Nov 15 2008

‘True’ Conservatives are Truly Clueless

Published by at 1:44 pm under All General Discussions,Illegal Immigration

I was trying to write a post on man-made global warming, the fact it has been proven to be a myth and the enormous financial damage the liberals are going to do on a global scale chasing a fool’s errand, when I came across another one of those examples of a far right conservative who feels purity will bring broad consensus and support. Talk about your political morons – purity of consensus requires a small group of like minded people, therefore is political suicide. Here is a flaming idiot with his flame set to full on:

The conservative senator, speaking to a group of GOP officials gathered in Myrtle Beach at a conference on the future of the Republican Party, described how the party had strayed from its own “brand,” which, according to DeMint, should represent freedom, religious-based values and limited government.

“We have to be honest, and there’s a lot of blame to go around, but I have to mention George Bush, and I have to mention Ted Stevens, and I’m afraid I even have to mention John McCain,” he said.

Earth to DeTwit – McCain beat all the ‘pure conservatives’ in the primaries because ‘pure conservatives’ are political poison. Stevens is the only person who deserves to be on this list, but DeMint gets honorable mention for adding to the internal wars and further fracturing the conservative movement and pushing more people out of it than attracting in. It is not lack of agreement on the ‘challenges’ or ‘goals’ (e.g., ‘smaller government’) that have destroyed the conservative coalition, it is the extreme proposals for these goals by purists over the years which have peeled away one issue related group after another.

Let’s back up a second and just get back to first principles of democratic governance. Supporting reasonable diversity of opinion regarding ‘how’ to address a generally accepted ‘challenge’ provides for creating governing coalitions (e.g., ‘how’ to deal with ‘illegal immigration’). When people strive too far into extreme versions of ‘how’ then the larger group of people who agree on the ‘challenge’ fracture into two or more groups. There is infighting and the extreme views of some push many of those who agreed on the ‘challenge’ to conclude the remedies are too toxic or risky to do anything about and they move to the opposing political camp.

George Bush has done NOTHING against conservatives accept deal with the reality that the nation is not far right and does not buy into the far right’s prescriptions for ‘how’ to deal with ‘challenges’. He has to get laws passed through Congress, and that means compromise on the ‘how’.  Success is moving the nation stepwise towards the grander ‘how’ envisioned by some as the ultimate goal.  They key here is movement at a pace the nation will accept and support.

Conservatives became impatient even when Bush was leading a nation through war and to the right. their impatience bloomed when Bush was not giving in to their demands as fast as they wanted. Talk about self absorbed. And for the sin of dealing with reality, the ‘true’ conservatives turned on our nation’s leader and their party’s leader. Which said all anyone needed to know about ‘true’ conservatives, their honor code, their connection to reality, their understanding of what it takes to govern America in the 21st century. If you want to repulse people turn on your allies because you are greedy to have your way now. That is a reputation killer any day of the week.

For example, let me pose a serious question to DeTwit: Since I am not personally tied to any religion I have attained my views on the sanctity of life through a broader sense of spirituality and from science itself, which dictates when life begins and allows us to use the engine of evolution to legally determine an embryo or fetus is not ‘part of the mother’ or simply a ‘clump of cells’. DeTwit claims the GOP is for religion-based values, but I attained my values and views through science and knowledge of the law. My approach has broader appeal and can be accepted by those more tied to science than scripture, and has the benefit of reams of legal precedence regarding DNA testing in trials. My approach happens to validate the views of many who, through faith, also believe in sanctity of life and why it is wrong to kill embryos for spare parts.

So, am I ‘pure’ enough because I use science and law to make an iron clad case against destroying embryos – which happens to validate those religion-based values? Will the DeTwits of the world continue their useless battle against evolution as proven science, as solid as the science that dictates the laws of motion and satellites, planets, etc? Will people armed with a high school level grasp of science continue to demean and challenge those of us who spent years learning about the truth of God’s Creation in amazing detail? This is why the conservative movement is totally busted. I am not a ‘true’ conservative and my efforts to support the right to life efforts is usually met with dazed looks and condescension.

