Shamnesty John McCain is back in full force: No, he never “got the message”

Michelle Malkin.com ^ | 05/22/2008 | Michelle Malkin

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

First, my friends, a reminder of what was printed right here on January 23, 2008:

After spearheading a disastrous, security-undermining illegal alien amnesty bill last year with Teddy Kennedy, “straight-talking” GOP Sen. John McCain claims he has seen the light. In TV appearances, he vows to put immigration enforcement first. On the campaign trail, he offers a perfunctory promise to strengthen border security and emphasizes the need to restore Americans’ trust in their government’s ability to defend the homeland.

“I got the message,” he told voters in South Carolina. “We will secure the borders first.”

But how can McCain cure citizens’ distrust when his own credibility on the issue remains fatally damaged? He doesn’t believe his own election-year spin. And he knows we know it. This is cynicism on steroids with a speedball chaser.

Not all of us have forgotten how the short-fused Arizona senator cursed good-faith opponents in his own party (“F**k you!” and “Chickensh*t” were the choice words he had for Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn during a spat over enforcement provisions). Not all of us have forgotten that he voted against barring felons from receiving amnesty benefits under his plan. Not all of us have forgotten the underhanded, debate-sabotaging manner in which McCain/Kennedy/Graham/Harry Reid conspired to ram their package down voters’ throats.

His admission of the shamnesty failure is grudging and bitter. While he now tells conservative voters what they want to hear about the need to build the southern border fence, he takes a contemptuous tone toward physical barriers when talking to businessmen. “By the way, I think the fence is least effective,” he told executives in Milwaukee, according to a recent Vanity Fair profile. “But I’ll build the goddamned fence if they want it.” Straight talk? Try hate talk.

For all his supposed, newfound enlightenment about what most Americans want—protection against invasion, commitment to the rule of law, meaningful employer sanctions, an end to sanctuary cities, enforcement-by-attrition plus deportation reform, and an end to special illegal alien benefits that invite more law-breaking–The Maverick remains a Geraldo Rivera Republican. Like the ethnocentric cable TV host who can’t string a sentence about immigration together without drowning in emotional demagoguery, McCain naturally resorts to open-borders platitudes when pressed for enforcement specifics.

And, now, straight from the campaign trail with Arnold “Move Left” Schwarzenegger, McCain has shed every last pretense that he “got the message” from grass-roots immigration enforcement proponents and is back to his full, open-borders shamnesty push. No surprise to any of you. But his complete regression back to the “comprehensive immigration reform” euphemism is a notable milestone.

Also, you don’t need to guess anymore how he would have voted on the Feinstein/Craig illegal alien farmworker amnesty:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain joined Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in calling today for comprehensive immigration reform, including guest worker visas to bring employees to California’s Silicon Valley and the state’s vast agricultural fields.

The two men brought up the issue at McCain’s prompting during a global competitiveness roundtable featuring California technology executives and entrepreneurs.

Asked by Silicon Valley panelists on what he would do to grant more visa for skilled technology workers, McCain broadly advocated the comprehensive immigration reform plan he had backed with Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy in Congress.

The same issue brought McCain intense criticism during the Republican presidential primary from conservatives who assailed him as soft on illegal immigration and an advocate of amnesty.

But today McCain, the now presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said an immigration program is needed that protects America’s borders and national security. While he called for punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants, he also advocated a humane approach that treats illegal workers as “God’s children.”

McCain said they should be allowed to seek legal status in a “humane and comprehensive fashion” through a program “they can count on and trust.”

Responding to a question about so-called H1-B visas for Silicon Valley workers, McCain said: “We have to attract the best and brightest minds. It isn’t just H1-B visas. In our agricultural sector, they can’t find workers as well. We need a temporary agriculture (worker) program.”

Schwarzenegger echoed McCain’s remarks after the Arizona senator asked his opinion on the topic.

“We need to change the system. All this is part of a comprehensive immigration reform. You can’t piecemeal this thing,” Schwarzenegger said.

While the governor said, “securing the border is extremely important” to California he added: “You have to have the courage to do this kind of immigration reform so we can bring people into this country legally.”

Schwarzenegger said he supported a pathway to legal status so that more people can have “legal drivers licenses” and “everyone would have bank accounts…and there would be background checks so that there would be no criminal element in this country.”

Same old, same old about sham background checks.

They’ve learned nothing. Nada. Zippo. How about you?

***

More from the NYT:

“Senator Kennedy and I tried very hard to get immigration reform, a comprehensive plan, through the Congress of the United States,” he said. “It is a federal responsibility and because of our failure as a federal obligation, we’re seeing all these various conflicts and problems throughout our nation as different towns, cities, counties, whatever they are, implement different policies and different programs which makes things even worse and even more confusing.”

He added: “I believe we have to secure our borders, and I think most Americans agree with that, because it’s a matter of national security. But we must enact comprehensive immigration reform. We must make it a top agenda item if we don’t do it before, and we probably won’t, a little straight talk, as of January 2009.”

[bcsco]

Early to bed, early to rise... :)

[mad_as_he$$]

The only problem with your plan is that McCain does not think he needs conservatives. Consequently we have NO influence!!!

[Sloth]

[LadyNavyVet]

“Just like it took Nixon to go to China; it’ll take a no-borders wussie like McCain to make this go over with people.”

Bingo! There’s a reason that an amnesty was pushed through by Dems under Reagan, but not under Clinton or Carter. The Dems don’t want to own an amnesty, they want to make the Republican president own one, so they reap the benefits (i.e., new voters) while blaming the negative fallout on the other party. And Bush and McCain are only too happy, for their own personal reasons, to provide the Dems cover. Idiots.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

I, too, fail to see how importing 60 million socialists, communists and welfare bums will enhance our republic.

