Krauthammer: Good Intentions Not Enough To Secure Border

Washington Post Writers Group ^ | May 19, 2006 | Charles Krauthammer

[RWR8189]

WASHINGTON -- I do not doubt the president's sincerity in wanting to humanize and regularize the lives of America's 11 million illegal aliens.

But good intentions are not enough. For decades, the well-traveled road from the Mexican border to the barrios of Los Angeles has been paved with such intentions. They begat the misguided immigration policy that created the crisis that necessitated the speech that purports to offer, finally, the ``comprehensive'' solution.

Hardly. The critical element -- border enforcement -- is farcical.

President Bush promises to increase the number of border agents. That was promised in the Simpson-Mazzoli amnesty legislation in 1986. The result was 11 million new illegals.

The president himself boasted about having already increased the number of border guards by one-third under his administration. Yet he acknowledges in the same speech that we do not have the border under control -- "full control,'' as he comically put it. The president's new solution? Increase the number of border guards again, by half this time.

Everyone knows that anything short of enough border guards to do Hands Across America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean won't do a thing to eliminate illegal immigration.

[TheLion]

Senate Rejects Border Security
By Joe Mariani (05/17/2006)


Securing our southern border should be a priority, not a political ploy. It's telling that those who favor amnesty insist on a "comprehensive" bill. They know that most Americans do not want amnesty granted to foreign criminals and invaders, and they know that if such a bill stood on its own, it would be defeated. Studies have shown that mass legalisation would result in nearly 200 million uneducated, unskilled, disease-ridden immigrants pouring over our border in the next two decades, forever altering our country beyond recognition.

A paltry 6,000 National Guard troops or extra border patrol is an insult when five times that number are clearly needed, along with a physical wall and strict punishment for knowing employers of illegals. Illegals should be given six months during which to leave on their own, after which unlawful presence in the US should become punishable by permanent banishment. If more than half the illegals currently living in the US didn't make a run for the border in that six months, I'd eat my hat. Then they could truly get in the "back of the line" for citizenship -- since that line actually forms on the OTHER SIDE of the border.

----snip----

http://americandaily.com/article/13575

[etlib]

Our leaders apparently have no problem offering the proverbial carrot, but they don't have a clue when it comes time to use the stick!

I don't think they have a clue about how to use a carrot either.  The carrot goes on the side you want the horse to move.  They have the carrot on the side away from the border.

[TheLion]

I don't watch Fox News much anymore because of these "so-called" conservatives. If I wanted CNN, I would listen over there.

[TheLion]

Excellent read. As my mother used to say...."the road to hell is paved with good intentions".

[Nova]

"You really DO sound like an IDIOT!"

Oops! You already made that astute observation of APFel prior to my doing so (I didn't check first).

[ncountylee]

The way I read this Charles thinks a Lie was told in that speech. I said the same and it wasn't responded to well.

A whole bunch of lies were told.

[siznartuf]

>http://www.wehategringos.com/index2.shtml<

Me thinks we got some terrorist at home to deal with!

[CitizenUSA]

etlib wrote: "I don't think they have a clue about how to use a carrot either. The carrot goes on the side you want the horse to move. They have the carrot on the side away from the border."

Oh, that's a great point. Just keep repeating the Bush mantra and you'll come to understand: it's not an amnesty because they won't be given citizenship overnight, and more important, they are only here to do jobs Americans won't do.

[janetgreen]

#27 - I hope everyone takes a good look at this website and pictures it happening in their own neighborhoods.

Mexico is our friend? That's what our fearless leader tells us...

[wardaddy]

encapulated

Word Up!

[Torie]

It was a typo. It was meant to be "encapsulated." I hate when that happens.

[wardaddy]

i thought you had me

[justa-hairyape]

He nails it when he references it isn't only conservatives unhappy that have been the focus of the address. This affects black Americans, union workers, and middle and poor America unfavorably.

You have to go all the way back to the civil rights movement to find a time when the black vote was not controlled by the leftist 'open borders' party.

Don't know how far back one must go to find a critical economic issue that unions had in common with conservatives.

For that matter when has poor America ever seen the Democrat party as the bad guy ?

Writing is on the wall.

Are we conservatives gonna play or are we gonna end up wasting our time trying to defend another banana eating Rino !

[familyop]

"Everyone knows that anything short of enough border guards to do Hands Across America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean won't do a thing to eliminate illegal immigration."

Mr. Kraut Hammer, such "Hands Across America" project would require about 1,716,880 "border guards" (1951 miles, times 5280 feet per mile, divided by average 6 foot spans). And the potential for more Roman-esque bureaucratic corruption from that would be enormous.

The President is doing all that he feasibly can about the illegal immigration problem.

If we're really so terrified of little Jesus (pronounced Hay-soos) or of even thinking about our real defense problem (from the Middle East), let's simply build a wall like the following.

[SUSSA]

That's not what is needed. This is;

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Read article before posting.

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Shoot, you could even offer an amnesty...one that says we won't prosecute you if you get yourself back across the border within a certain period of time.

I like your brand of amnesty!

I watched Bush's speech in Arizona yesterday. How painful to watch! He bumbled through the first couple points about securing the border. His presentation and body language clearly indicated to me that his heart wasn't into it. Then when he came to the compassionate part of his program--treating all the good God-fearing people who have invaded us from the south with dignity--he just gushed with exuberance. There's no doubt in my mind that we're being set up--that Bush, in an elitist frenzy, is being compassionate with my borders and my tax dollars.

[familyop]

...interesting little challenge for setting record breach time with a step ladder. ...and a metal detector if needed. ;-)

[familyop]

Oops...make that a straight ladder.

[SUSSA]

Yep. It's worked for more than 50 years in Korea. There's no reason it will not work on our border.