Let me pick up on Immigration Reform again as it is my favorite topic to bash ‘true’ conservatives with. I was listening yesterday to AM Talk Radio (rarely do that at all now, given the dominance of ‘true’ conservatives lamenting the end of the world) and a caller called in with an interesting idea on comprehensive illegal immigration reform.

Now before the purists start going off in the comment sections here, the fact is illegal immigration reform is completely out of reach for years if not decades, accept the liberal blanket amnesty kind that could pass this Congress and get signed by the new President. All those who used scream ‘amnesty bill’ are about to see what a real one looks like. And remember, this is what you all wanted when you torpedoed the McCain-Bush proposal twice. This is what you wanted, and this is all your doing. So don’t whine to me about illegals. The next three years are what you wrought when you tanked the best option conservatives realistically had to make a difference in a quarter of a century. (Note the emphasis on the word ‘realistically’).

Anyway, the point of recalling this call was the sincerity of the caller to find a solution, and the idiocy of the ‘true’ conservative host in response. Again, it illustrates what is wrong with the right and why, even if the Dems do screw up like the did in the last Congress, the conservative movement has little hope of leveraging anything off their screw ups.

The caller was exploring higher income tax rates for migrant workers, especially those who are the long term ‘illegals’ which would transfer into a new migrant worker program. The idea was interesting and I realized we would have to do something to the tax code since most low-end migrant worker jobs are well into that class of incomes where people pay no federal taxes. I could see completely eliminating this loophole for transient workers (i.e., non US Citizens) since they need to pay into the government services they and their families will utilize while here (and possibly waiting for US citizenship). It was an interesting topic on how to make sure immigrant workers pay their share of the load.

The AM Talk Radio host was able to spew back a couple of pure myths before I had to change the channel. For example: Millions of illegals are still poring across our borders.

Not true. Since Bush has been President the border has been strengthened in a variety of ways, and last year was the first year the US did not allow a single illegal caught crossing to just come on in after promising to meet their court date hearing. Last year, and since, all illegals caught at the border are turned back. None come in. Bush did this and it is a major change in our border policy. One I am sure Obama will be overturning.

And then the ‘True’ Conservative said another dumb thing: Why not have them leave and then come back in?

Clearly, this person thinks in terms of cartoon TV level concepts. Simple minded solutions many times come from simple minds. Right now our economy is teetering and we cannot afford any large government programs. To make sure all illegal immigrants ‘went home’ would cost 100’s of billions of dollars. To process them back in would cost 100’s of billions of dollars. And the worker shortage would drive food and other basic product costs out the roof. All this over a some misdemeanors (recall, illegal immigration is not a felony in this country). The stupidity of this concept is just jaw dropping astonishing. 20 million illegals to hunt down, deport, and then check back in simply to let some on the far right get some masochistic sense of punishment is truly a waste of my tax dollars.

Illegal immigration is a paperwork and fee related crime. It is not much different from not carrying insurance on a car in a state that requires it, not paying your taxes on time. Misdemeanor crimes have punishments that usually involve fees and financial restitution (with interest). Conversely, very few crimes require you to give up your house and job. Those that result in that kind of impact result from a stint in jail.

When the ‘true’ conservatives went on the ‘deport them’ screed the damage was done to the GOP brand. When people soil their images to such a stark and pungent degree it can take years to correct, and sometimes never gets fixed. The problem with the conservative movement is it repulses more people than it attracts. This is one of many cases where they became too ugly to bear. Look at what a ‘true’ conservative stands for:

