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Bush Revives Amnesty Proposal

Thread ID: 15607 | Posts: 8 | Started: 2004-11-10

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Quantrill [OP]

2004-11-10 18:18 | User Profile

Barely a week after Bush (whom OD's own Gabrielle styles a 'defender of the White race') won re-election, he is resurrecting his proposal for amnesty for illegal aliens. Yes, the same proposal that almost caused a revolt within his own party a few months ago. I would love to hear from Mentzer or Gabrielle just exactly how this is 'conservative.'

Bush Revives Bid to Legalize Illegal Aliens By Bill Sammon THE WASHINGTON TIMES [size=1]Published November 10, 2004[/size]

President Bush yesterday moved aggressively to resurrect his plan to relax rules against illegal immigration, a move bound to anger conservatives just days after they helped re-elect him. The president met privately in the Oval Office with Sen. John McCain to discuss jump-starting a stalled White House initiative that would grant legal status to millions of immigrants who broke the law to enter the United States. The Arizona Republican is one of the Senate's most outspoken supporters of expanding guest-worker programs and has introduced his own bill to offer a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. "We are formulating plans for the legislative agenda for next year," said White House political strategist Karl Rove. "And immigration will be on that agenda." He added: "The president had a meeting this morning to discuss with a significant member of the Senate the prospect of immigration reform. And he's going to make it an important item." While the president was huddling with Mr. McCain, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was pushing the plan during a visit to Mexico City. "The president remains committed to comprehensive immigration reform as a high priority in his second term," he told a meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Binational Commission. "We will work closely with our Congress to achieve this goal." But key opponents in Congress said Mr. Bush's proposal isn't going anywhere.
"An amnesty by any other name is still an amnesty, regardless of what the White House wants to call it," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican and chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. "Their amnesty plan was dead on arrival when they sent it to the Congress in January, and if they send the same pig with lipstick back to Congress next January, it will suffer the same fate," he said. With the House and Senate already clashing over border security and deportation provisions in the pending intelligence overhaul bill, some Capitol Hill aides said it's almost impossible that Congress could agree on a broader immigration proposal. Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said he "suddenly went from calm to stressed out" after learning of the president's renewed push for immigration relaxation. He predicted the plan would continue to meet vigorous opposition from House Republicans.
"If the House wouldn't deliver this bill before the guy's election, when he claimed he needed it for the Hispanic vote, why would they deliver it after the election, when their constituents overwhelmingly oppose it?" he said. "Why would House leaders follow the president over a cliff?" White House officials insisted the move was not "payback" to Hispanic voters who supported Mr. Bush in greater numbers last week than in 2000. Although the president first proposed relaxing immigration shortly after taking office, he mothballed the idea after September 11, 2001, and downplayed it on the campaign trail. "The president has long believed that reforming our immigration system is a high priority," White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan said yesterday. Mr. Stein said Mr. Bush is already a "lame duck president" whose proposal "has no credibility." He expressed astonishment that the president resurrected the plan before pushing other second-term agenda items, like tax simplification or Social Security privatization. "There's a sense of obstinacy in the face of overwhelming evidence that it's a losing approach," he said. "I mean, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing, expecting a different result." Though most members of Congress agree on the need for a guest-worker program to fill unwanted jobs, House Republican leaders, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, have panned other parts of the president's proposal as an amnesty. Mr. Bush has not sent immigration legislation to Congress, though seven bills have been introduced by members of the House and Senate, according to Numbers USA, an organization that lobbies for stricter immigration controls. They range from a proposal to give legal status to fewer than 1 million agricultural workers to a bill that could legalize most of the estimated 10 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. But none of the bills has passed even one chamber. Mr. McCain is sponsoring a bill, along with Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, both Arizona Republicans, that would go further than the president's principles by explicitly allowing those now here illegally to enter a guest-worker program and eventually apply for permanent residence. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the president wants to "provide a more humane treatment" of illegal aliens from Mexico. "America has always been a welcoming society, and this is a program that will match willing workers with willing employers," he said. "It will promote compassion for workers who right now have no protection." He added of Mr. Bush: "It's something that he intends to work with members on to get moving again in the second term. It's something he believes very strongly in." Mr. Powell yesterday insisted that security is an important part of his boss's proposal.
"We must also be innovative in our efforts to stop those who abuse the openness of our societies along the border, who would use this openness to harm our citizens through trafficking in drugs, or trafficking in human beings, or by committing acts of terrorism," Mr. Powell said. Some on Capitol Hill said Mr. Bush may be emboldened by the fact that he didn't appear to lose support among conservatives in this year's election, and several Republicans who did support guest-worker programs defeated primary challengers, including Mr. Flake, Mr. Kolbe and Rep. Christopher B. Cannon, Utah Republican. "I think a lot of members around the country saw those results and realized that voters are more interested in a serious solution to this problem," said Mr. Flake's spokesman, Matthew Specht. "So I think that certainly improves the chances for reform next year." In a 90-minute interview Sept. 22 with editors and reporters of The Washington Times, Mr. Rove said a Bush victory would "be an opportunity" for the president's guest-worker proposal for immigrants, although he declined to call it a "mandate," as he did on such issues as Social Security reform and tax cuts. [url="http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041110-123424-5467r.htm"]http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041110-123424-5467r.htm[/url]

