Jan 08 2008
RINOs Win, Amnesty Hypochondriacs Lose, Guiliani Hits The Airwaves
Mitt Romney’s last ditch desperation act to invoke the evils of illegal immigration did not save him. McCain still won handily. Just like the hate of all things immigrant will not save the GOP. That battle is over and America is rejecting the hypochondria of ‘amnesty’. The Amnesty Hypochondriacs are just now realizing they are not the majority of the GOP anymore – and many will flirt with bolting the party. All they see (correctly) for President on the GOP is RINO after RINO. This is what you get when you go off on emotional tirades against our President and our governing coalition allies. Most of us are not surprised one bit.
Thompson is fading. Romney is fading. We have Huckabee who is a liberal on everything outside of Church. We have McCain who was against tax cuts and free speech, but who is great on the war on terrorism. What is a conservative to do?
We do have Giuliani – who cleaned up NY City, who reduced taxes in a heavily democratic city, who has promised to put judges like Roberts and Alito on the federal benches, and who is really tough on the war terror as well. Is he perfect? Nope – that ain’t happening this year folks.
Rudy’s ads starting running tonight and they bring us back to the main topic – the War on the West still raging in the Middle East. They are brutally blunt ads. They are good ads. Bush will put us on a path to win. Giuliani can continue and he will not sell us out to the Dems for votes (e.g., McCain and Huckabee). We don’t have time to muck around, look for perfect purity, or let the Dems win and surrender to Bin Laden. Get over perfection and purity and start dealing with reality. If not Rudy then Hillary?
Who is the best all around a conservative who has succeeded in the heart of liberalism (NY City) and who will chase down our enemies until they are dead? Giuliani. He is the one candidate who is good on taxes and the war, but he also doesn’t wimpishly give into liberals like McCain and Huckabee have done time and time again. He makes liberals conform to conservative values.
Anyway – a new GOP is about to emerge in 2008 and it is not the party of the amnesty hypochondriacs. There is no pure conservative coming to make the far right…, well right. They don’t have their favorite candidate in the race. Now can they help this nation win the war or are they going to sit home and pout? Are we going to defend America with all its imperfections are was all that patriotic talk just BS?
OK, so if you had to pick between McCain and Rudy – which way would you go? And don’t say neither because that is a vote for Hillary and Bin Laden wins and all those who died in Iraq would have died for nothing. Getting over disappointment and soldiering on is something we ask our military families to do – I hope the GOP and conservatives can do the same. You owe them that much for what they have fought and died for.
Sure there were a few loud immigration haters but NOT in the numbers some wish to paint with such a broad brush.
The vast majority of the opposition (70 % of the country agrees there are major problems to fix but didn’t like the bill put forward for good reasons) were gun shy because of the history some seem to want to conveniently brush under the rug.
The Regan amnesty was a pure amnesty that point is not in dispute. However the deal was between Regan and Ted Kennedy that the border would be secured. Kennedy didn’t hold up his side of the bargain and the borders were left open for the flood of illegals just waiting for the next amnesty or similar proposal.
The comprehensive bill was seen for what it was. An over complex monstrosity which had good features but many were not fixed or in any way setting up the protections and over sight mechanism before putting people into the programs. Also the fence provisions were shaky at best.
The reaction across the board from all political stripes was warranted and no matter how much people want to paint it as only coming from the ‘hard liners’ the figures just do not support that. It was broad based and deep rejection.
The way the bill was offered to the floor and essentially voting blind did not inspire confidence for anyone to support the bill because they had so little to go on as to what the bill contained and were right to be skeptical. Unless you had massive time to devote to finding the bill itself and doing a whole lot of research to figure out what was happening you were flying blind.
Not a way to try to pass legislation with such broad impact instead of making the public fully aware of all that was involved. Simple lack of trust for DC Politicians killed it the rest of the way. The few extreme hard liners could never in any way have caused or done it by themselves and that picture is just an illusion. It is NOT supported by the data.
That lack of trust on the issue was just shown to be right on the money.
The fence was addressed in the omnibus funding bill , which was also crammed through the congress in a rush, and added 15 requirements that are going to be very difficult to meet before money can even be released to work on the fence. The mileage has been reduced, the fence went from a double fence to a single fence and in other was was weakened.