  1. Somehow removing all illegal aliens from the country and putting up massive barriers along our borders. Conveys a nice, warm and friendly view of that city on the Hill? More like a gated community of snobs who cannot be bothered by ‘the masses’.
  2. Opposition to giving senior citizens in poverty or on the edge of poverty a prescription drug benefit through Medicare/Medicaid, a program that reduces the cost of these programs because it removes the need to go to emergency rooms for basic medications. Those mean old Scrooges on the right will try to keep medicine from the sick and poor! Where is the shining city on the hill in this?
  3. Opposition to education reform and a desire to pull their kids out of the public school system. I think it is OK to want better than the public school system can provide for kids (we all do). But to also oppose corrective action on those public schools is a step too far. It again looks like those with money are trying to dump those struggling and run to their enclaves. We are a community which does need to fix problems, not hide in gated communities and private schools.
  4. Bush did not want the war against al-Qaeda to be a war against Muslims or Arabs, but then the ‘true’ right went on a purely religious and race based attack against a company from a moderate allied Arab-Muslim nation that was buying into some of our port operations here in the US. Even worse than the racist and religious bigotry behind the panic was the fact those screaming ‘fire’ were not listening to what was in the deal for national security. The deal included the Arab company paying for and installing Cargo sensor systems in all their international ports that would be feeding products into our port. It was a disaster for the GOP and conservatism.
  5. The ‘true’ conservatives still moan on and on about the statesman focused process McCain and Lieberman and 12 other Senators used to avoid constitutional showdowns with Bush’s judicial appointees. A very small number of appointees were not able to get on the bench, but conversely there was no repeat of the Bork or Thomas fiascos. Anyone still holding a grudge against the Gang of 14 is out of sync with America. We don’t want FL-2000-like confrontations. We don’t want to see people Borked. I sometimes feel the ‘true’ conservatives are simply jealous about the moderates who pulled off a solution that avoided endless litigation.
  6. Harriet Miers was the poster child for moderates and ex-democrats to leave the party. She was inside Bush’s inner circle and someone he knew very well. She was an ex-democrat – like Reagan and many other leaders of the GOP in the 80’s and 90’s until the purity wars erupted. Harriet Miers illustrated how a few extreme (and in the case of David Frum vengeance driven) conservatives would tear down the impure moderates if they tried to attain leadership or positions of power. It was the universal signal to RINOS and Quislings that the GOP umbrella was shrinking and only the pure need apply.
After all this (and more) if anyone is confused about the shrinking GOP brand they are just not paying attention.

As another example from this year’s election look at the circus of the Minnesota Senate race. I can see, just as everyone else can, how the Dems are trying to steal the election there. But the big question is how could the GOP brand be so screwed up that an honorable man like Norm Coleman (and recent GOP convert from a Democrat) could even be challenged by a screw up (screw lose) like Al Franken? How did Obama the neophyte beat McCain the wise man of the middle? How is Coleman the moderate in a fight with a TV Clown?

Let me be clear here on what is happening (and I would love to see polls to ponder this question). If McCain was a Democrat would he have won? If Coleman was a Democrat would he be safely still in office? This is a REALLY important question right now for the GOP. I suspect the answer to both is yes, which is why moderate conservatives are going Blue-Dog instead of RINO (note the respect one moniker has while the other is demeaning) and giving the Dems governing coalitions.

If an individual conservative wants to make a difference, and the voters are repulsed by the ‘true’ conservatives, and the ‘true’ conservatives are attacking other conservatives for not being ‘pure’, the answer is easy. Become a Blue-Dog and have the opportunity to make a difference.

‘True’ Conservatives are ironically proving how right Darwin was. They are not capable of adapting or being flexible enough to succeed, they are not demonstrating to the general population traits that will lead to the population’s success and are therefore being shunned and held back from success. They are showing why evolution is a force to understand and exist with, just like gravity. If you jump of a building in a refusal to accept the force of gravity you are no different than someone who continues down a path that produces more and more failures. The path to death and oblivion is just longer.

The ‘true’ conservatives’ drive to purity is now clearly rejected in ways that could ensure their extinction. Purity is not a force of survival and growth, it is just the opposite. Adaptation is the path to success and long life for your family, their offspring and your values that you instill in them down through time. Me, I am just an observer watching it all play out as it has many times before in our history. Those who went extinct never thought their solution to survival and growth would be the one to fall to the wayside. They never do.

