Posted on 06/16/2007 6:40:40 AM PDT by kellynla
During a speech last month to Georgia law enforcement officials, President Bush opined that opponents of the stalled immigration reform bill “don’t want to do what’s right for America.” If they only understood the bill’s provisions, he implied, they would see the light. But, alas, they hadn’t “read the bill” and could only “speculate” about its complex provisions. He warned them to stop trying “to frighten people.”
These unscripted remarks unleashed a torrent of criticism from the president’s political base. Conservative talk-show hosts, pundits, bloggers and grassroots activists seized on the criticism as an opportunity to educate Americans on the bill’s many flaws. Constituent mail and phone calls poured in. Ultimately, a hardy band of conservatives forced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to pull the bill after two weeks of angry debate.
Last week, the president ventured to Capitol Hill to dine with Republican senators in a high-profile attempt to revive the bill. But he converted no one. With congressional leaders scheduled to consider other legislation guaranteed to further annoy and divide the president’s supporters (e.g., reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act and approving the sovereignty-stripping Law of the Sea Treaty), the question arises as to whether the president’s immigration dilemma -- having to thread the needle between openly hostile conservatives and the usual assortment of Bush-haters on the Left -- will be the norm for his remaining 18 months in office.
Several recent polls underscore the extent of his challenge.
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, the president’s overall approval rating fell six points between April and June (from 35% to 29%). But the drop was most intense among Republicans (from 77% to 65%), including conservative Republicans (from 86% to 74%), and Independents (from 34% to 22%).
Another poll, conducted by Gallup after Bush’s Georgia speech, found a similar drop in his standing among GOP loyalists, where his positive rating hit a near-record low of 70% (alarms sound whenever a politician scores below 80% with his core supporters). According to Gallup, the only other time Bush’s GOP approval rating was so low was about a year ago when -- you guessed it -- the Senate was angrily debating comprehensive immigration reform. Hmmm.
“It was the debate over immigration,” pollster Scott Rasmussen confirmed last week, “that cost the president support among his base and pushed his approval ratings to new lows.”
Political operatives are well aware that the disenchantment over immigration has settled primarily on Bush and those lawmakers who have led the charge in the Senate. Sen. Reid’s approval rating sunk 7 points in a month, to a microscopic 19%. John McCain (R-Ariz.) fell in many presidential polls. Yet the national GOP emerged unscathed, and may even have benefited, from the turmoil.
A month ago, Rasmussen reports, Democrats enjoyed a 14-point advantage (47% to 33%) as the party best able to handle immigration. Following the Senate debate, however, the Democrats’ advantage shrunk to only five points (40% to 35%). “Immigration,” he concludes, “is now tied with taxes as the GOP’s strongest issue” and is “the only issue on which unaffiliated voters trust Republicans more than Democrats.”
What explains the intensity so many Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents bring to this issue? My guess is that this is yet another manifestation of the ideological divide that separates Red from Blue America. Because Republicans are more reflexively pro-American than their Democratic colleagues, they place a much higher value on U.S. citizenship and therefore are more likely to vigorously oppose policies they perceive as granting citizenship too freely, especially to lawbreakers.
For example, polls demonstrate that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they are “very patriotic” and more likely to see America as a place where “most people living in other countries would like to live.” Also, by a 2-to-1 margin, Republicans believe “we should be willing to fight for our country … right or wrong.” A majority of Democrats disagree. Finally, Republicans attach more importance to the rule of law than Democrats do. Republicans are much more likely to want to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens and banks that offer them credit cards.
The disenchantment with Bush can be summed up in an L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll, which asked Republican primary voters whether they want the next Republican nominee for president to continue Bush’s policies or move the country in a new direction.
They opted for a new direction by the overwhelming margin of 65% to 27%.
They opted for a new direction by the overwhelming margin of 65% to 27%."
'Nuff said. 11/2008 won't come soon enough for me.
bttt
If they Poll Bush this weekend they might get negative numbers.
