MORE STRATEGERY--GAMBIT #2 (GWB and immigration)

Palace of Reason ^ | 19 January 2004 | Liz Pavek

[Lando Lincoln]

I can understand the outrage and the alarm with which most Conservatives view the influx of illegal aliens into the United States because I share a lot of it myself. My personal view of the problem is quite similar to theirs: Illegal aliens: round them up and deport them. No mollycoddling, no freebies, no instant citizenship for babies born this side of the border. Round them up. Deport them. Repeat as necessary. Why can't this President see and understand that this is all we need to do?

But for the life of me, I can't figure out why some people got so exercised by the President's immigration proposals. Upset enough, they say, that they will withhold their votes from George W. Bush in the upcoming election. Granted, the proposals sounded like he wanted to give away the store and everything in it, but after consideration and auditing of a lot of discussions on the topic, it looks more like he is trying to get a handle on the monstrous immigration problems he inherited from the previous administration.

The outraged reactions of Conservative pundits and voters appear to indicate that the proposals seem to be Executive Orders, a "done deal" the minute they are signed, with no chance for any of us to protest or have any say in the matter at all. But such is not the case. The proposals are just that, something proposed for further discussion and discovery. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the process of lawmaking in the United States, I offer this very abbreviated and incomplete schedule of the passage of a bill from proposal to publication.

First, a sponsor will have to be found in the Senate or the House, who then has to compose the bill and present it. Then it has to be voted on, then sent to at least one committee. If they think it is important enough, the committee will convene public hearings on the bill, to gather opinion and information. After the sponsors collect the information they need, the proposals will either be killed, or they will be sent to the House with instructions to craft a bill for final vote. There is every possibility in the world that the law that comes out in the final process will bear little or no resemblance to the proposals the President put forth.

When it comes out of committee (if it ever does) it gets voted on again, then sent to the Senate, where the process is repeated, amendments are added, etc. Then it gets returned to the originating house for crafting into the final bill, then passed or not passed, then finally sent to the President's desk. If he looks at it and says, "This bears no resemblance to my proposals and I can't sign it," and "picks up his veto pen," the piece of legislation goes back to the originating house for an override vote. If the President's veto is overridden, the law becomes law. If the veto is not overridden, then it is killed. It can be killed in committee, as well, as it is making its way through the process. Then, it can either be re-introduced under another name or left to die.

Just the process itself can take many months, even years, if committee members are hostile to the proposal. In this event, there isn't much hope for its passage as it was proposed. Judging from the behavior of most of the electorate who have responded, and many of the Representatives and Senators, the President's immigration proposals will probably face a future of disembowelling, drawing and quartering, and eventual total destruction. But that is often what happens to bills placed in the "Hopper."

We have seen before the careful attention to the details of the game of Strategery as played by this Administration. My gut instinct is that we have just observed a masterful move with these proposals. Simply put, the President sent up a trial balloon, testing the real opinions of the electorate. By taking his proposals before the whole country, he receives much swifter opinion and input than if he had merely written it out and had it submitted in the Hopper of the House of Representatives. He gets all of it out into the open, leaving little room for speculation on unrevealed aspects of his proposals.

If I could venture a guess as to the strategic direction of these proposals, it would be this: First, GWB is making good on another election promise. In the process, he is also getting Congress primed to go over the proposals with a fine-toothed comb, selecting one thing as useful and another thing as useless, with an eye to possible lawmaking and perhaps a beginning to the unravelling of the Gordian Knot of immigration problems in the U. S. And, he gets the political benefits of moving undecided Democrats whose pet projects revolve around immigration closer to his side of the board.

Many "Conservatives" appear to have been waiting to pounce on President Bush for anything they perceive as a danger to the Constitution. I am not defending the proposals, don't get me wrong. But I am saying that before we shoot ourselves in the feet by withholding our votes from the President in November, we should wait and allow this latest move in Strategery to play itself out. There is more at stake in this election than just punishing the President for what we perceive as deceit and stupidity.