54 responses so far

54 Responses to “‘True’ Conservatives are Truly Clueless”

  1. stevevvs says:

    “People don’t know the plight of Iraqi Christians … Christianity in Iraq is ending. Why aren’t they noticing this?”
    Surely there is an element of denial in much of the West: Any day now, things will settle down, and the vaunted peaceful and pluralistic teachings of Islam will kick in… right?

    “Iraq – Fleeing Christians face new hardships in Turkey,” from Compass Direct News, November 14:

    ISTANBUL, November 14 (Compass Direct News) – In this Turkish city’s working-class neighborhood of Kurtulus, Arabic can be heard on the streets, signs are printed in the Arabic alphabet and Iraqis congregate in tea shops.
    In 99-percent Muslim Turkey, most of these Iraqis are not Muslims. And they are not in Turkey by choice. They are Christian refugees who fled their homeland to escape the murderous violence that increasingly has been directed at them.
    It is hard to tell how many of Mosul’s refugees from the recent wave of attacks have made their way to Istanbul, but finding these residents here is not hard. A middle-aged Iraqi refugee who fled Mosul five months ago now attends a Syrian Orthodox Church in the poverty-stricken neighborhood of Tarlabasi, where gypsies, transvestites, and immigrants from Turkey’s east live in hopes of a better life in Istanbul.
    Declining to give his name, the refugee said there is no future for Christians in Iraq and that nearly everyone he knew there wanted to leave the country. He said the only hope for Iraqi Christians is for Western countries to open their doors to Christian Iraqi refugees.
    “We don’t have hope,” he said. “If these doors aren’t opened, we will be killed.”
    Since October, violence in Mosul has pushed more than 12,000 Christians from their homes and left more than two dozen dead, according to U.N. and Christian organizations. In the face of Mosul violence, Iraqi Christians flee to Turkey before settling permanently in another country, usually in a place where their family has gone out before them.
    Christian Sisters Killed
    Weeks after the mass exodus of Mosul Christians to surrounding villages, Turkey and other nations, around one-third of families reportedly have returned due to the presence of 35,000 army and police and the Iraqi government offering cash grants of up to $800.
    But those returning Christians were shaken again on Wednesday (Nov. 12), when Islamic militants stormed into the house of two Syrian Catholic sisters, Lamia’a Sabih and Wala’a Saloha, killing them and severely injuring their mother. They then bombed their house and detonated a second explosive when the police arrived, which killed three more.
    The Christian family had recently returned after having fled Mosul. Many believe this attack will deter other Christians from returning to Mosul, and there are reports of Christians again leaving the area.
    There has been a steady exodus of Christians from Iraq since the first Gulf War in 1991. The church in Iraq dates from the beginning of Christianity, but the population has plummeted by 50 percent in the last 20 years. The outflow of Iraqi Christians spiked in 2003 following the U.S.-led invasion.
    Although Iraq as a whole has seen a dramatic decrease in violence due to last year’s surge in U.S. troops, the flight of Christians to Turkey has grown. One-third of the 18,000 refugees who registered in Turkey last year are from Iraq. In Syria, an estimated 40 percent of the 1.2 million Iraqis who have fled Iraq are Christians, though they make up only about 3 percent of Iraq’s population.
    Monsignor Francois Yakan, the 50-year-old leader of the Chaldean Church in Turkey, said all Iraqi refugees are undergoing hardships regardless of religion, but that the situation is especially difficult for Christians since there is less support for them in Turkey.
    “Muslims have the same difficulty as Christians, but there are more foundations to assist them,” he said. “The government notices Muslim immigrants, but nobody pays attention to us.”
    Yakan travels to other countries to raise awareness of the plight of Iraqi Christians, trying to marshal the support of government and church leaders – last week he traveled to France, Romania and Germany. If Western governments don’t wake up to this crisis, he said, the results could be catastrophic.
    “People don’t know the plight of Iraqi Christians. They have no government, no soldiers, and no power,” he said. “Christianity in Iraq is ending. Why aren’t they noticing this?”
    Posted by Marisol at 11:06 AM | Comments

  2. stevevvs says:

    “People don’t know the plight of Iraqi Christians. They have no government, no soldiers, and no power,” he said. “Christianity in Iraq is ending. Why aren’t they noticing this?”