JoseyWales

2004-11-10 18:33 | User Profile

Dont worry, Dubya will save us. Just like when he said he would support a renewal of the assault weapon bill, he didnt really mean it. Dont worry about this little travesty, besides Dubya has lots of "political capital" to spend now that "conservatives" backed him in such large numbers.

mmmkay ? ryyyyght, uh huh ... :rolleyes:

meanwhile, the invasion continues

Faust

2004-11-11 00:56 | User Profile

[COLOR=Red][SIZE=7][FONT=Times New Roman]Treason!Treason!Treason![/FONT][/SIZE] [/COLOR]

jay

2004-11-11 02:38 | User Profile

I didn't vote for him, I voted Peroutka.

And my buddies are now listenign to what I said all along! So, vindication of sorts.

Recluse

2004-11-11 04:10 | User Profile

Quoting Bush, from the third Presidential debate: [URL=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/debatereferee/debate_1013.html]"Now, it's very important for our citizens to also know that I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior."[/URL] Lying POS.

skemper

2004-11-11 23:15 | User Profile

[QUOTE]Barely a week after Bush (whom OD's own Gabrielle styles a 'defender of the White race') won re-election, he is resurrecting his proposal for amnesty for illegal aliens. Yes, the same proposal that almost caused a revolt within his own party a few months ago.[/QUOTE]

Gabrielle doesn't have the brainpower. Like other brainwashed people, she incapable of responding to something is against her programming. I have shown her evidence on other threads about Bush's antichristian agenda and she never has responded to me. I regard her as a troll.

Bardamu

2004-11-11 23:49 | User Profile

The bigger the stink the better from Jorge's point of view, because then the more brownie points he'll earn when he forces it through Congress. Probably theyve done the math and figure the Hispanic vote is more important than the remnant nationalist vote. I don't think the so-called Christian coalition really cares about the immigration issue, so long as Roe versus Wade is challenged, so you see Jorge is playing it smart: his base is Christian, and it will become more Hispanic, afterall the Hispanic vote is going to assure Jeb's eventual election as President.

Faust

2004-11-12 04:42 | User Profile

House Shuns Illegals Proposal

House leaders on immigration policy think amnesty won’t pass.

Stephen Dinan, Washington Times, Nov. 11

House leaders on immigration policy said yesterday that there isn’t enough support in Congress to pass a guest-worker program for illegal aliens, despite President Bush’s renewed push for such a proposal.

“As far as the House of Representatives is concerned, I don’t necessarily see an environment that has changed dramatically enough that would allow for a guest-worker bill to gain majority support,” said Rep. John Hostettler, Indiana Republican and chairman of the immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.

“In our subcommittee, we have held hearings in the 108th Congress that indicate such a program would continue a long-term downward spiral in the wages of low-skilled and no-skill workers,” he said. “The simple fact of the matter is when we bring in individuals who are willing to work at such low wages, we do nothing but displace American citizens.”

The Washington Times reported yesterday that the Bush administration plans an aggressive push on its first-term proposal to relax rules against illegal immigration—a move unpopular with the Republican base, which sees such guest-worker programs as a veiled amnesty.

On Tuesday while meeting with officials in Mexico City, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said there is a better chance of passing legislation to address the millions of illegal aliens living and working in the United States.

And in Washington, White House political adviser Karl Rove said Mr. Bush will renew his push for the guest-worker proposal in the new Congress.

That effort is bound to infuriate conservatives, who believe that they were key to Mr. Bush’s re-election last week and say this is a strange use of a presidential mandate.

“It is highly unusual for an administration to use their political capital that was given by the base against the base,” one Republican strategist said.

Mr. Bush drew a rebuke from many House Republicans in January when he proposed creating a renewable temporary-worker program open both to illegal immigrants already in the United States and to new applicants abroad and suggested allowing more legal permanent immigrants to enter the country each year.

After hearing from constituents, Republican lawmakers meeting in Philadelphia a month later gave Mr. Rove an earful and said the program sounded like amnesty. Congressional aides yesterday said opposition in the House hasn’t changed.

