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Immigration issue ruptures Bush's conservative base
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | June 3, 2007 | Jim Rutenberg and Carl Hulse, New York Times

Posted on 06/03/2007 9:38:09 AM PDT by BornInASmallTown

President Bush's advocacy of an overhaul of immigration law and his attacks on critics of the plan are provoking a backlash from conservatives who form the bulwark of his remaining support, splintering his base and laying bare divisions within a party whose unity has been the envy of Democrats. It has pitted some of Bush's most stalwart congressional and grassroots backers against him, sparking a vitriol that has at times exceeded anything seen yet between Bush and his supporters, who have generally stood with him through the toughest patches of his presidency. Those supporters now view him as pursuing amnesty for foreign lawbreakers when he should be focusing on border security.

Postings on conservative Web sites in the last week have gone so far as to call for Bush's impeachment, and usually friendly radio hosts, commentators and congressional allies are warning that he stands to lose supporters -- a potentially damaging development, they say, when he needs all the backing he can get on other vital matters, like the war in Iraq.

"I think President Bush hurts himself every time he says it is not amnesty," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., referring to the bill's legalization process for immigrants. "We are not all that stupid."

Bush's comments to federal law enforcement trainees in Georgia on Tuesday, in which he took the rare step of going after conservative critics in terms usually reserved for Democrats, has charged the Republican ferment, specifically his suggestion that those opposed to the plan "don't want to do what's right for America." Presidential aides said later that Bush did not mean to impugn anyone's patriotism, and that he had ad-libbed the line during a passionate address on an issue he holds dear.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: amnesty; bush; illegals
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To: johnny7

Id like to see Romney win and then pick Hunter as his vp. He can be the border bull dog and make sure it gets done! Trancredo just isn’t as well spoken as Hunter.


41 posted on 06/03/2007 8:11:51 PM PDT by TheLion (How about "Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement," for a change)
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To: surelyclintonsbaddream
"But, heck, the next million illegals will do the job."

Problem is, we will get another 200 million third worlders in the next 20 years if amnesty passes. Jeff sessions laid this out very clearly last year when the first amnesty bill made it through the senate.

42 posted on 06/03/2007 8:15:06 PM PDT by TheLion (How about "Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement," for a change)
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To: BornInASmallTown

What gripes me is that the President and the other politicians keep using this 6 year old figure of 12 million illegals. 30 to 40 million have snuck in since. The border patrol and Homeland security said that 10 million got through in 2005 and 2006!


43 posted on 06/03/2007 8:17:31 PM PDT by TheLion (How about "Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement," for a change)
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