There is also more to these proposals than meets the eye, as happens more often than not with GWB. He is a masterful strategist, and I think this is just the gambit. I can hardly wait to see this one unfold.

Play on, Mr. President. Don't listen to the kibitzers.

______________________________
(If you don't already have a copy, I suggest you write to your Congressman or Senator and ask for a copy of "How Our Laws Are Made," which explains the entire process of lawmaking from proposal to final vote and publication.)

[Lando Lincoln]

Lando

[Lando Lincoln]

Thanks again...Liz is great!

Lando

[ETERNAL WARMING]

The outraged reactions of Conservative pundits and voters appear to indicate that the proposals seem to be Executive Orders, a "done deal"


Does anyone want to trust this President with four more years without the restraint of elections hanging over his head? Perhaps he'll yet discover EOs and pass some of what he could not succeed in pushing down our throats. THAT is why. I'm tired of the contempt our politicians show towards hardworking American citizens.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Thanks for posting some reason here. What has anyone else proposed that is likely, reasonable and logical? If his proposal came out unscathed by some miracle, it would mean "four years and out" for many illegals, and they could no longer vote as guest workers. It seemed to me to be the solution to make them come out of the cold and show themselves as workers, not hiding in the shadows of illegality.

[SubMareener]

Right! Can't trust BUSH! We would be much better off with a DemocRAT president! They always promote conservative principles!

[Naspino]

Right! Can't trust BUSH! We would be much better off with a DemocRAT president! They always promote conservative principles!

Don't waste your breath on EW. She's already admitted that she wants GWB to lose in 2004 and be replaced with a Democrat - my tagline is for people like her.

[Reagan Man]

>>>Does anyone want to trust this President with four more years....

I trust the President with four more years. The Democratic alternatives would be disasterous for America.

I don't like the President's immigration proposals either. I'm pissed off at several decisions that the GOP Congress made and Bush signed off on. But the choices are limited. If you don't vote for Bush, then who will you vote for? John Kerry. Howie Dean. Maybe John Edwards, or Wes Clark.

I fully support holding our elected leaders feet to the fire at all times. If you're a member of a third party, then voting for Bush never really entered your mind. But if you're a conservative Republican, voting for someone other then PresBush because you're angry and want to punish the President, isn't a rational decision.

We're getting down to the nitty gritty. The first caucus is over and before you know it, the Demlib primaries will be over, then the conventions will be here and then its onto the general election. After all the garbage that the Democratic candidates have been spewing about PresBush, its time to take sides. You'll find most folks around FR will be with PresBush.

So, if not President Bush, then who will you be voting for?

[quesera]

Love your tagline.

[WhiteGuy]

"he is trying to get a handle on the monstrous immigration problems he inherited from the previous administration."

Desparation sets in..........

The rank and file of the freedom loving right not as easy to fool as first thought................

BLAME IT ON CLINTON

[F16Fighter]

"Don't waste your breath on EW. She's already admitted that she wants GWB to lose in 2004 and be replaced with a Democrat - my tagline ( You might be conservative -- but are you a patriot?) is for people like her."

Let me suggest an alternate tagline. How about ("Loyalty means swearing blind allegiance to the GOP -- NOT America.")

[F16Fighter]

We have seen before the careful attention to the details of the game of Strategery as played by this Administration...Simply put, the President sent up a trial balloon, testing the real opinions of the electorate.

Bullsh*t.

If the President wanted to "send up a trial balloon," why wasn't that the balloon which proposed systematic deportation and re-registry of ALL illegal invaders BEFORE re-admittancce?

And is Dubya Bush selling out American sovereignty for potential Mexican votes??

Answer: YES

[ClancyJ]

Of course, you have a far, far better chance of getting what you want without Bush in office. Vote on.

[ClancyJ]

Hm....very funny. We have a president that understands you have to be re-elected in order to prevent the Democrats from destroying what the GOP supports, to keep the tax cuts, to have a chance to have fewer unborns slaughtered and to keep the U.N. from ruling America.

