Posted on 05/31/2007 11:46:52 PM PDT by Baladas
President Bush sounded like he hoped to sever ties with the remaining 30 percent who like him when he went after critics in his party this week over opposition to his latest immigration plan.
"If you want to scare the American people, what you say is the bill's an amnesty bill," Bush said during a stop in Glynco, Ga. "That's empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our citizens."
It was his harshest public backhand yet to the conservative bloggers, commentators, politicians and CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, all gassing about how the bill amounts to amnesty.
"People shouldn't fear our capacity to uphold our motto, E Pluribus Unum," Bush told McClatchy Newspapers.
The compromise Senate bill is drawing fire from Republicans and Democrats. Critics on the left don't like the high fees and penalties for illegal immigrations, or the shift away from reuniting families and toward valuing education and skills in deciding who gets in. Conservative critics are calling it amnesty because it includes provisions for those in the U.S. illegally to eventually become citizens.
Points to Texas' diversity For Bush, the fight over immigration reform is a personal one — unlike Social Security or education reform, which were mostly political.
"I feel passionate about the issue. It's something I have felt strongly about ever since I was the governor of Texas," he said.
"Texas is a very diverse state, Houston is a very diverse city, and through that diversity, if you're open-minded, you get a great sense of how it invigorates the society," said Bush, a Houston resident in the 1960s and '70s.
Growing up in Texas, Bush said, "you recognize the decency and hard work and humanity of Hispanics. And the truth of the matter is a lot of this immigration debate is driven as a result of Latinos being in our country."
Or to be more specific, an unhappiness about Latinos being in the country. Bush, for the first time, is putting opponents on notice that he's going to call them out on their xenophobia if he needs to. In last year's failed effort at passing immigration reform, he never went that far.
"A lot of us in Texas were very aware of the immigration issue way before the rest of the country," Bush told McClatchy. Bush is working to keep the bill intact and moving forward.
His brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, joined former Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman in co-authoring an op-ed in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, calling on Republicans to support the bill.
In addition to arguing the merits, the two noted the political damage to the Republican Party after California in 1994 passed Proposition 187, a measure denying many public services to illegal immigrants.
"The GOP won the governor's mansion in the short term, but alienated the fastest-growing constituency in the state," they said.
With Congress out of town on recess, Bush had the microphone largely to himself on immigration. But he may not be getting traction because of the war in Iraq. The unpopular, long-running conflict has eroded public trust in the president and makes it harder for him to pass a domestic agenda. It also makes it easier for members of Congress to oppose him.
>I will continue to support the President on the War on Terror.<
He wanted to sell the ports to Muslim backed companies. He is demanding that the sloppiest law enforcement ever be performed on our Southern border and you think he’s worthy of support? Your standards are much lower than mine when it comes to ‘barely acceptable’.
No tin foil needed
The Bush family just bought 90,000+ acres in South America.
They know Crawford Ranch will be over run with illegals soon enough.
Do a web search...the links are in the other FR “immigration” threads.
He’s jumping ship sooner then you think.
McCain-Feingold - Strike 1
Harriet Miers - Strike 2
Dubai Port Scam - Strike 3
Amnesty and “Guest Worker” scheme - Strike 4
Gloabl Warming Sell-Out - Strike 5
How many more will he get before 2008?
Will the Republican nominee for 2008 be able to overcome this man’s failures? I hope and pray the nominee does, because if not, the alternative is Hitlery or Barrack HUSSEIN Obama.
I wish Bush understood this when he demands our support;
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.”
- Mark Twain
If you want to make people angry, lie to them.
If you want to make them absolutely livid, then tell ‘em the truth.
Now that you understand what is happening, do you feel angry and betrayed or relieved that the wool will never again be pulled over your eyes by a politician?
I’m more scared than anything else. I don’t want to leave MexAmeriCanada to my children. One world government of, by and for the multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations is not what was left to me, but it may be my generation’s legacy to the next. I’m just sick about it.
