Posted on 06/13/2007 12:47:49 PM PDT by BrerRabbit
June 12, 2007 - Though I’ve never heard him use the term, my guess is that George W. Bush sees himself as a hacendado, an estate owner in Old Mexico.
That would give him a sense of Southwestern noblesse, duty-bound not just to work “his” people, but to protect them as well.
His advisor, Carlo Rove, has explained that a system called “democracy” now gives peasants something called “the vote.” It would be shrewd, Rove said, for hacendados to grant their workers’ citizenship.
That’s the best explanation I have for why Bush is in the midst of what may be a suicide mission on immigration policy—embarrassing for him and ruinous for his party.
An ungrateful base
Long ago, when he was running for governor, Bush told me that he was a “southwestern” Republican, not a “southern” one. As a son of the southwest, he wants employers to have access to all of that cheap labor, but wants to make the system more orderly, at least not cruel. He hopes (as he did as governor) to get credit for wisdom.
It infuriates Bush when people—in his own party, no less—are not grateful for what he sees as an act of heartfelt, enlightened generosity and foresighted management.
So he sounded like the Texas gunslinger he pretended to be as a kid when he squared off against GOP foes of his sweeping immigration proposal. His timing was perfect, as in wrong, just as he was preparing to attend the Senate Republicans’ weekly luncheon on the Hill. “I’ll see you at the bill signing,” he said, chestier than usual.
He might live to regret such playground bravado.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
My comment:
And they shouldn’t be dismissed as crazies. Bush’s own dark view of post 9/11 clashes with his relatively benign attitude toward illegal immigration. Here is the question that clash begs: Do borders mean anything?
Apparently not.
Well maybe the rabid Bush haters like Fineman and company might want to consider he is keeping the Democrat controlled Senate tied up for over a month fighting over a bill that has no chance of ever passing the US House rather then working on any of the Democrat Party’s political agenda.
True, it IS gumming up the works. Let's hope it continues in only that role!! :)
“Why is Bush Risking Nasty Battle Within His Own Party Over Immigration Reform?” Simple. The big money boys (DemocRATs and RepublicRATs alike) who own him want cheap illegal labor from Mexico, and don’t give a damn about what we the people want. Its all about the benjamins folks.
Sorry to be so cynical, but that’s how I see it.
That’s what bothers me about Bush’s immigration stance. It’s not a matter of just “disagreeing on one issue.” I just cannot for the life of me see how this “open borders” philosophy fits in with the entire program of keeping our country safe and protected. Protecting the borders is job one, no?
His strong support of the amnesty bill makes an absolute mockery of his other security measures. What good is it to lock and bolt the windows if the front door is left wide open?
If I’m wrong about this, I would love to hear it. I’d sleep better at night if I could somehow believe the President’s immigration policy is good for us. Because I most assuredly don’t.
That's about the only good thing about all of this.
1. Millions needing documentation.
2.Id cards for every one.
3.ID card failure becomes national crisis on an individual personal level for just about every citizen.
4.Chip implants to the rescue.
And that core is very pi$$ed. No more platitudes, no more spin, no more "this is not amnesty."
It's enforcement with NO PATH TO CITIZENSHIP or you guys are soooo outta here.
He'd blow his stack, and everyone would know that the answer had to be "yes." You don't live in Texas for decades as an aristocrat hobby-rancher without hiring illegals. Anyone living in the Southwest for the past thirty years who needed some heavy work done would be strongly tempted by illegal labor. Cheap, available and lovably servile.
Many fall into that temptation--and when you break rules you get defensive. You start thinking that breaking rules is OK because you're an OK kind of guy. It's the rules that must be bad--so ignore them, scoff at them, and try to change them to justiry your self image. And when you are opposed, insult the opposition.
This is a class issue. It is at it's heart patronizing--poor little downtrodden servant o' mine, let me hand you my nation's sovereignty. Just because you're so humble and lovable and clean up Scotty's dog poop so Laura won't have to.
Housework, yardwork...it's a lot more political than you think.
That article reads like a half-thought-out rant on an inferior blog. Newsweek should fire everyone but Pinkerton and start over. Yes, Bush has betrayed those that voted for him on the immigration issue. No, Fineman is not worth reading.
Council on Foreign Relations
In 2005, CFR task force co-chairman Pastor testified in Congress in front of the Foreign Relations Committee: "The best way to secure the United States today is not at our two borders with Mexico and Canada, but at the borders of North America as a whole."
The CFR task force he headed called for one border around North America, freer travel within it, and cooperation among Canadian, Mexican and American military forces and law enforcement for greater security.
It called for full mobility of labor among the three countries within five years, similar to the European Union.
Just beginning to wonder....with Boosh’s fetish for illegals and his desire for open borders...is he really committed to winning the War on Terrorism?
You may not like this - President Bush is on a schedule - a global schedule. A schedule that has the major component of the American Union in place before he leaves office.
If he gets this done, the republican party is done it it doesn't matter to him anyway. Also, and he can't be re-elected so he has nothing to lose.
Really? No chance of passing the House with a Democrat majority and Pelosi in charge?
CALL! CALL! CALL! CALL! AND KEEP CALLING TILL THE LINES FRY!
WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! TILL YOU RUN OUT OF INK IN YOUR PEN!
Bombard the Democrats as well, especially the ones that ran on an anti illegal immigration plank and the ones in marginal districts who could be vulnerable. keep pounding on them. This is a bipartisan issue not a Conservative or Liberal issue BUT AN AMERICAN issue.
(Well.. ya know, it doesn't say anything about enforcement. But I'm going to finish what I started to say.)
The silliest "pinhead" pronouncement so far I heard O'Reilly say on his radio show. The opponents (of "reform") want to leave things as they are, the "reporter" said.
O'Really?
Has the definition of enforcement been removed from our dictionaries?
"We don't need no stinkin' enforcement, we just need new laws," say the mandarins.
Not a flame, just a minor correction.
Bush didn't buy his 'hobby-ranch' until just before running for President. Even then, he 'rented' the cattle for 'show'.
He is the very definition of 'all hat and no cattle'.
apparently what it will take is for a lawyer with a big enough set to threaten to sue for the pardon of every US citizen convicted of forgery and identity theft under the equal protection clause in the constitution before they’ll get it. Name every single one of the bastards pushing this idiocy as defendents. Maybe some one going after their own pockets will shake them up enough to kill the bill once and for all.
Magnanimity is easy when you're insulated from its consequences.
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