    I notice, but I don’t suffer from B.D.S., in either direction.

    http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/581/Default.aspx

    Snip:

    Here is an 11/14 Instapundit report from Michael Yon, who is in Iraq. The post begins with a quotation: “THE WAR IS OVER AND WE WON.” Yon goes to to say: “There’s nothing going on. I’m with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I’m with haven’t fired their weapons on this tour and they’ve been here eight months. And the place we’re at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there’s nothing going on. … I’ve been asking Iraqis, ‘do you think the violence will kick up again,’ but even the Iraqi journalists are sounding optimistic now and they’re usually dour.”

    Elsewhere, there was a string of bombings in Baghdad yesterday, but the fact remains that Americans, myself very much included, are eager to declare the war over. But I still have a fundamental, non-answered–and worse, non-asked!–question about what it is we stand to win in Iraq–and, by extension, in Afghanistan. Do we get an ally in arms and spirit–a la post-WWII Denmark? Or just another OPEC state, riven by Islamic sectarian rivalries, hostile to Western-style liberties (press, religion, etc.), a boycotter of Israel, a supporter of jihadist groups such as Hezbollah (which Iraq expressed support for in Hezbollah’s 2006 war with Israel), a friend to Iran?

    Also yesterday, I came across a report (sent in by Jeffrey Imm) about a Sunni Iraqi reaction to the outrageous murders in Mosul this week of two US soldiers by an Iraqi soldier. The men killed were Spc. Corey Shea, 21, and Sgt. Jose Regalado, 23. Here’s the AP report of the incident:

    An Iraqi soldier Wednesday sprayed automatic weapons fire at U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi military base in Mosul, killing two and wounding six before he died in a hail of bullets, an American general said. …

    In case you want facts. The host here isn’t into them on much of anything these days, sadly.

    Enjoy your Sunday evening.

  3. stevevvs says:

    http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/585/Default.aspx

    snip:

    the US State Department has confirmed that tens of thousands of Somalis have entered the US illegally through the US Refugee Admissions (P-3 family reunification) Program, possibly for as long as 20 years.

    GRANT THEM AMNESTY! Along with Obama’s welfare receiving Aunt! A deportation Alien Fugitive.

    and the 20 million others here “Doing the jobs Americans wont do”. …at $6.00 per hour.

  4. stevevvs says:

    Gangs in the Military

    Posted: Nov 12, 2008 10:54 PM EST

    Updated: Nov 12, 2008 11:49 PM EST

    CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – WBTV On Your Side has obtained picture and video proof our military is being infiltrated by members of street gangs. In some cases, detectives say gang members are using the tactics learned to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan to commit crimes on the streets of America. Anchor Molly Grantham is investigating.

    They serve and protect under the flag of the United States of America. They protect our freedoms, and represent our great country. Some of them are gang members.

    “Gangs are on the rise in every major city in the United States,” says Hunter Glass, a gang consultant. “They’re on the rise in the military.”

    Glass is an 82nd Airborne veteran and former gang detective with Fayetteville Police Department. He left policing in 2006 and now travels the country lecturing about and investigating gang life.

    “Putting these people in the military doesn’t change them,” says Glass. “And you’re certainly not going to kick them all out. If you start kicking them out… let’s just say it’s one percent of the military… you’re going to kick out 14,000 people? I don’t think so.

    “America has the greatest military in the world,” he continued. “I was a soldier. My dad is a veteran. I love and respect the military. But I’m also a realist. I’m telling you, it’s there. To turn a blind eye isn’t going to help anything.”

    WBTV obtained pictures which show gang graffiti in Iraq.