I love how the Team Juan shills breathlessly recite precisely the same talking points over and over again, by rote: "Let's elect McCain first, and then worry about advancing conservative politics." As if "advancing conservative politics" would even be possible from that point onward, once ol' Smilin' Juan calmly handed the 'Rats a nice, fat, PERMANENT VOTING MAJORITY, via amnesty!

I mean... good lord. How do people this profoundly brain dead even manage to find food for themselves in the morning, unaided...? ;)

[jubail]

But, but, but, Sean Hannity says he has. (sarcasm)

[bcsco]

You’ve both posted that graphic. Any idea what that sign at the very bottom-left says? The only interpretation I come up with is “McCain - Doubleplus Good!” which makes no sense. Then again, none of these McCainiacs make much sense so I could be right... :)

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

"Doubleplus Good" is, in fact, what the sign in question says. ;) It's a photoshop, utilizing various famous phrases from George orwell's classic novel 1984, to best illustrate the fuddled and inherently self-contradictory mindset of the typical Team Juan shill. (Not a graphic of my own creation, incidentally.)

[bcsco]

Aha! Great photo shop skills by whoever did it. The sign graphics very neatly follow the sign borders. Good work. And thanks for the reply :)

[spectre]

Here's McCains perfect campaign song with lyrics by the Kingston Trio. (in part)

"Time to let our children live in a land that's free. Ally, ally, ally, ally, oxen free.

Time to blow the smoke away and look at the sky again. Time to
let our friends know we'd like to begin again.

Time to send a message across the land and sea. Ally, ally, ally, ally, oxen free.

GTH, McCain!

sw

[Sloth]

I made the graphic. It is indeed 'doubleplus good', a reference to the Orwellian propaganda language in the novel 1984 ('Ignorance is Strenth', 'Freedom is Slavery' and 'War is Peace' also originate there). It's just a joke on the absurdity of Republican hacks unashamedly claiming that McCain is conservative or will advance conservative goals.

[bcsco]

Great photo shop job! The alignment of the sign graphics with the sign borders is excellent. I’ve been familiar with the slogans you mention, but “Doubleplus Good” was a new one for me.

Did you also add the “McCain - Bush Whac[ker]”? That one’s obviously not form 1984. But it sure fits the theme.

[Sloth]

Thanks. No, the ‘Bush Whack’ was already in the original photo I used — I think it was from the 2000 primary campaign.

[Tennessee Nana]

Thanks for the PING

We need to march on Washington in HUGE numbers of fed up American citizens on September 9-10

The annual Hold Their Feet to the Fire event will be a big one this year if everyone goes..

They cant say we are happy to have 30,000,000 illegal aliens in the US if we are all there in their faces telling them

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Liz]

One enemy is pouring in across our borders, right now.

Let's declare war on Mexico. We could take their oil and other assets (if any).

All Mexican citizens on US soil---legal and illegal----would be declared enemy agents and Reconquista provacateurs undermining US national security.

They could be apprehended as prisoners of war, and herded into concentration camps surrounded with razor wire.

[exit82]

"Is it possible that if Hillary! were to win the Democrat nomination, SHE would be the right winger in the race?"

Gasp! I had the same thought this morning, and I see you had already posted this idea. I never thought I would ever think this.

[DuncanWaring]

Turnover getting a little high for your landscaping business?

[CottonBall]

One fight at a time! I’d say defeat OBAMA first and then try to handle McCAIN and rebuild a strong conservative movement.

That's living in denial. There's no way to 'handle' McCain once he has the power he's been craving. He IS panding to the right now, as pitiful a job as he's doing. It's obvious he can't even stomach pretending to be conservative now and again. When he gets in office, he will swing back left. And will be 'reaching out' again by passing the liberal's agenda for them.

There will be no influencing McCain once he's in office because he has a total disdain for conservatives and will be downright nasty to those conservatives still in Congress. And worst of all, everything he does will tarnish the name of every conservative and the GOP. He will damage conservatism and the GOP from the inside much more than Hillary or Obama can do from the outside.

[CottonBall]

And I'll light a fire under him every time he does that crap. Certainly isn't as creative as looking smug and everything.

Good luck with that. He won't give a damn once he has the power he's been wanting for so long. He's been condescending to conservatives all along, even while needing our votes - why do you think he'll listen once he doesn't need us for anything? I understand your posts and your reasoning. But I respectfully think that you are grasping at straws because we really don't have a choice in this election. I see some here reluctantly backing McCain, but I think that is out of frustration and desperate hope. I, however, have no hope that McCain will change his spots. I think he'll move even further left, because that is where he's been gravitating to all along. And he'll end up damaging the GOP and the conservatives in Congress by association. He'll do more damage to the country than Obama or Hillary because there will be nowhere else to go in 2012 once the GOP has become liberal. (It's already there, but I do have hope that can change, at least. But I don't think McAmnesty will change - except to go more to the left.)

[Clairity]

Sure, Barack Hussein Obama would be SOOOO MUCH better. (SARCASM on my part, but apparently a lot of others here seem to believe that he would be preferable to McCain)

http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Barack_Obama_Immigration.htm

OBAMA: "What I would do as president is pass comprehensive immigration reform. And controlling our borders but also providing a rational immigration system, which we currently don't have. "

OBAMA: Voted YES on comprehensive immigration reform.

OBAMA: "Voted YES on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. "

OBAMA: Rated 8% by USBC, indicating an open-border stance.