Dubya's End

New York Post ^ | June 29, 2007 | John Podhoretz

[Truth29]

DUBYA'S END

BORDER BILL THE LAST BLOW

June 29, 2007 -- PRESIDENT Bush's disastrous second term has not been without its moments. Unfortunately for him, these moments have come primarily when members of his own party have risen up against him to defy his wishes. That's what happened yesterday. For the second time in four weeks, Republicans in the Senate put a stake through the heart of Bush's beloved but politically catastrophic immigration bill.

It's also what happened in the early months of the second term, when Bush chose to nominate his unqualified aide, Harriet Miers, to the Supreme Court - and finally backed down and had her withdraw her name after three weeks of lobbying and complaining.

(snip)

He would not and could not back down on immigration reform, an issue far too close to his heart. But after the Senate first rejected the bill at the end of May, Bush could have left it alone and accepted defeat. He could have seen reason, as he did in January 2004 when he first proposed a piece of legislation and was met with an uprising from his conservative base - whereupon he prudently dropped the subject because he was running for re-election and needed a united and enthusiastic Republican electorate behind him.

(snip)

And perhaps most interesting, Bush chose to believe it was more important to court potential future Republican voters - those illegals who would have gained a "path to citizenship" under the terms of the bill in 13 years' time - rather than listen to the concerns of present-day Republican voters.

[Diogenesis]

[don-o]

This gives me great hope that the conservative movement can be revived. Under the two Bushes, it has been wandering in the wilderness for a long time.

The amnesty bill was, hopefully, the spark needed.

[backhoe]

[IndyTiger]

No one was a bigger supporter of Dubya than me in 2000 and 2004. Now I can't wait for his term to end. I still don't regret my vote in '04, if for nothing else than the Roberts and Alito nominations. But otherwise, Bush's second term was been a huge disappointment.

Right now, Hillary would win my home state of Ohio, IMO. I agree with Rush that there is an 80% chance of her election in 2008.

[Buffettfan]

These ungrateful foreigners (once the become able to vote here) will never vote Republican. Everyone of their racist, separatist so called civil rights groups La Raza (The Race), LULAC, MALDEF and all rabid democrats. The republicans are delirious if they think they can capture the ungrateful hispanic vote.

[Kakaze]

Great graphics backhoe...Long time no see i hope your doing well:)

[mo]

I have yet to understand why the attempt at giving NON-CITIZENS better representation than Americans ever came to the floor of the Capitol. There is a fundamental flaw somewhere here....

[monkapotamus]

[backhoe]

Long time no see I hope you're doing well:)

Aw, I Lurk & Link, mostly nowadays. Good to see you again.

[ruination]

Bush will have an excellent legacy: he signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006.

[Vaquero]

The republicans are delirious if they think they can capture the ungrateful hispanic vote.

No...the 'pubes dont think they can get the hispanic vote...they are shilling to american business interests who want cheap, slave labor...a despicable short term money making scheme that does not look to the future at all.

[BluH2o]

Dubya has approximately 18 months left in his second term. Due to his unwavering support of a very flawed amnesty bill that went down in flames, in spite of his best effort to push it thru ... thereby thoroughly alienating his Republican and conservative base ... will give a whole new meaning to the term ‘lame duck’ presidency.

[johnny7]

Great cartoon... ;)

[raybbr]

This was not about immigration reform. It was about the 12 million illegals and making them legal with the stroke of a pen.

To my knowledge the bill did nothing about creating a system to present an equitable chance for people all around the world to emmigrate here. It simply was a snake-oil attempt at reforming the term used to describe over 12 million invaders.

[shekkian]

That’s like saying Clinton has an excellent legacy: Nationalized Health Care.

[kindred]

[Bush will have an excellent legacy: he signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006.]

Only if he does shut down the border. Unfortunately, he does not seem willing to do his job as a conservative and panders to the left way to much.

[Diogenesis]

"Bush will have an excellent legacy: he signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006."

[Texas Jack]

I've been wondering how long it will take for conservatives to start referring to Bush's presidency in the same terms that we refer to Jimmah Carter's:

The Failed Bush Administration!

[ruination]

I think the fence will be built, albeit slowly and with much thrashing and gnawing.

[bert]

Do not misunderestimate W

[SolidWood]

Our laws will be enforced and the fence built completely 2009, when a real conservative gets into the White House.

We can make it happen.

[MNJohnnie]

Wishful thinking from the kneejerk Bush haters.

Guess you all forgot about the thing called a VETO?

[gulfcoast6]

I voted for him, like him still, will not jump ship on him like so many, this is designed by the dimwitts.

[Gorzaloon]

These ungrateful foreigners (once the become able to vote here) will never vote Republican. Everyone of their racist, separatist so called civil rights groups La Raza (The Race), LULAC, MALDEF and all rabid democrats. The republicans are delirious if they think they can capture the ungrateful hispanic vote.

It was never ours to lose. The Dems could well have lost millions of voters, though, if we actually start sending the ILLEGALS home.

[don-o]

Do not misunderestimate W

I am a professional Estimator. I know estimating. Estimating is not applicable to the current POTUS.

By his fruits he shall be known. Some good. Some bad.

[rockabyebaby]

tick tick tick tick, 18 months and counting, tick tick tick tick......................someone wake me when it’s over!

