Posted on 04/25/2006 5:51:39 AM PDT by SmithL
Irvine -- President Bush, aiming to shore up sagging support in a Republican bastion, came for a heart-to-heart talk on immigration Monday, acknowledging that some were puzzled by his choice of Orange County -- the heart of an area opposed to his immigration policies.
"That's what a leader does," Bush told a crowd of 450 business leaders at the Hyatt Regency Irvine as he roamed the room with a microphone during an hourlong town hall-style meeting.
The president, before a phalanx of signs decorated with flags and eagles proclaiming "Securing the American Dream," emphasized securing the borders, dealing with the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and passing immigration reform in Congress.
Talking to a skeptical audience, Bush said the heated rhetoric surrounding immigration must be cooled. Conduct the debate, he said, "in a respectful way that recognizes we are a nation of immigrants, that we have had a grand tradition in this country of welcoming people into our society."
"It's an emotional debate, but one thing we cannot lose sight of is that we're talking about human beings, decent human beings," he said. "Massive deportation of the people here is unrealistic. It's just not going to work."
But even as he spoke, the breadth of the president's political problems on immigration was evident in Orange County -- a longtime GOP stronghold that is being transformed by a vast influx of immigrant laborers, mostly from Mexico. From Republican-dominated Newport Beach to Democratic-leaning Santa Ana, interviews found few supporters for Bush's positions.
The president's conservative base is angry with his support for a guest-worker program,
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Disenchanted? rofl We are not disenchanted! Disgusted, sick, tired, etc. but not disenchanted. Disenchanted doesn't even come close.
Man, this is straight out of the Dem's talking points.
Hide the bad stuff in with the good stuff then get them to swallow the good stuff.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION != LEGAL IMMIGRATION!!!!!
What's so difficult about this concept??
It's intuitively obvious to me that neither the President, nor the House or Senate GOP are in any way "conservative"
Just vote pigs. Anything for a vote.
The fact is, there are jobs 'Americans won't do' for near slave wages.
Americans can't afford to live on a $1000 a month salary and pay $1500 a month for living expenses. But then, we are not allowed to collect welfare, free housing, free medical, etc. while working for peanuts either. Politicians like to cover this up by insulting American work ethics.
Oh how we need a Lincoln!!
Nah, more like five...maybe ten.
Bolivar? Maybe Fulgencio Batista. Guess who came after him....
The decline prededes the fall.
Democrats have as much to worry about as Republicans do on this. Most Blacks are opposed to the Bush/Kennedy/McCain/Hillary/ amnesty for illegal aliens as are just about all legal immigrants including Hispanics.
If Democrats lose an additional 10% of the Black vote in any national election, and in most state wide elections, they are in trouble. The House isn’t as much of a problem because the districts are gerrymandered to be safe.
I know the people who run this group. http://www.alamo-coalition.org They are growing every day and about to make some noise. There are other Black groups getting involved too, which will be a big help in the fight.
Democrats are feeling the heat too. This, IMO, is why Dean is starting to talk about enforcement first.
The key to winning this fight is to keep the pressure up. The pro-criminal forces have the leadership of both parties, but we have the people and the votes.
Should have been "precedes" Sorry.
And Democrats hate him and conservatives have abandoned him. Hence the popularity index in the 30's.
He sucks.
Most of them are.
But one of my tenants was part of a committee that went to Eddie Bernice Johnson’s office about this and met with her Legislative Asst. She told the group that they were getting lots of calls on this and the calls were 3 to 1 against amnesty and a guest worker program.
Most politicians don’t like going against those kinds of pissed off voters. Dean is enough of an opportunist to at least give them some verbal cover so Democrats in tight races can vote against the Bush/Kennedy/McCain/Hillary forces. The RNC doesn’t have that luxury.
All the "brains" inthe WH can't figure out that the Presidents low approval is directly related to his coddling of the law breaking, social parasites, called illegal aliens.
Bravo !
The Orange County Register -= the paper of record on Southern California had a different take and, a supportive OpEd.
www.ocregister.com
Here in Orange County everybody is unimpressed.
Even Machiavelli noted that a leader should stick with a bold plan. Bush must have missed that page.
I totally agree with you on the above. President Bush is a lost cause to the majority of Republicans, IOW those not connected with the big business concerns that drive the President's unstoppable urge to reward lawbreakers and outlaws as long as they work cheap and keep their mouths shut.
The sad part is the repub rank and file will have to live with the political results of the President's insane amnesty plans this year and the next two as well.
Whats really ironic is the very people that GWB champions, the illegal aliens are pretty much 100% opposed to him and his party and will become faithful Democratic party voters at the first opportunity!
Apparently George Bush and his party are in the process of committing political suicide. The speech in Orange county is a slap in the face to law-abiding, tax paying repubs everywhere! This just shows the depths that the neo-cons, free traitors and open borders crowd will go to worship the almighty dollar.
Our check book republicans are killing us. They allow RINO's and put business ahead of country. Until the base retakes the party, we will have problems.
I would expect nothing less than that rant from someone who so deeply admires the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.
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