    Images like, a Vice Lords star sprayed on a Humvee. A picture of four men dressed in fatigues showing off rifles, posted on an 18th Street Gang website. Another picture shows a guy flashing a gang sign on a “Realize Your Potential” Army recruiting chat room. Still others capture tanks and bomb walls covered with gang tagging… even a six-pointed 360-degrees intricate gang star pictured in barracks.

    But the most unbelievably eye-catching images are on Glass’s computer.

    He shows us home video taken years ago at a popular nightclub on Fort Bragg. You can see people on the dance floor using their hands to chant “Crips”… while across the room, Blood members are throwing down signs that mean “Crip Killers”.

    The video proves gang life is on this North Carolina base. A Fort Bragg spokesman doesn’t deny it.

    “I’m positive there are gang members in the US Army,” says Tom McCollum. “There are gang members probably here on Fort Bragg also, but we do everything possible to get rid of them.”

    McCollum says the Army’s goal is to weed out as much gang activity as possible. Whenever they do find tattoos or some kind of sign, they pull the soldier off to the side and interview them in-depth. He says the soldier in question will be watched closely by his or her command to see how elevated and active they are in a gang.

    “Are gang members in the military,” he says. “Yes. Is it a large problem? It’s not as large of a problem as some people would like to believe.”

    As for actual numbers, officials said they had no way of really knowing exactly how many. Glass estimates about one percent — which would be about 14-thousand people. He also says he thinks the military should enact solid laws to deal with the element.

    “In many ways I think the military is robbing Peter to pay Paul,” says Glass. “It’s a quick fix. We need manpower. We get these guys in here. They’re good dogs in the fight. We’ll worry about it later.”

    Later, is now. These gang members are getting trained in the military and using their knowledge to come back and fight on American streets. While in California a month ago, we interviewed two L-A County gang investigators in south central Los Angeles. Just listen to what Detective Adan Torres told us.

    “One of the biggest gangbangers around here actually has on his license plate, ‘Iraq veteran, or veteran Iraq’,” he said. “He’s got F-13 on the back of his head. Florencia on back. F-13 on his arms… and two purple hearts. Been on two tours of duty. He’s trained than half the officers here anyway, fighting him.”

    That’s the “gotcha” — hearing veteran gang detectives say some gang members are purple heart recipients who are a better shot than most police.

    Those detectives in California listed a couple examples of problematic gang members they see all the time, who are also American soldiers.

  5. stevevvs says:

    School supplies fake Social Security numbers to teachers
    By Michelle Malkin • November 14, 2008 09:39 AM
    Yes, you read that right. A school district in Dallas has been caught supplying fake Social Security numbers to employees. And it’s been going on for years. The Dallas News won’t come out and say it, but it’s blindingly obvious this school district was cooking up fake Social Security numbers for illegal alien teachers (referred to in the report as “foreign educators”). Which means they committed at least three crimes: ID fraud, hiring illegal aliens, and felonious aiding/abetting illegal aliens.

    And then they tried to cover it up.

    Your tax dollars at work:

  6. stevevvs says:

    Ya, those Conservative Principles sure are being followed by Bush.

    Take care everyone

  7. Redteam says:

    stevevvs, so you believe they called Pres Bush and asked if it would be ok to give them fake ID’s and SS no’s? and he said yes?

    Are you really that big a moron?

  8. Frogg says:

    My only problem with DeMint’s statement is that he should replace the term “religious based values” with “family based values”.

  9. agimarc says:

    Nice set of strawmen, AJ. I disagree with most everything in the post above.

    McCain won the nomination via independent and democrat votes in the early primaries. He then coordinated with Huckabee in the later ones to keep Romney from winning any. It was a nice tag team that worked well for him. One of the election reforms that ought to be considered would be that only party members select party nominees. Another would be a ban on early voting, as it encourages fraud (Ohio is a nice example).

    Immigration was solved by Arizona and Oklahoma, which clamped down a bit on existing laws and the illegals started leaving both states. You don’t have to deport anyone – yet another strawman. Simply enforce existing laws and they will leave the same way that they came in. We are about to see a different solution when McCain, Graham and the deocrats team up on an amnesty bill that will leagalize all the illegals currently in the country.