I have heard a report that there is a movement to prevent any mention of God, Christ through the airwaves. Meaning - that no religious services would be broadcast plus all the other freedom of speech we currently have will be curtailed by the few in the country wanting to take over.

Do you think I would even think of putting democrats in charge of this country? We are barely surviving with the GOP in control.

You might want to see exactly which of the two parties represents your interests and put aside the revenge angle.

[wildbill]

Illegal aliens: round them up and deport them. No mollycoddling, no freebies, no instant citizenship for babies born this side of the border. Round them up. Deport them. Repeat as necessary. Why can't this President see and understand that this is all we need to do?

Gee, when you put it like this, it seems so simple.

I have yet to see a reasonably sane plan for a) finding; b) rounding up; c)incarcerating (presumably temporarily) and d) deporting 10,000,000 people.

Try to imagine the scale of such a police action. Imagine the TV coverage.

The only thing that would work is a bullet-proof national work card with draconian punishment for employer violators.

And this would be the answer from a party who doesn't believe in registration of anything. What would our slogan be: REGISTER PEOPLE NOT GUNS! or YOU WON'T GET MY REGISTRATION CARD UNTIL YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD FINGERS

[Hop A Long Cassidy]

>>>"I can't figure out why some people got so exercised by the President's immigration proposals."

I liken the situation to having a few drinks with your fiance right before you get married. And after a few drinks your fiance starts regaling in how she wants to cheat the drycleaners out of 20 dollars and the corner grocery story out of fifteen.

You, being a smart person, reason that if she'll cheat the dryclearners and the grocery store then why would she not cheat you?

She didn't have to actually commit the crime, but speculating in it, reveling in it tells you very clearly her natural intentions.

So, Bush has told us how he's going to behave in his Second Act. There will be no restraint in this Second Act; he's told us his deep felt intentions. So NOW is the only time to act.

So NOW is the only time we can effectively communicate to the Republican leadership that this move was so stupid, such a lack of judgement, so repugnant that it probbly discredits his leadership credits earned so far.

It looks like its time to run a candidate that truly wants to solve the illegal alien crisis. The Republican leadership must learn not to run Democrats as Republicans.

To show that he truly wants to solve this problem, Bush could put the troops on the border starting TOMMORROW, or acclerate deportation of illegals, or start to build a barrier (the cost of this would probably be round off error on some of the other programs Never-Seen-A-Spending-Program-That-He-Didnt-Like Bush has recommended or pushed through.

Bush can act TODAY to solve the problem and then get re-elected. Or he can propose to dissolve our citizenship via permanent temporary workers -- WHO WON'T VOTE REPUBLICAN. Count the numbers... its a losing game pandering to voters who continually vote Democrat and for greater socialist spending.

Bush has done a great job in Iraq and Afghanistan (Rumsfeld was a great selection). I can tolerate Bush's prolifigate spending. But I can't take the loss of my country. Sorry, time to take the Republican leadership out to the wood shed. We don't want someone who will make a hit on the drycleaners in the Second Act. We'll have no say if he does.

Hoppy

[lonewacko_dot_com]

"it looks more like he is trying to get a handle on the monstrous immigration problems he inherited from the previous administration."

He's been president for three years. That's more than enough time to get a handle on the matter: by enforcing immigration laws in the interior. Besides Wal*Mart, how many raids on employers have you heard about recently?

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

Think about it...Executive Orders are not acceptable for the revision of existing law. EO's were used extensively by Ex-42 to legislate, but even he, who made a mess of everything he touched, did not dare to try to change immigration law, either legislated or as specified in the constitution, via Executive Order. So relax. This President is not stupid. He is wise..wiser than a Foxxx, or however you spell it in Mexinese. Given time, we will watch the Presidente south of the border self-destruct over this issue. We will not have free passage across our borders from north or south, EU style.

[Consort]

Pretty bad, even for you.

[Fledermaus]

What hardworking Americans? According to 99% of your posts, all Americans are unemployed and/or living off credit cards.

[spokeshave]

When illegals are outlawed only outlaws will have them