Thursday, May 18, 2006
Far too many conservatives have decided that they can go it alone. Jettisoning the one man who proved he could win, they choose to stick with ideas and characters that have no future. Ann Coulter has gone so far as to say she hopes the new immigration proposal hurts Republicans in November and the new Democratic Congress will impeach Bush and put Cheney in his place. The Pendragon finds all this hysteria ridiculous. Coulter and others are welcome to try to win on their own, but her hero's suggestion that illegal immigrants get 48 hours to get out of the country is equally ridiculous because as the President noted in his speech this past week they will simply refuse to come.
The Left is equally wrong-footed in that illegal immigration is a real problem. Amnesty is not the answer and something has to be done. But I see nothing wrong with President Bush's plan as outlined earlier. Bush recognizes the flaw in our current system, particularly "catch and release" (and this is a big step up from earlier policy) and is taking steps to end it. Increasing detention center size and the legal authority to stop illegals is a good first step. As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with a guest worker program so long as it is actually "a guest worker" program. But the technology must be in place to enforce that, so in the meantime, perhaps the regulations should be stiffened to avoid more violations. As much in some ways, I would like to see illegal immigration punished, you cannot realistically hope to round up every illegal and deport them. Coulter snidely comments that Bush's proposal would give furlough to serial killers while punishing first time murderers. The analogy is inapt. The law does not provide for punishing people in retrospect so the idea is to prevent further breaking of the law while deciding what to do with people who've done it in the past. This is a thorny question nowhere near as black-and-white as many conservatives seem to think.I particularly liked the President's emphasis on the English language at the end of his speech. I wholeheartedly support the idea that immigrants must demonstrate fluency in the English language. It's as good for the immigrant as it is for us. Bush's final call for reason and respect in the discussion of immigration is as necessary as ever: Coulter's columns and the screaming Hispanics in Chicago show us that.
My main frustration is that conservatives seem unable to win elections for long periods of time because they can't tell the difference between their ideals and reality. Liberals have had this problem for years but it seems to be spreading. Bush has been a good president, destined I think to be one of the all-time greats. It's about time we afford him some of the same protection liberals get from their own. Liberals will forgive anything for the continuation of abortion rights; conservatives need to be willing to support their man for the sake of continued victory in the war on terror and moral leadership. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. It would be nice to win on everything, but nobody ever does. Bush has managed to build a center-right coalition in 2000, 2002 and 2004. With the right kind of support he can do the same in 2006 and even 2008. If conservatives continue to follow Coulter's line, we will have a Democratic Congress working with President Hillary come 2008.
The Left is equally wrong-footed in that illegal immigration is a real problem. Amnesty is not the answer and something has to be done. But I see nothing wrong with President Bush's plan as outlined earlier. Bush recognizes the flaw in our current system, particularly "catch and release" (and this is a big step up from earlier policy) and is taking steps to end it. Increasing detention center size and the legal authority to stop illegals is a good first step. As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with a guest worker program so long as it is actually "a guest worker" program. But the technology must be in place to enforce that, so in the meantime, perhaps the regulations should be stiffened to avoid more violations. As much in some ways, I would like to see illegal immigration punished, you cannot realistically hope to round up every illegal and deport them. Coulter snidely comments that Bush's proposal would give furlough to serial killers while punishing first time murderers. The analogy is inapt. The law does not provide for punishing people in retrospect so the idea is to prevent further breaking of the law while deciding what to do with people who've done it in the past. This is a thorny question nowhere near as black-and-white as many conservatives seem to think.I particularly liked the President's emphasis on the English language at the end of his speech. I wholeheartedly support the idea that immigrants must demonstrate fluency in the English language. It's as good for the immigrant as it is for us. Bush's final call for reason and respect in the discussion of immigration is as necessary as ever: Coulter's columns and the screaming Hispanics in Chicago show us that.
My main frustration is that conservatives seem unable to win elections for long periods of time because they can't tell the difference between their ideals and reality. Liberals have had this problem for years but it seems to be spreading. Bush has been a good president, destined I think to be one of the all-time greats. It's about time we afford him some of the same protection liberals get from their own. Liberals will forgive anything for the continuation of abortion rights; conservatives need to be willing to support their man for the sake of continued victory in the war on terror and moral leadership. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. It would be nice to win on everything, but nobody ever does. Bush has managed to build a center-right coalition in 2000, 2002 and 2004. With the right kind of support he can do the same in 2006 and even 2008. If conservatives continue to follow Coulter's line, we will have a Democratic Congress working with President Hillary come 2008.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 1:02 PM 
