Bush the Elder did the same with his tax hikes. But the GOP losses in 1992 were not his fault, no. It was all the fault of the Perot voters.
Likewise, Bush's defenders on this issue simply cannot bring themselves to realize that Bush is willing to ally with liberal Dems and risk losing GOP control of the House to get his way - rather than take the PRUDENT step of holding off on a guest worker program for now. It is political brinksmanship of the worst kind - and it apparently runs in the family.
"It was all the fault of the Perot voters."
Most of the Perot voters would have voted for Bush if he hadn't raised taxes. That was the key betrayal that was unforgiveable. He lied to them, and they retaliated.
Now, W hasn't lied to anybody. His Monday night speech was a rehash of where he has always stood, just presented in gussied-up and misleading language to try and make it look like something new. The President is honest about where he stands, but where he stands can't win. He was honest about his support for Miers too, but Miers was a bridge too far for the pro-lifers. In the end, the President had to back down in order to save the unity of the party. And in the Miers case, he did.
Here, the President doesn't really have the lead. He could have taken the lead on Monday night, but he repackaged amnesty and stepped-up weak enforcement of the Mexican border. So, the issue reposes in Congress. The House Republicans want heavy enforcement first. The Senate Republicans are split, with the leaders proposing guest worker and not proposing a full sealing of the border.
The two are far apart.
The President clearly will not change his position an inch, so leadership has to come from Congress.
So, will the Senate cave and agree to House-style enforcement?
I really don't think they will, but they might, and if they do, the President probably won't veto it. If that happens, the BorderBots will come back and the GOP will win this November.
Any other result, though - either a House capitulation to the Senate or status quo (which is an uncontrolled border and no effective enforcement) - and the BorderBots don't come back, we lose, and we have to put the party back together next year.
I honestly believe that us screaming in each other's faces (metaphorically...mostly) is clouding the issue and causing more damage to the goal of REAL CHANGE than anything any Democrat subversive could dream up with their mad, slightly damaged brain cells. Civil debate is the only thing that will help honest conservatives achieve any sort of an honest result.
A civil - and thorough - FReeping of our congresscritters and political advisors might clarify what they're now hearing as confused gibberish. He who yells the loudest sometimes only deafens those he wants to hear him.
'92 was the fault of people who can't think straight and are suspectible to waves of Mass Hysteria. That is what we are seeing today wrt Illegals as well. Apparently the American voter must from time to time act like idiots.