And confirmed what the demorats have been saying for years. The man is dumber than a coal bucket.
With all dude respect, Bush has lost his mind.......
Yet when you want to use it to make your point you do - I call this duplicity but maybe it is really nativity on my part.
drama queen
There are a few aspects of it that the MSM hasn’t covered.
President Bush’s SOTU, he said he would put an end to Human Trafficking. He first brought up amnesty here:
Copy/Excerpt:
BUSH ADMINISTRATION HOSTS FIRST NATIONAL TRAINING CONFERENCE TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
President George W. Bush And Attorney General John Ashcroft Address Conference
TAMPA - Today, President Bush joined Attorney General Ashcroft and other senior Bush Administration officials at the first-ever national training conference on human trafficking: Human Trafficking into the United States: Rescuing Women and Children from Slavery. Hosted by the Justice Department, the conference brought together over 500 attendees, comprised of the hundreds of state, local and federal officials who work together to combat human trafficking in communities across America. Trafficking in persons, a modern day form of slavery, is a serious problem in the United States and throughout the world. Each year, an estimated 600,000-800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked against their will across international borders. Of those, 14,500-17,500 are trafficked into America. Victims are forced into prostitution, or to work in sweatshops, quarries, as domestic labor, or child soldiers, and in many forms of involuntary servitude.
Throughout the past three years, the Bush Administration has taken strong steps to combat trafficking at home and abroad. Today at the conference, the Bush Administration announced new steps and resources to combat human trafficking. These initiatives include $14 million to law enforcement to help human trafficking victims, $4.5 million for organizations to assist victims, new interagency cooperation to ensure the timely delivery of benefits and services to victims, a model state law criminalizing human trafficking, new training resources, new task forces, as well as greatly increased investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking.
“From the very beginning of his Administration, President Bush has spoken forcefully and eloquently about the brutal crime of human trafficking,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “We will protect the victims, prosecute the perpetrators, and build partnerships to address, attack and prevent human trafficking. These steps send a clear message that America will repel aggressively assaults on our core values of freedom and respect for human dignity. We have had success in the past three years, but we understand that these efforts are only the beginning. It is critical that we work together to track down those who hide their barbaric businesses in the shadows, and to help their victims.”
/copy
In 2001, Bush also made the death penalty a federal law for death due to child rape.
Bush never said amnesty was for all illegal aliens. But the propaganda screams that.
And, if any of these victims: http://www.humantrafficking.com/humantrafficking/features_ht3/Testimonies/testimonies_mainframe.htm were given USA Citizen protection, I wonder how many customers and bosses they could testify against.
Just a thought.
“Conservatives Republicans Not Buying Bush Amnesty”
Much better.
Yeah, and I could use a bit of help with the “nativity” in post #7.
This is a bit of a stretch. It's important to note that gasoline prices have spiked in May of both 2006 and 2007. Historically, gasoline prices are the single most important indicator of a president's approval ratings.
Unfortunately, there are a substantial number of Americans who really wouldn't give a damn about illegal immigration if they were paying $1 for a gallon of gas instead of $3.
Or naivete.
“The man is dumber than a coal bucket.”
Bush is not dumb. He is just either blinded by his inlaws and/or the Klintoons have some verrrrry interesting pix of GWB in some compromising positions. “Honey, I knew those copies of F.B.I. files would come in handy.”
I believe that is a failed attempt to use the word “naivete” in a coherent sentence.
The name Bush will be rembered as a legacy of corruption for the true conservative.
>>Another freeper trusting the MSM for what the majority thinks of your President the same MSM you say lies all the time about Republican and conservative views and politicians<<
This may be the first time someone has labeled Human Events as part of the MSM. Congrats. :)
The great news is that standing by our principles, we are leaders on this issue and as the article says, people are following our lead. That is a great sign. We are fighting for our country and not backing down and it is paying off, even if it may not feel like it with this 'Night of the Living Dead' bill.
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