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

[goldstategop]

John Podhoretz is right something got broken on Election Night in 2004. He doesn't spell it out so allow me to offer my own theory. Once the President was re-elected, he allowed his sure political instincts to desert him now that he no longer had to worry about facing the voters again. He became convinced of his own rightness and this led to hubris. Its like watching a Greek Tragedy being played out. Ironically, the President might have stood a better chance if he had pushed to reform Social Security. He never tried hard enough and its an opportunity really gone. Bush could have had a good immigration bill had he sounded out the party and the base on a consensus approach and gone from their. Maybe the Democrats would have rejected it. We will know if an enforcement only approach could have worked. The President is a decent man but I think politically, he can be too dense at times. That's why things haven't gone for him in his second term the way he'd hoped, both as a party builder and statesman.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[lonestar]

Do not misunderestimate W

That's a scary thought!

I campaigneded for W during 4 campaigns. I was his "Re-elect" county chair. I took my bumper stickers off weeks ago.

I'm an East Texas Fredneck now.

[Dante3]

Great pictures.

[mirkwood]

Veto what? The law was passed last year. Build the border fence. Duncan Hunter was the one who pushed it through. W is breaking his oath of office by not enforcing the current laws.

[YellowRoseofTx]

Bush will have an excellent legacy: he signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006.

He'd have an even better legacy if he would force the implimentation of the secure fence and build the damn thing.

[varon]

Do not misunderestimate W

Do you think it's possiblistic to misunderestimate W?

[varon]

The Dems could well have lost millions of voters, though, if we actually start sending the ILLEGALS home.

Not necessarily, they'll just obtain absentee ballots ;-)

[ProCivitas]

While Jorge deserves a lot of criticism on this issue, it's predictably bizarre to watch the leftistABC/NBC/CBSmedia describe this Kennedy alienamnesty bill as Bush's initiative.

As always they're trying to put up a smokescreen for the Demrats.

[Diogenesis]

"Do not misunderestimate W"

Other than his being a patsy to the MSM and the Dems, who control him,
and his being quiet as Iran continues their invasion of Iraq and their importage of IEDs killing our people,
what is there to 'underestimate'?

Perhaps, W was overestimated.

[TomGuy]

Bush chose to believe it was more important to court potential future Republican voters - those illegals who would have gained a "path to citizenship" under the terms of the bill in 13 years' time - rather than listen to the concerns of present-day Republican voters.

That could have been his major reason for pitbulling this issue -- to create a large Hispanic voter base for Hispanic nephew George P or another young relative to continue the family dynasty in a decade or so.

[gemma0000]

"I still don't regret my vote in '04, if for nothing else than the Roberts and Alito nominations."

I don't give him the credit for Alito. He tried his best to ram Harriet Miers down our throats. But the conservative base, not the President, won out and we got Alito instead of Miers, a woman who had never even been a judge. Bush has not shown a lot of wisdom in his presidency, imho.

[Pravious]

“And perhaps most interesting, Bush chose to believe it was more important to court potential future Republican voters - those illegals who would have gained a “path to citizenship” under the terms of the bill in 13 years’ time - rather than listen to the concerns of present-day Republican voters.”

Yes, “potential” if you count one chance in a million.

[raybbr]

.... leftistABC/NBC/CBSmedia describe this Kennedy alienamnesty bill as Bush's initiative.

How does that explain Hannity and Rush calling this a "democrat" bill?

It's driving me crazy that Rush won't put any blame on Bush for this bill.

[gemma0000]

"I think the fence will be built, albeit slowly and with much thrashing and gnawing."

Yeah, but the "thrashing and gnawing" is coming from the WH, AGAINST building the fence. Some 'fence' legacy that is.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

“...when members of his own party have risen up against him to defy his wishes.”

Wrong. He rose up against us and defide our conservative wishes for almost 7 years. Who was going to let this lunatic give away our country?

[TomGuy]

Several formerly red states have turned blue or purple. The GOP is going to have an uphill battle to win in 08.

In the late 90s we had Clinton fatigue.

Now and for the next 18 months, we have Bush fatigue.

To those who decried the voters for ending the Republican majorities in the House and Senate: that Republican Senate PASSED the monster amnesty for illegals, while the Democrat Senate defeated it TWICE.

Yes. Elections do have consequences. It seems many of the politicians understood the voters’ 06 and yesterday’s messages.

[izzatzo]

I’ll second your comments-I feel pretty much the same way. But, he is an excellent example of what happens when one doesn’t have really strong principles/beliefs(conservative, in particular). Like Rush says of W, he trends conservative, but is not a conservative.

[Truth29]

Well, it was primarily his initiative. He made common cause with Kennedy. The bill would have never been brought back up without his initiative. McConnell developed the clay pigeon strategy with Reid and then set back to let other’s lead the GOP opposition in the Senate. Bush sent cabinet secretaries and others to lobby members to vote for the bill. Bush does deserve the lions share of the blame.

[TomGuy]

Jimmy Carter thanks GW Bush.

Herbert Hoover thanks GW Bush.

[ruination]

When I said “legacy” I didn’t mean the one he wanted. But he did sign it!

[bray]

It takes such courage for Peditz to write an anti-President Bush column. Like there are not enough of them on FR.

I doubt W is too upset this bill never passed. He tried but the problem is far too big for gummit to solve. Let alone a Rat congress.

HilaryCare and her 60 vote majority will push something through that the Bushaters will love.

Pray for W and Our Troops

[TomGuy]

Guess you all forgot about the thing called a VETO?

Is another stem cell bill on the horizon?