    Harriet Meiers was viewed as a crony – nothing more and nothing less.

    Bush will end his 8 years in office with the fewest judicial nominees in the last half century because of democrat obstructionism. Now Obama gets to fill those seats with some real activists, which means somewhere down the road a congress will have to clean house with the appellate courts – which they can simply by disestablishing the circuit courts. The Gang of 14 did not help this situation any.

    Actually Dubai Ports World was an intelligence disaster, as there was a side deal to allow intelligence agents to work the ports worldwide where the goods were coming from. The democrats could have pushed it through and made the Republicans look foolish, but they were too busy bashing all things Bush to do that – something about party over country.

    Finally, prescription drugs would have been far better handled via a free market solution, FDA reform, and lawsuit reform than creating yet another $400 billion entitlement. But you are too busy bashing conservatives to consider a better way.

    Don’t let your moderation blind you to other explanations and other solutions. Conservatives aren’t the enemy. The marxists now infesting congress, the bureaucracy and the executive are.

  10. Frogg says:

    Obama recently said that his aunt, who is an illegal alien, was violating the laws, and the laws should be obeyed…. suggesting she should be deported.

    That “conservative purist” bastard. LOL!

    It’s hard to know where the Dems will take immigration once they are fully in charge. We do have mixed signals. Words. I guess we will find which are “true” and which were “political pandering”…..

    **********

    Obama’s selection of Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff actually bodes well for immigration. It’s not that he’s a nice guy, like the Josh Lyman character on West Wing that he inspired. As Yuval Levin recently wrote at The Corner, Emanuel is “a vicious graceless partisan: narrow, hectic, unremittingly aggressive, vulgar, and impatient.” But it is precisely this partisanship, combined with an awareness of the visceral public sentiment on immigration, that has led him to counsel caution for his party on the issue. To the chagrin of hard-left activists, Emanuel has said of immigration that “For the American people, and therefore all of us, it’s emerged as the third rail of American politics. And anyone who doesn’t realize that isn’t with the American people.” Last year Emanuel told a Hispanic activist that “there is no way this legislation [“comprehensive immigration reform”] is happening in the Democratic House, in the Democratic Senate, in the Democratic presidency, in the first term.”

    http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YThkYjNlNzZlY2NiYTE0YTk3YWFlMDEwNzhlZWVkMDg=

    ===========

    And, in the meantime, all across the nation…..the people are speaking. Illegal immigration is being cracked down in just about every city across the nation fully backed by “we the people”.

    Sorry, AJ, I have nothing but respect for you…..I will still respectfully disagree with you on this issue. My sense is….Americans want the border enforced, immigration controlled, and then to sit back–take a breather–and figure out what to do with those who are here illegally in a reasonable and kind way. Let’s enforce the border and enforce the laws first. It’s the American way.

  11. Frogg says:

    Nice post, agimarc. Say on, say on.

  12. Frogg says:

    Democrats are all over the place on the immigration issue. But, they clearly seem to be backing down on the amnesty talk:

    ***

    …Pelosi also said Congress would have to tackle the politically sticky job of overhauling immigration laws in the new Congress, after a bipartisan measure collapsed last year.

    The estimated 12 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally “are part of the U.S. economy. We cannot send them all home, and we cannot send them all to jail, so we have to address it,” Pelosi said.

    Any solution would have to be bipartisan, she said, so it may require sacrificing some of Democrats’ past priorities, such as giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

    “Maybe there never is a path to citizenship if you came here illegally,” Pelosi said. “I would hope that there could be, but maybe there isn’t.”

    LA TIMES
    http://migramatters.blogspot.com/2008/10/pelosi-backs-away-from-cornerstone-of.html

  13. AJ ,
    WHat happened to my rant are you mad because I said I wanted to kick you ass for picking on us conservatives again,

    Be Well and healthy so we can have a Huge battle and to the victor go the spoils

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