I've felt this way every time the Bush defends these invaders. And it's more than surrendering our borders. It's not upholding what makes our country "our country". If you no longer have a sovereign country, just who are you fighting for?
I would say these honorable men and women are fighting for their families, and you and I, but if they're fighting for a country that is not sovereign, they should not be subject to fighting with their hands tied behind their backs because of Bush and the elite.
I agree. Perhaps you misinterpreted my posts.
The Mexicans are among the world’s wealthiest people, not the poorest.
(18)>>So no amnesty huh? Can you share with us your plan to get this Congress to approve the laws and funding to do what we all want? (please don`t say just follow existing law, that`s a dead pony)<<
(59)>>Who`s defending the Bill? My point is don`t be stupid and “think” that by destroying the Republican Party, things will get better with immigration and border security. President Hillorat won`t care.<<
Make up your mind. In post 18 you present the question as a choice of either
1) pass this amnesty bill or
2)no enforcement.
So you are not defending the bill?
And if Bush Jr. and the RINOs cared about the 2008 election they would not be pushing this ridiculous bill (while attacking real conservatives), which is likely to elect Hillorat and a bunch of Dems.
>>By the way, under existing law, there is no punishment for being here illegally.<<
Please don’t post about matters that you don’t know.
INA: ACT 276 - REENTRY OF REMOVED ALIEN
Sec. 276. [8 U.S.C. 1326]
(a) Subject to subsection (b) any alien who-
(1) 1/ has been arrested and deported, has been excluded and deported, or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion or deportation is outstanding, and thereafter
(1) 2/ has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed,or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding, and thereafter
(2) enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in, the United States, unless (A) prior to his reembarkation at a place outside the United States or his application for admission from foreign contiguous territory, the Attorney General has expressly consented to such alien’s reapplying for admission; or (B) with respect to an alien previously denied admission and removed 3/ , unless such alien shall establish that he was not required to obtain such advance consent under this or any prior Act, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), in the case of any alien described in such subsection-
(1) whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of three or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against the person, or both, or a felony (other than an aggravated felony), such alien shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both;
(2) whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of an aggravated felony, such alien shall be fined under such title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both;
(3) 4/ who has been excluded from the United States pursuant to section 235(c) because the alien was excludable under section 212(a)(3)(B) or who has been removed from the United States pursuant to the provisions of title V, and who thereafter, without the permission of the Attorney General, enters the United States, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, and imprisoned for a period of 10 years, which sentence shall not run concurrently with any other sentence; or
Political analysis was all wrong.
I'm not giving him the 'props' (whatever they are) on that, because he has not allowed our soldiers to fight aggressively enough. Fallujah should have been a smoldering hole in the ground the second that we saw pictures of dead burnt bodies of US contractors hanging from that bridge. All of Western Pakistan (where the Taliban and bin Laden are hiding) should have been reduced to rubble, before they infect Afghanistan again.
I used to believe that the President's "Islam is a religion of peace," was just BS to lie to the enemy, but I now believe that he actually believes it. Not stomping the menace of Islam, and amnesty for the illegals are what he really meant by "compassionate conservatism".
If he wants to take things personally, I cannot wait until the next Presidential approval ratings come out next week. He will see his already low rating cut at least in half. That's what happens when you insult your base.
Looks like I'm done with Jeb too. I'm thoroughly disgusted with the whole lot of them. Now I'm xenophobic because I don't want my country invaded by millions of illegals. Unbelievable.
I’m pretty sure he didn’t support sending them back to Africa.
Don’t get me wrong. I will vote against Hillorat.
I don’t think I can support the RINOs who voted for this amnesty bill, though.
He’s not stupid in an IQ sense. No president is. He’s stupid in the sense of largely misunderstanding how politics works, how do to his job, and the fundamental problems in our society, if not the world.
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