Nice ICE
posted at 9:54 am on May 3, 2006 by Bryan
El Dia de Los Abuelos? Last week, the Bush administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency arrested a few hundred illegal immigrants, a move widely dismissed (here and elsewhere) as a for-show bust. But this minor blip in enforcement apparently frightened thousands of illegals into staying home from work, at which point the ICE felt moved to announce that nobody should worry because they didn’t really intend to enforce the law after all.
If the president ever wonders why his approval rating has hit the freeze point–if he even cares–stories like this one should guide his way. He is so owned by Vicente Fox, or allows the impression that he is, that he’s corrupting the entire border enforcement regime. His security-minded base sees actions like this and isn’t stupid. If he wakes up in November going eyeball to eyeball with Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Bush will have himself to blame.
(h/t InstaPundit)
Blowback
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Why on earth does this continue to happen? Is President Bush a Dean operative?
ScottG on May 3, 2006 at 10:03 AM
Simple. Pandering. Latinos = votes
rightside on May 3, 2006 at 10:28 AM
Bush sees himself as a visionary on immigration. He’s willing to risk the present base (the one that elected him) because he thinks Hispanics are the new blacks, except that they’re going to vote Republican and are the future “base.” I’d like to know whether Bush’s political calculus is this crass or instead the “vision” is something more laudable than winning over a big new demographic. Maybe Bush really does see illegals romatically.
Why though does the president ignore national security concerns? Is it the same reason he’s unwilling to call our enemy by its name – radical Islam – and the same reason he refuses to go against the PC ban on profiling?
Why hasn’t he been more outspoken on abortion – where is the Reagan-style speech that calls IT what it is? Why does Bush use the same language Hillary Clinton uses – “reduce the number of abortions.”
I think conservatives are going to have to live with the fact that Bush is not the leader we’d hoped he’d be. With some exception he follows polls, and his instincts are foremost those of a politician, not a leader.
BillLalor on May 3, 2006 at 10:29 AM
Put it in perspective: Congress and the President are terrified of illegals’ votes, which is an oxymoron. Unless they legalize the 12-20,000,000 already here, there IS no Latino voting block worth mentioning. So they are pandering to an illusion. Since these people can’t vote, they have no voice other than one granted them by Congress. And if Congress does that, it abandons its right to govern. Period.
clyde on May 3, 2006 at 10:46 AM
Wonder, now the comments math works; two plus two equals four! So, maybe I should concentrate on the subject at hand!
Control the borders and then consider what to do about the illegals!
DougW on May 3, 2006 at 11:01 AM
Bush is so pathetically wrong on the politics of this that it’s beyond ridiculous. You will not get the hispanic vote by pandering to illegals, but you will certainly hand the democrats an advantage on a silver platter if you do.
Can anyone tell me what part of politics 101 instructs someone to repeatedly piss off your base (Harriet Miers, Dubai Ports, immigration) while trying desperately to appease your political enemies? It’s as if W. read Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ and then decided to do everything the exact opposite.
Maybe liberals who said he was dumb were right after all. At best, he’s extremely obtuse at this point.
thirteen28 on May 3, 2006 at 11:05 AM
clyde,
Just because illegals don’t have the legal right to vote doesn’t mean that the Democrats won’t register them and let them do so. What sort of checks did they do on you when you registered to vote? Driver’s License? Illegals have them.
pistolero on May 3, 2006 at 11:06 AM
On immigration: George Bush is Al Gore.
JodyBlonde on May 3, 2006 at 11:33 AM
This President is a failure…I’m sorry that the Republicans couldn’t put forth a better candidate who would represent true conservative values. His administration has been one failure after another, and now Republicans in Congress will pay for his friggin’ stupidity. I supported his policies at first, but it seems that since the start of the Iraq war there is no one at the helm of the ship.
As far as illegal immigrants voting, the fact that they are illegal will not stop Democrats from registering them to vote. Why else would Democrats oppose the voter id laws?
This immigration issue must be addressed or we will be like Rome in its final days…
hoosier_federalist on May 3, 2006 at 11:42 AM
I agree with DougW above. Control the border and then figure out what to do with the illegal alien problem. I have been thinking about writing that to my congressmen — “Close the border and then just forget about the illegal aliens already here”.
I am a Border Patrol Agent and would like to see all 12-20 million illegal aliens deported. But let’s face reality. It is virtually impossible and if it is it would take years and years to deport them all.
If Bush just quit talking about the guest worker – nonamnesty amnesty and concentrate on “closing” the border people would forget about the illegal aliens and his poll numbers would go back up. Forget about the ones here, close the border and don’t let any more in.
If the ones here live as “model citizens” fine. Once arrested and determined to be an illegal alien then they’re OUTTA HERE.
LRP
LurP on May 3, 2006 at 12:19 PM
This unfortunately more of the same, inability/unwillingness to enforce the laws that we have to deal with illegal immigration into our country.
I have a fear that many politicians will defer to sound principles in order to maintain their power.
Why not refuse to enforce other laws, such as robbery – “well don’t worry Johnny, stealing is illegal, but if you DO go out and steal from others, but we aren’t really gonna come getcha”
*sigh*
SteveD on May 3, 2006 at 12:23 PM
I wonder if any followers of those Che-shirt wearing, socialist-sign waving reconquistador protest leaders generously volunteer their ample free time at their local polling stations. I hear the elections in some of their own countries are noticably corrupt. But they wouldn’t want to recreate that kind of a problem in their beloved USA, not even if it meant seeing their candidates lose—right?
NellE on May 3, 2006 at 1:10 PM
Last night my twelve year old son asked me about this. The only explanation was “Follow the money, Pete.”
In addition, there’s the human element. The Grand Canyon was incrementally worn down by rushing river water. Conservatives in government are the same way. Slowly they lose their spines…..
Like when Bush appologized for Katrina I yelled “WHAT??!!”
Like when Bush “admitted mistakes in Iraq”..”WHAT??!!”
Look at Ahnold, as well. “Mankind causes global warming.” “WHAT??!!”
Girlymen? Hardly. Human? Yes.
Like el Rushbo often says, “It’s the easiest thing in the world to be a liberal….” You know the rest.
Some souls are willingly sold..others slowly stolen..incrementally, slowly, yet surely.
Jimmyboy1 on May 3, 2006 at 1:26 PM
Close the borders and fine/imprison employers. Problem solves itself. The illegals can deport themselves and we can protect our ballot boxes at the same time. What’s so hard about that?
pistolero on May 3, 2006 at 1:38 PM
Yes, Bush is really really wrong on the border problem. I keep hearing them say, basically, we can’t just round up and send 12 million illegals back, so we’ll just accept these in and do something vague with the border.
Who ever demanded we somehow magically round up 12 million people? Of course that’s unrealistic. But if we build a fence, stopping the illegal sunami, then begin sending back the ones we find with normal enforcement (not present catch and release) I think most people would be satisfied over time. This whole “too many to round up” excuse is just a political ruse.
right as rain man on May 3, 2006 at 2:01 PM
Time to check ID at the polls.
Idea for bumper-sticker: “Enforce Simpson-Mazzoli – It’s the Law.” (Of course, I mean the border-tigntening and business sanctions provided therein.) We don’t need new legislation.
dman on May 3, 2006 at 7:01 PM