Exactly what was most feared by those in opposition to the bill.
Polls showed over and over again that people feared that if the comprehensive bill had passed, that down the line the portions for enforcement and fences would be tied up or diluted or even removed and the omnibus bill and what it did to the fence for securing the border showed they were right on the money with that judgment.
Ok lets do a what if.
Lets say the comprehensive bill had been passed just the way it stood.
What would have been the result. Hmmm all the illegals would still be in country. Those coming forward to register with the program would be a while getting processed and into the system. The much talked about “coming out of the shadows”. But when they did then they got blessed for all sorts of services they were already taking use of. But the attraction for them is per the bill, they could get the rest of their family to hop across the border to join them cause the bill said they could. Yup more immigrants and nobody leaving, but at least they were ‘out of the shadows’.
Oh and also we would be starting up the guest worker program. Wow more authorized people for temporary work visas coming across the border. And yet again no body leaving.
Nobody rapidly left under the bill. It wasn’t until they got into the citizenship portion of the requirements after doing their catch up on back taxes and such that they finally had to go home for a touch and go (which probably would have been drastically altered or eliminated or loopholed out to almost meaningless).
So all in all we would have piled even more people in here with next to none on the outflow.
Sort of like leaning into a left hook. Not my idea of a smart process.
Cato, Mac has a perfect record on taxes. He stubbornly refuses to sign “the pledge” but he keeps it anyway! Grover Norquist/Americans for Tax Reform confirmed today that McCain has never— NEVER — in 25 years in Congress, ever voted for a tax increase of any kind. I found that very interesting and reassuring.
Merlin,
Fantasizing is not going to work. Mea culpas could help.
Ok AJ
Please explain where I was fantasizing.
Hasn’t the fence been crippled in the omnibus bill?
Wasn’t the comprehensive bill brought out in stealth mode?
Where have I mis characterized the content of the bills?
SallyVee: It’s good that he has not voted to raise taxes, but he opposed the tax cuts. I want a president who thinks taxes are too high, not one happy with the tax levels. The tax issue is just one of many problems with McCain. I’d probably hold my nose and support him over Hillary because of the war, but you just can’t get me enthusiastic about him.
Cato, he opposed the tax cuts on principle… he wanted commensurate spending cuts as part of the deal. I do not think he’d have voted against the tax cuts if his vote had been needed to win.
I know what you mean… I’d have to hold my nose to vote for Romney or Huck or Fred. But by God I’ll do it or I’d never EVER be able to look an American soldier in the face, or look at myself in the mirror.
Merlin,
Of course you’re right. The bill was a mess with border security not seriously addressed. It would have been incentive for yet more illegals to flood across. Funding for the fence/wall has already been disassembled. The “analysis” of the immigration issue here is almost comical.
Wiley,
you and Merlin are a hoot. The analysis here on immigration is brutally honest. For all the BS flowing from the amnesty hypochondriacs here are the bottom line results: nothing. No proposals that can pass. Lost election after lost election. Insults against those who don’t toe the line of the hardliners. And did I mention nothing???
Two times and the preferred result was the current mess. The hypochondriacs crowed for days about keeping the crap the way it is!
Dude, when will you folks learn this site recognizes achievement, not hot air. The GOP is ripped apart because a few people couldn’t face democracy, they couldn’t face losing a vote. Personally all that BS about being true patriots in light of the inability to accept the determination of the majority AND risk the success we have had against terror AND the insults is what is laughable.
Hard analysis? If you fear it don’t come here.
Hard analysis? That’s a hoot — you’re clueless on the issue (although I agree with practically everything else you opine about). Not one of the repub losses from 2006 was due to immigration, except for yet one more thing that wasn’t addressed. The races where illegal immigration was a key issue, the dem challengers talked equally tough or even went to the right of the repub, thereby making the issue a wash.
The drafted McCain Senate bill was a mess and would have hurt the repubs even more. Why do you think McCain & Huck & Rudy are all saying we need to secure the border first? It’s not just what conservatives and repubs want, but the vast majority of all voters. The illegals already here are secondary importance; they can be dealt with, perhaps with some pathway to citizenship, but not until we can get control of our borders and our infrastructure ready to process those seeking entry.