Ironies of Immigration
ILLUSTRATED: On immigration, we need to save Bush…but in a patronizing way.
No one needs to tell you that Immigration slices and dices so many interests and demographics that any successful coalition will be a strange one. This threatens to become an election issue for Republicans who hope to fire up their base, as opposed to reach out for moderates.
One thing looks clear to me: whoever wins each chamber on Capitol Hill, neither party will be in operational control. Therefore nothing major will get done before a new president is in office in 2009. Therefore, given the disaster Bush’s second term has been thus far, George W. Bush seems destined to become a “Failed President”. Congressional Republicans see this and Immigration is the issue to save their skins.
To Bush’s credit, both as Governor and as President, his policies on immigration have been moderate. I’m not quite sure what his version of a “Guest Worker” program will be, (be careful of Indentured Servitude legislation) but he has refrained from bashing immigrants on the stump.
Congressional GOP candidates will have no such qualms if they need to turn out their base. They will contrast themselves with the president, even to the GOP base.
We need to save Bush, but in a patronizing way. What this means is our line needs to be: “Candidate Smith is even worse than Bush”. That confirms that Bush is bad, but makes the Congressional Candidate look worse.
No one needs to tell you that Immigration slices and dices so many interests and demographics that any successful coalition will be a strange one. This threatens to become an election issue for Republicans who hope to fire up their base, as opposed to reach out for moderates.
One thing looks clear to me: whoever wins each chamber on Capitol Hill, neither party will be in operational control. Therefore nothing major will get done before a new president is in office in 2009. Therefore, given the disaster Bush’s second term has been thus far, George W. Bush seems destined to become a “Failed President”. Congressional Republicans see this and Immigration is the issue to save their skins.
To Bush’s credit, both as Governor and as President, his policies on immigration have been moderate. I’m not quite sure what his version of a “Guest Worker” program will be, (be careful of Indentured Servitude legislation) but he has refrained from bashing immigrants on the stump.
Congressional GOP candidates will have no such qualms if they need to turn out their base. They will contrast themselves with the president, even to the GOP base.
We need to save Bush, but in a patronizing way. What this means is our line needs to be: “Candidate Smith is even worse than Bush”. That confirms that Bush is bad, but makes the Congressional Candidate look worse.
posted by Teka Thomas at 6:53 PM
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