Bush Pulls Off Shrewd Stroke (Immigration strategery is a coup de main)

The United Press International ^ | January 8, 2004 | Martin Sieff

[Missouri]

The unions are appalled and think it goes way too far

Which unions think this goes to far ? Back in Sept., the AFL-CIO was going around to all the local unions here in Missouri trying to shake us down and give money to the Illegal Immigrant Freedom Ride that came through our state. Union leadership is all for amnesty. It make recuitment much easier. Thus more democratic voters.

[BraveMan]

The president has no Pat Buchanan lurking in ambush during the primaries as his father faced in 1992. And there appears virtually zero likelihood of a viable third-party figure like Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996 leaching key votes away from the Republican candidate.

So conservatives get to bend over and hold onto their ankles. Sheesh . . .

[MJY1288]

:-)

[Porterville]

I like that quote, that is their exact attitude.

[Siamese Princess]

In reality, The Big Business contributors to the GOP (Despite common wisdom) Do NOT want the illegals to become Guest workers because then they will have to pay them minimum wage, and then that cheap immigrant labor won't be so cheap anymore.

Thank you, someone agrees with me here. It's not just the minimum wage. Many employers want off-the-books labor. They prefer to pay, say, $7 an hour off the books (and let the taxpayer provide services such as healthcare) rather than $12 an hour (and provide the legally-mandated benefits such as social security and unemployment themselves). I suspect that they would fire any newly-legalized immigrant who demanded to be paid on the books and refused to take a pay cut. I suspect many immigrants would quit rather than see their pay drop from $7 down to minimum wage in order to cover legally-mandated benefits such as social security. The immigrant would probably go on welfare and be economically better off.

Paul Mulshine, a columnist for the big New Jersey paper, The Star-Ledger, quoted someone as saying that the Republicans aren't foolish enough to believe that they will gain any hispanic votes because of an amnesty -- it's all about pandering to Wall Street's desire for cheap labor.

Personally, I would prefer the status quo over any major changes.

You're right again. As bad as the status quo is, the amnesty is worse. I am just boiling over this.

[MJY1288]

That attitude gets you 2% of the vote :-)

[Missouri]

He was even asked in one of the debates the specific question about what he would do about this problem, and he stated then he was in favor of this kind of worker permit program.

I remember this and I voted for him anyway. Gores plan would be alot worse.

I did think 9-11 might change his mind since this woke up alot of the American people.

[azcap]

"If you have flies infesting your home because you have left food on the table. you don't stand at the door with a fly swatter, you put the food away."

 

What a stupid analogy. Do I put my food away forever and just starve? NO - I get a screen door. The foods stays on MY table and MY family eats it. The flies stay outside. America needs a screen door.

[JackelopeBreeder]

No, he just knows that a certain type of conservative stayed home in the 2000 election and he's learned he can't count on them. Staying home in the 2004 election will be nothing new to them.

We have two major Republican clubs here in Cochise County, Arizona. Both fought hard for Bush in 2000. Many of those same people now plan to leave the top portion of their ballot blank. This is a meltdown at grassroots level.

This county is right on the border, so we have to deal personally with the damages from illegal immigration every day. It isn't a hypothetical situation or something we see in passing on Fox News. To us, this proposal is a complete sell out on the one issue that most directly affects us and we don't care what "strategerie" reasons were behind it.

By the way, 30% of the local population is of Mexican descent and they are not thrilled with this proposal. Their take is that it is either an empty shot at vote pandering or an attempt at assuring an endless supply of semi-indentured servants.

On Saturday, January 17th, both clubs are holding a combined dinner meeting. The speaker and guest of honor is Tom Tancredo.

[gatorbait]

In reality, The Big Business contributors to the GOP

how about the Big Business contributors to the DNC ?

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Underestimating? I think it's time this President stopped playing politics and got serious about doing what is best for the country! Incidentally, I don't believe this rhetoric for one minute.

[Siamese Princess]

Actually I can't figure out the surprise everyone has about this. Bush campaigned on this for 2000 and stated his plans. He was even asked in one of the debates the specific question about what he would do about this problem, and he stated then he was in favor of this kind of worker permit program. Whether we agree or disagree, he was on record before the election for those paying attention.

I also remember him discussing this before 9-11, which put any discussion of amnesty on the backburner, for a while.

[auboy]

First off.. It's not a plan or a Bill, it's not an executive order. It's a proposal for debate with a set of suggestions for congress to debate. This is where you and I can chime in by sending letters and Faxes to our elected Representatives.

I wish people would slow down, count to ten, learn more about the proposal, and then contact their Senators and Reps with their thoughts and concerns. I'll admit I don't know or understand all the details of the President's proposal.

I don't intend to salt my food before tasting it. No one can do my tasting for me. That's my job. Many times in the past, I have over reacted, and been ashamed of my wailing and gnashing of teeth. I'd like to think I've learned some lessons along the way.

[MJY1288]

What do you think these two groups will do?

will they just stay home and not vote? or will they debate the issue and make suggestions to their elected officials who probably know less than they do about the issue?

All of here have the same choices to make, but flame wars will never get us anywhere. As we speak there is legislation in Congress written by John McCain, It will never see the House floor for debate, Delay has said as much, What the Senate does is a coin toss, most of them 100 losers do not have a spine.

I see this whole thing as an opportunity to get involved early before those lobbyist whores have a chance to get bought off.

If and when a piece of legislation heads to the floor for debate we need to act as a team to influence that debate, but irrational calls for mass deportation will never see the light of day, because it's not a rational approach to a problem this large.

You and whoever can flame me if you like, but winning a flame war on the INTERNET is much like winning a gold medal at the special Olympics, in the end you're still a retard :-)

[Luis Gonzalez]

Uh...wrong poster.

[SerpentDove]

>>Even shrewder would be for Bush to follow the wishes of the people, election-wise.<<

I agree. I'm really tired of hearing Bush or Rove applauded because of the brilliant sneaky political games they are playing, so "they" can "win."

[lonewacko_dot_com]

I'm sorry it took me a while to think of this, and maybe someone has already thought of it, but:

Won't the Bush Amnesty raise the bar? When a Democrat is elected president, won't he be compelled to go even further, and give an even broader amnesty? There was a post a day or two ago listing comments from the Democratic contenders regarding the amnesty, and they favored something quite broad.

One amnesty will lead to another, and they will only get worse and worse as the Dems need to out-pander Bush.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"This is a meltdown at grassroots level."

8. Later this month President Bush will give his State of the Union Address to the nation. What topic are you most interested in hearing the president talk about during his speech? (OPEN ENDED)

The economy/jobs	35%
Iraq	17
Terrorism	10
Health Care	4
Medicare/ prescription Drugs	4
Education	3
Immigration/ illegal aliens	2
Social Security	2
Taxes	2
Budget Deficit	1
Other	5
None	6
Not sure	9

That grass don't have very deep roots.