“For us, it’s about our members,” said John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. “We have the same members.”

Still, he said Mr. Bush should be commended for taking a stand on the issue and the challenge is for Congress to respond somehow.

“The president has been courageous in coming up with a plan to fix a problem. Congress needs to help the president fix the problem,” he said.

Jonathan Grella, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, said, “We always welcome the president’s policy contributions and will continue to take a serious look at his contributions.”

The White House yesterday defended Mr. Bush’s plan, with press secretary Scott McClellan telling reporters that Mr. Bush “does not support blanket amnesty,” but will continue to push for his temporary-worker proposal.

Mr. Bush met with Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, on Tuesday, and the two men talked about the need for new immigration programs.

Mr. McCain, who has introduced his own guest-worker bill, appeared on the “Imus in the Morning” radio program yesterday and talked in general terms about immigration, said his spokeswoman, Crystal Benton.

But she said Mr. McCain was traveling in upstate New York and could not be reached by reporters or her office to find out more about the Oval Office meeting or plans to pursue his bill.

For his part, Mr. McClellan would not talk about the details of the meeting, saying it was a private discussion that included immigration and other issues.

“It’s part of our continuing efforts to talk with members of Congress about how we can move forward on the priorities the president outlined,” Mr. McClellan said.

Asked whether Mr. Bush was coming around to Mr. McCain’s plan, which would give illegals a shorter path to citizenship than the White House has envisioned, Mr. McClellan said, “The president remains committed to the plan that he outlined to create a temporary-worker program.”

Mr. Bush has only laid out principles and has not submitted a bill of his own, and Mr. McClellan wouldn’t say whether the White House will submit specific legislation.

“We’re going to continue working closely with Congress on this issue as we move forward, “ he said. “We’ll certainly keep you posted of conversations that we have as we can.”

Democrats have said they hope Mr. Bush’s renewed push will lead to action, although Democratic leaders on the issue are looking for a plan that is broader than either Mr. Bush’s or Mr. McCain’s, including a much faster path to citizenship for those here illegally.

With their support and that of many Republican senators, there is a better chance of the Senate acting next year than the House.

More than 60 senators have signed on as co-sponsors of a bill that would legalize the status of nearly 1 million illegal alien agricultural workers, but the White House has opposed that bill as a piecemeal approach and Republican leaders in the Senate shied away from bringing it up right before the election.

Scot Montrey, a spokesman for Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican and the man who heads Republican senators’ task force on immigration, didn’t return calls on the issue.

But Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, who backs a guest-worker program that would create an incentive for the workers to leave after their time is up, said he wants the debate to start.

“I do believe it would be helpful to have a bill brought up, or perhaps hold more hearings first, and try to achieve consensus about what’s doable,” he said.

(Posted on November 11, 2004)

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"But Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, who backs a guest-worker program that would create an incentive for the workers to leave after their time is up, said he wants the debate to start."

So his proposal is that we pay off aliens to actually leave when they've agreed to? I guess that's much more humane than funding the necessary number of INS officials to find them and throw them out. We have to be sensitive to other cultures, you know...

I'm at least encouraged that the Washington Times is criticizing the administration this soon after the election. Radically disenchanted Republicans like me might, in the end, be able to gain sway again.

Posted by Fletcher at 5:59 PM on November 11

I hope George Bush will realize that the reason he and other republicans won is the fact that republicans are the only hope americans have of getting rid of the illegal aliens.His constant pandering to hispanics is really alienating his base. He should look at his own relatives to decide whether americans really want metizos as neighbors.Look at the record. He has a sister in law who is a contraband smuggler. A niece whomis a drug addict and a nephew who is a racist and a burglar.

Posted by Frank P. at 6:15 PM on November 11

"But Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, who backs a guest-worker program that would create an incentive for the workers to leave after their time is up, said he wants the debate to start."

Why not just cut out the middle-man and eliminate the incentives for them to Come here in the first place? They COME here Illegally and STAY here Illegally NOW. What makes these politicians think they would just pack up and leave after thier "time was up"? Are Illegal Immigrants suddenly going to become respectable law abiding citizens after thier three years are up and leave? I think in two years many congressman like this one are going to find out that Thier time is up!!!!!!!!

Posted by James from N.O.LA. at 11:07 PM on November 11

$5.10 per hour is the wage rate that the average American can expect in the future. It matters not to men like Bush whether they are Irish, as in the last century, or Mexicans and Hindus this century. You are not their fellow Americans, you are fodder for their grist mills, both the factory floor and the local wallmart.

Posted by RobertB at 11:16 PM on November 11

[url]http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2004/11/house_shuns_ill.php[/url]