Ultimate explanation for George Bush's immigration & amnesty push - by John Derbyshire

National Review ^ | July 2, 2007 2:20 PM | John Derbyshire

[dennisw]

What a Waste. Steve Sailer said it all.

[L]et's stop and think about what an enormous waste of six years it has been for the President, aided and abetted by the almost the entire American Establishment, to pursue his delusion of imposing his immigration obsession on the citizenry. Even leaving aside how much better the immigration situation would be if Bush had followed his oath and simply enforced the damn laws, imagine what he would have been able to accomplish legislatively in other areas without wasting time, energy, and political capital on a losing proposition like this.

Well, why did he? Why did the president push this appalling bill with such passion and such arrogance? A number of theories are current. On a realist-to-romantic, or prose-to-poetry, spectrum, they are:

Machiavelli. Bush has been persuaded, probably by Karl Rove, of the following theorem: Hispanics are now a large proportion of the electorate, and are destined, via differential birthrates, to become a larger one. It’s important for the Republican party to win over these voters by doing Hispanic-friendly things. As a rough first approximation, Immigrant=Hispanic, so that a kind’n’gentle policy on immigration should be pleasing to Hispanics.

Bicycle. Someone — perhaps a visitor from the Wall Street Journal editorial page — has persuaded Bush that the U.S. economy would come to a juddering halt and fall over if not fed by a steady stream of unskilled immigrants working for below-minimum wages.

Pauline Kael. Bush has never in his life mixed socially with any person whose job or neighborhood quality is threatened by mass unskilled immigration. To the people he does mix with socially, unskilled immigrants are a good source of servant labor, or a way to “socialize the costs, privatize the profits” of enterprises they own or invest in. This puts us in somewhat the same zone as Pauline Kael’s famous bafflement on hearing that Nixon had been elected president: “How is that possible? I don’t know anyone who voted for him.” Can elite Americans really be that out of touch with reality? Believe me, gentle reader, they can.

Noblesse oblige. Bush’s childhood experience of friendly, deferential Mexican servants and employees, and of his Dad’s elite Mexican friends in the oil business, disposed him so kindly towards Mexicans in general, he is keen to do anything to (a) please the Mexican authorities, and (b) avoid any appearance of unkindness or lack of generosity towards Mexicans in general (e.g. by apprehending illegal Mexican immigrants). The first approximation here is even rougher than the Rovian one: Immigrant=Mexican.

Evangelical. The president is known to cleave to a generous and universalist (if you like it), or naive and sappy (if you don’t) style of evangelical Christianity. He sees himself, in his own mind, holding out his arms, murmuring: “Suffer the little immigrants to come unto me.” While by no means despicable as a personal lifestyle choice, this may not be a good foundation for national policy.

My guess is that there is some combination of all these at work, but with the center of gravity down in the romantic zone. W is an intelligent man, but he’s a feeler more than a thinker, consulting his heart before his head, and sometimes forgetting to consult his head at all. This can be an endearing trait under some circumstances. The forming of national policy is not one of those circumstances.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

I also think that Mexico must not fall as a Nation nor can we let America fail from the burden of Mexican support.

How would feel about having a Chinese government as a neighbor? Or a Chavez type government?

The answer lies not with allowing Mexico to fail (it needs to though), or importing Mexico"s citizens to America at our citizen's expense, but something else.

Annexing Mexico would probably work though as it would allow for a controlled failure of the government while at the same time keep the bad guys at arms length.

[dennisw]

It’s great that Carlos Slim has popped up like a fat prairie dog. He gives lie to Mexico being a poor country. Mexico is a rich country with poor wealth distribution WHICH IS NOT MY PROBLEM!!!

[nicmarlo]

Agreed; I pinged you to another thread about thoughts on discussing solutions.

[nicmarlo]

The country our founders entrusted to us needs to be saved at all cost.

I absolutely agree, of course. I'm pinging you to another thread where several others are scratching our collective heads to think of what to do...."beating the reps" with letters/faxes of course...but, perhaps we can think of something more....

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Thanx for the ping - it seems the “answer” will be as complex as the problem but I can assure you that general amnesty is NOT the “answer” nor should it be part of the solution.

[nicmarlo]

I completely agree. We’ve got to do more than just pound them with faxes and emails, though.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Part one;

As I have stated before, this is a complex issue and one I thought my elected officials were handling with our best interest in mind - I was wrong but at least I know better.

As a nation, Americans have decided we want our boarder enforced and our laws enforced first.

Quite a few want enforcement separated from any and immigration legislation - I am one.

Keep the pressure up by all legal means at our disposal to make that happens.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“It’s great that Carlos Slim has popped up like a fat prairie dog. He gives lie to Mexico being a poor country. Mexico is a rich country with poor wealth distribution WHICH IS NOT MY PROBLEM!!!”

Our leaders are making it our problem, so it is time to clean house!

[nicmarlo]

Keep the pressure up by all legal means at our disposal to make that happens.

Vigilantly!

[flat]

yep a politician is either an AMERICA FIRSTER

or a has been he takeS his pick.... if he doesn’t He gets ousted... out out onto the street with an opportunity to work in insurance for example....

or some other HONORABLE line of work so he’ll have and opportunity to climb aboard the clue train heading toward an understanding of what it takes to work an 8 hour day in order to put food on the table.....

if he gets his mind right he can run for re-election...

do dah

[Liz]

Foreign policy gone berserk.

Bush is now organizing The White House Conference on the Americas —— to better the lives of everyone else at the expense of US taxpayers.

The plan is obviously to impose well-worn brands of Central American socialism and gov’t corruption on the US..........not the other way around.

They take our jobs, flood our country with criminals, and illiterates who bring every kind of disease imaginable into America.....and we are supposed to applaud and say
“merge us with Mexico and Canada. “

One prime example: the US Totalization Agreement between the US and Mexico was signed in June 2004, and is awaiting the president’s signature. The Agreement would ship the US Social Security system to Mexico.

Looks like our prez has learned a lot from these marauding “neighbors” of ours. He apparently has been doing all this secretly-—acting NOT like the sworn leader of a constututional democracy, but like the generalissimo of a corrupt South American junta.

Get ready for camouflage-clad federales patrolling our streets with ammo clips and shoulder holsters——aimed at those Americans who won’t buckle under.

[Lloyd227]

"Please clarify. What other events?"

Events like this one

and there are many others, happening every week. Events and policies and decisions... but you already know this and the question was rhetorical. right?

[Lloyd227]

"Please clarify. What other events?"

Or here's another, just in case you're sincerely interested