[bybybill]

That`s the way to win,attack you friends. We will not be able to protect our borders and stop futher illegals if we won`t work with those that aren`t 100% in lock step on this issue. All this "holding our breath till we turn blue" unless we get our way is going to prevent stopping more illegals, divide our party, and elect Rats.
Time to grow up and make a deal that can work.

[Wallace T.]

No plan can be acceptable unless it effectively seals the Mexican border, so that the Border Patrol can apprehend and return at least 90% of illegal crossers. The second phase is to create sufficient incentives to cause a large portion of the existing illegal population to return to their home countries. The guest worker program does not do that, nor do the proposals to have existing illegals pay a fine. Many of the illegals paid money to "coyotes" to enter the country in the first place. A fine is just another overhead cost that enables the illegal to earn $10-12 an hour in the construction trade, vs. $1-2 in Mexico or even less in the rest of Latin America.

Any program that places the existing 12-20 million illegals on a path to citizenship will have the effect of electing Democrats. Hispanics, Cubans excepted, vote heavily Democratic because the party promises more and better welfare and social services benefits. If most of the 12-20 million illegals become citizens, we are looking at possibly 6-10 million voters who will be reliably (80%+) Democrats. The effect on domestic politics will be enormous. It will ensure Democratic dominance of Congress for decades and Democrats in the White House, in effect the same configuration that led to the New Deal and the Great Society.

Consider as well that one of the effects of the 1986 amnesty was the leftward movement of California politics. Prior to 1992, California was a bellwether of American politics, with the state producing numerous Republican leaders like William Knowland, Richard Nixon, S.I. Hayakawa, and Ronald Reagan. The effect of naturalized Hispanics into the California electorate moved California politics to the left, possibly irreversibly. In the last two Presidential elections, the GOP wrote off the Golden State as a lost cause. Consider that we are dealing with larger numbers in 2006 (12-20 million) vs. the number in 1986 (3 million). It is not inconceivable that Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Florida, and even Oklahoma and Georgia may move to the left by 2020 given the impact of newly enfranchised former illegals.

The bottom line is that the RINOs, the Bushbots, and the open borders advocates are the ones who would consign the Republican Party to permanent minority status. This is one issue where compromise is not an option.

[RKV]

It's very sad to say, but the "deal" is unacceptable. I'd like to think that we can get the policies we want without damaging our party, but it's Bush and the open borders lobby that must change.
Secure our borders.
Deport illegal aliens.
Prosecute those who hire them.
No amnesty.
English is our national language.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Amnesty will destroy the best Country in the world!

[brytlea]

That`s the way to win,attack you friends. We will not be able to protect our borders and stop futher illegals if we won`t work with those that aren`t 100% in lock step on this issue. All this "holding our breath till we turn blue" unless we get our way is going to prevent stopping more illegals, divide our party, and elect Rats. Time to grow up and make a deal that can work.

Are you saying we aren't your friends? I consider what you said (basically calling us babies) rather an attack....

susie

[Bikers4Bush]

Our sovereignty is not a negotiable topic/issue.

Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't understand how valuable our sovereignty is and therefore does not deserve to be a part of the debate.

We decide who comes and when,we decide who stays and we decide who leaves and when.

That right is not a topic open for debate.