Posted on 05/16/2007 4:14:04 PM PDT by pissant
Word is leaking that the GOP in the Senate are on the verge of agreeing to an immigration bill that has --as a concession to the GOP-- less than half of the fencing promised by law last year.
White flag time on the border, and a national security and thus a political disaster.
The GOP are sending around talking points attempting to make this "compromise" defensible, but it won't and shouldn't fly. Agreeing to it takes the party down the tubes on the issue of border security --because it doesn't provide what the public understands to be border security, a very long, very high fence with a very wide gate.
This is McCain's continuing gift to the GOP, and the immigration absolutists' legacy: Lots and lots of promises and no fence worth calling a fence.
Aren't there 41 GOP senators willing to fight for border security? Apparently not. And they will see the result in their depleted coffers and diminished numbers come November '08. All they have to do is fight for border security, but they won't even do that.
UPDATE: Here are the draft talking points from the GOP. Four pages of crap:
BORDER SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION REFORM
Republicans Standing Together to Fight for Tougher Enforcement and an Immigration System That Better Serves American Interests
As negotiations continue, Republicans are demanding the following from the Democrat majority:
* Beefed-up border security. Republicans are insisting on dramatic and immediate improvements to border security, including 18,000 Border Patrol agents and 370 miles of fencing, as part of a continuous effort to protect the borders.
*Republicans insist that border security improvements must be completed before other reforms can occur. Democrats blocked any "triggers" in last year’s bill.
(Excerpt) Read more at hughhewitt.townhall.com ...
Bush is a free trader and it's not just free movement of goods he wants but people as well.
Really, what can they do? Years of negligence in addressing the problem, deferring it to future congresses to tend to, has finally caught up with them. It's time to pay the piper, whether they want to or not.
Anyone care to discuss Social Security?
“”The GOP is committing political suicide and destroying the country at the same time. I hope all that cheap labor is worth it.””
Of course it is worth it — to their pockets.
They don’t care about the party’s future, or the NWO, or crime, or this or that.
The money is from wage depression. For wages and salaries that cannot be cut by outsourcing overseas, people will be insourced from overseas to pressure salaries and wages downward.
All the “philosophy,” all the ethnic appeals, all that is bunk to cover up the core purpose of Bush’s agenda.
Bump!
Very sad. But it will speed up Fred’s decision to jump in.
And it will spotlight Hunter: he is a man of principle and sticks out like a sore thumb in the Demopublicans’ faces.
May the best man win:
Thompson/Hunter or Hunter/Thompson, or BUST.
“Ok, I am going to show my ignorance but for the life of me I can not see the angle for Bush to support amnesty and not closing the border”
The fence issue is simple.
A fence is cheap.
A “high tech virtual fence is expensive and will send money to Boeing et al. to create all the gizmos.
Boeing is a better bet to kick-back “campaign contributions” than some fence building company and the workmen to tend it.
The corruption is deep.
Southern border security isn't a big issue up here (it's really far away), but most folks want the law obeyed and have a "whatever it takes" attitude.
What POSSIBLE interest could GOP senators have in facilitating lawbreaking and illegal immigration?
As far as I can see, it's all bad - I've never heard a clear argument stating why all these illegals shouldn't be rounded up and kicked out.
What's the deal? What's the incentive for GOP politicians - or any politicians, for that matter - to be FOR illegal immigration?
That's exactly what Bush meant when he talked recently about making the US competitive in the global economy. It wasn't about needing more workers, the labor market's already glutted but keeping the wages down. It doesn't matter to him, his mission's accomplished as he'll be out in a year and a half but the GOP is going to pay big time for this for decades to come, whether they want to admit it or not.
Reasons for amnesty/open borders:
Cheap labor for business
Hispanic votes in exchange for citizenship
Expansion of government social programs
“Fixing” Mexico’s corruption by draining human resources
Future annexation of Mexico and its oil
I’ll pay five bucks for a tomato if you stop making me press One for English.
This entire business is crazy and just another reason that I will never ever vote for an incumbent who is not term limited.
Respectfully, that makes no sense.
House members are running for office ALL THE TIME. That's the founders' design.
If they do what people don't want, they go home.
If they don't "listen to their constituents", they go home.
What possible reason could they have for doing the opposite thing to their interest?
I have been listening to Hugh as he discusses it. It's a disgrace.
Romney sounded terrific in his interview on Hugh's show, particularly on this issue.
It's awful.
So true, my brother who is an AlGore liberal even hates the illegal problem and is furious at the pols.
I can understand a lot of that but Bush is not running for reelection. This means he must be taking orders from somewhere else. Is that your point?
“Respectfully, that makes no sense.”
Sure it does.
Pony up some slanted polls, plant them in the MSM, it works.
Money is better.
Review when Bush talks about “growth” to lobbies like construction contractor groups. Clear code word for wage depression.
Awful, how about this talking point:
“”• If Republicans had not fought for these limits, Democrats would have passed an automatic amnesty bill without any of the restrictions that Republicans have now guaranteed. “”
This is hilarious. The president is a Republican. Many Republican Senators want the amnesty and new and additional guest worker programs.
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