considerably. imo in even the next five years we will see desalination costs drop to 1/10th of today's costs. Or even faster than the fall the 3/4 fall that the LLNL researchers suggest.

Basically, the foundations are being laid today to make it economically feasable to to turn all the world's deserts green. (The proper way to look at this is to recall that cars, tv's and computers were at first rich men's toys but when prices came down they changed the world. Desalinised water is still relatively speaking -- a rich man's toy. But when the price drops sufficiently--desalinised water will change the world--because most deserts are right beside the ocean. Pumping the water 1000 miles inland will require that the scientists collapse the cost cracking out hydrogen from water. I think that this nut will be cracked sooner than desalination.)

imho cheap desalinised water will do for the republicans (if they can get this on their agenda or even the democrats if the pubbies drop the ball) what the great dam building projects & the tva of the 1930's & 40's did for democrats because 1/3 of the US is deserts. We would increase the habitable size of the USA by 1/3.

Dirt cheap desalinised water will also do things like make it possible to double the habitable size of Mexico.

And desalinated water in tandem with repatriation of now skilled Mexican citizens would propel Mexico into being a world class country.

Oh and one last thing. Mexico will need a stronger dose of of the Peruvian Hernando Desoto ideas on Property http://www.ild.org.pe/home.htm

[kellynla]

are you kidding?
do you know how much revenue Mexico receives every year from illegals working here?
can you say TENS OF BILLIONS!

Mexico doesn't want these people back
hell, Mexico is doing all she can to get rid of 'em!

not only are we hospitalizing and housing their citizens but we're incarcerating their criminals and educating their children FREE OF CHARGE TOO!

get a grip!
WE ARE BEING PLAYED! PERIOD!

[MNJohnnie]

Deal with reality here for 10 seconds for once instead of just squealing the same nonsense over and over. The House Republicans are holding hearings on the bill. The House is NOT going to consider it prior to their August Recess. They are NOT going to do anything so controversial BEFORE the elections. They are going to be too busy finishing up next year's budget and campaigning. THEN after the election they are not going to have time to wrap it up. THEN, January 2007 and new Congress with NEW Republican Leadership in the US Senate(since Frist is retiring) and the McCain/Kennedy Bill has DIED in Conference. So we all start from scratch in Jan.

Now let us address the stupidity of supposedly "Conservatives" spending ALL their time shooting at their own side. Take Mike Savage, an absolute Political Imbecilic no matter what he squeal at you every day.

When a Talking Head spends all their time shooting at what is supposedly their own side, you should KNOW why their agenda items go no where. Maybe it has something to do with this fanatic need to do the Democrats PR work for them some mythically "Conservatives" demonstrate day in and day out. Firing 100% of the time at our OWN side does ONLY one thing. It makes the Screamers active political allies of the Democrat Party.

Sorry but this behavior by supposedly "Conservative" is childish and irrational. Either they are all too dumb to realize what the logical consequences of their actions are or they just do not care. Either way this daily temper tantrum being thrown by supposedly "Conservative" people is stupid. They are actively trying to throw a way a glass 60% full of Conservative values to pour themselves a glass 100% full of Leftist poison. Sorry but real adults understand you do NOT get only 100% of what you want. Everything in life requires compromises. Rarely, if ever, do you get ONLY 100% of what you want. Time some of the Squeal Like Pigs crowd grew up and dealt with that unhappy adult reality.

Past time for these daily temper tantrums to stop.

[seasoned traditionalist]

"The President is hard-headed on almost every issue. I don't happen to agree with him this time, but he always sticks to his guns ... something I have long admired in him."

Yes, and as that saying goes: "A stopped watch is right, twice a day!"

I like and admire W as well for many things he done and stood for--most notably, the WOT.

But on this issue, he's so far afield, its sad.

Like so many, just cannot understand his thinking on this and believe he's getting bad advice and also being pressured by pro-illegal alien forces.

Maybe, he'll come around after elections?

[kellynla]

as usual, the only response your comment warrants is my tagline. Again, do me a favor and if you just can't resist staying off my threads at least have the decency to quit posting to me. I have neither the time or the inclination to read your stupid remarks.

Class dismissed!

[pgyanke]

Whatever. My comment was strictly that the President should enforce the laws as they are currently written. I'm not advocating abandoning the conservative cause over this, just reminding our "highest employee" of his job description.

I see absolutely no reason to expect that whatever law comes out of Congress will be enforced when those that are currently on the books are not. Therefore, this is an exercise in futility by the Republican "leadership".

[seasoned traditionalist]

"So, what is Bush's point in doing it THIS way when he could probably get what he wants in a little different way?

That, my fellow Freeper, as the ol saying goes, (if your old enough to remember) is the $64,000 question.

Why indeed? I know he's not stupid or ignorant. I think he really believes that his position on this is honorable and correct.

Unfortunately, I don't think he has a grasp on just how serious this problem is and though you don't agree, I believe he may be (at least somewhat) insulated from the realities of what is actually transpiring as a result of the failed border policies.

[brytlea]

You could be right about being insulated, but if that's the case, someone is certainly not doing their job.
susie

[Kimberly GG]

"So, why is the White House insisting on doing it the stupid way? "



RICO

[Rockitz]

This is not in the agenda of the president nor the majority of the senate who have sold us out to benefit their big business constituents.

[La Enchiladita]

I don't know where you are hearing the sounds of squealing pigs from, John.

I gave you some rational statements to ponder.

Who mentioned Mike Savage, besides yourself? And as for siding with the Democrat party, only those senators who voted YES on S. 2611 did so.

That means those of us opposed to S. 2611 are opposed to the Democrat (i.e., Kennedy) ideology which includes amnesty.

It really seems your main interest is in railing against conservatism. Not that it bothers me. It's your First Amendment right.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Your screen name gives you away. Are you an illegal from Mexico too ?

Obviously just doing the FReeping that American FReepers won't do.

[Altura Ct.]

That, my fellow Freeper, as the ol saying goes, (if your old enough to remember) is the $64,000 question.

I agree it is the question but I don't agree he is that stupid or insulated. This is not a minor issue with little consequence. If his head is so far in the clouds on something so very important to most of the American people then maybe he is not the leader we thought he was or even want.

[cinives]

When a Talking Head spends all their time shooting at what is supposedly their own side, you should KNOW why their agenda items go no where. Maybe it has something to do with this fanatic need to do the Democrats PR work for them some mythically "Conservatives" demonstrate day in and day out. Firing 100% of the time at our OWN side does ONLY one thing. It makes the Screamers active political allies of the Democrat Party.

Oh I see. According to your rant here, conservatives have not criticized any Dems on this same issue ? We're rolling over and praising Kennedy and Pelosi and Durbin and the like ?

If your post wasn't so "childish and irrational" (yes I'm quoting you back at yourself) I'd have to say you were deliberately blind. Conservatives don't like any politico, dim or pub, who doesn't understand "Secure the borders first". RINOS won't advance the conservative agenda so we don't support them. Period.

[Leatherneck_MT]

I stopped reading your overblown rants a long time ago when it comes to dealing with this issue. You have alot of room to talk when it comes to rants and raves on this immigration issue, so why don't you follow some of your own advise and act like an adult and debate things in an adult manner instead of continuing to show your left leaning hillary supporting trends.