The Problem with George

He just knows better. He’s in a bubble, and he knows better.

Bloodspite writes at Techography - Americans don’t know what’s right for themselves

“If you want to kill the bill, if you don’t want to do what’s right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it, you can use it to frighten people, or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all so that the people who wear the uniform in this crowd can do the job we expect them to do,” Bush said in Glynco, Ga.

So badly do I want to go off the deep end. Words cannot portray my current anger. I’ll wait a few hours, burn some steam and then address it later today but for right now lets leave it at this:

Screw you George. I’m done.

Bush doesn’t just know better. If you disagree with him, you are wrong and bad and evil. (Sounds like some commenters we had in here yesterday. No wonder Jeff Goldstein is such a strong Bush supporter.)

Immigration is not my hot button, but GWB displays this same arrogance on all issues, from Iraq to his nominees & buddies to immigration policy.

Trackbacks & Pings

  1. Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator on 30 May 2007 at 3:08 pm

    Bush attacks immigration deal opponents

    …

    President Bush attacked opponents of an immigration deal Tuesday, suggesting they “don’t want to do …

  2. Do vampires need nails in their coffin?? | Prose Before Hos on 30 May 2007 at 5:33 pm

    […] Analysis: Am I the unsuspecting victim of a modern Twilight Zone? Or is the Republican base going Pat Buchanan ape-**** about immigration and I haven’t been […]

Comments

  1. rabit wrote:

    It’s that very same arrogance and blind confidence that won him the election in 2000 and got him his mandate (*cough* Jeff Gannon *cough*) in 2004, so he must be doing something right in his own mind.

    John Kerry was presented as weak and indecisive for the opposite reasons.

    Posted 30 May 2007 at 3:10 pm

  2. Dreggas wrote:

    It’s that very same arrogance and blind confidence that won him the election in 2000

    no what “won” him the election in 2000 was his claims that he’d bring honor and integrity to the white house and avoid nation-building maintaining a “humble” foreign policy.

    In other words, ability to lie with a straight face and a good speech writer.

    Posted 30 May 2007 at 5:22 pm

  3. BloodSpite wrote:

    This is a case where I am pulling it out all the safeties.

    I truly am done defending him.

    I and mine have served my country for far too long to be told that I don’t know whats good for myself.

    Keep an eye out. I’ll be doing a 4 part piece based on Roosevelt & Churchill’s “F Freedoms” versus todays administration.

    And it will be slamming Both sides of the aisle. Not just the left.

    Posted 31 May 2007 at 7:42 am

  4. a former european wrote:

    Bush is so unbelievably wrong and out-of-touch on immigration, that it is mind-boggling. Living in a border state like I do, immigration is one of the top “hot button” issues. The border is truly out-of-control, but no one in Washington can be bothered to seriously address these issues.

    The Republicans could have easily swept the border states in 2006 by adopting a tough immigration policy. Ballot initiatives in Arizona getting tough on illegal immigration passed by 80/20 and 70/30 margins. Instead, they demonstrated why they have no right or ability to govern our nation by dropping the ball on this issue.

    This last year has seen running gun battles on Arizona expressways between rival gangs of human smugglers. The illegals are treated little better than slaves and human cargo. There are almost weekly news reports of cops busting gang-run houses were hundreds of illegals are kept in squalid conditions and packed in like sardines. There is a great deal of money to be made by criminal gangs in handling such “cargo”. Trafficking in humans, formerly known as slavery, has been with us for a long time, after all.

    You expect racist pandering from Democrats, after all, it is one of the cornerstones of their power. For Republicans to do the same, however, shows that they have flushed one of their few remaining principles down the toilet. What, if anything, distinguishes the Republicans from the Democrats anymore? I am tired of corrupt, out-of-touch Washington politicos and I hope the Republicans completely crash and burn on this latest immigration sellout.

    Posted 31 May 2007 at 10:23 am

  5. Alon Levy wrote:

    The Republicans could have easily swept the border states in 2006 by adopting a tough immigration policy.

    They could, but not the way you think. People in border states like the idea of border control, but they don’t like the idea of deporting anyone. When asked whether illegal immigrants should be deported or offered legal status, Americans go for legal status by a 20-point margin; in California and Texas, it’s 2 to 1, and although Arizona and New Mexico are less liberal, they still display large majorities for legal status.

    Relative to what the American people think, McCain’s views on immigration are dead center.

    Posted 31 May 2007 at 10:36 am

  6. BloodSpite wrote:

    I’d be interested in seeing where you got those stats at Alan.

    Here in Arkansas a recent poll shows almost 70% of the population of the state in favor of deportation. Why is that an issue? Because in cities like Springdale, and Bentonville, the population is 34% or more Hispanic, and an estimated 50% of them are believed or deemed illegal.

    Missouri as well recently put it to a vote with over 80% pushing for deportation.

    NumbersUSA in fact has a huge listing of voter polls regarding this issue.

    Here ya go in case your bored or don;t have time to check the link:

    Sixty-three percent of likely American voters believe illegal immigration is a major problem. McLaughlin & Associates poll; April 12-15, 2007

    Seventy-four percent of likely American voters agree with the following statement: “We have to stop the flow of illegals before we address what to do about those who already are here.” McLaughlin & Associates poll; April 12-15, 2007

    Fifty-nine percent of Americans polled believe the more effective way to deal with the potential treat to national security posed by millions of illegal immigrants living within the United States is to crack down on illegal immigration by toughening the enforcement of existing laws, deporting illegal immigrants and prosecuting the employers who illegally employ workers.
    UPI/Zogby Poll; April 13-16, 2007

    Fifty-four percent of Americans polled believe illegal aliens harm the nation’s economy.

    Sixty-six percent of voters agree with the statement, “The population increase caused by the present level of immigration will negatively impact the quality of life in America, such as causing more congestion, overcrowding and pollution.”

    Seventy-one percent of Americans polled believe illegal immigration poses a threat to the United States.
    Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 11-18, 2006

    Sixty-seven percent of Americans would you like to see the number of illegal immigrants currently in this country decreased.
    Opinion Research Corporation/Lou Dobbs poll, June 8-11, 2006

    Fifty-six percent of Americans agree that a practical way to reduce to near zero the number of resident illegal aliens is legislation making penalties for illegal presence so severe that illegal immigrants would leave voluntarily rather than run the risk of being caught and penalized.
    Roper ASW Poll conducted for Negative Population Growth (NPG), April 14-16, 2006 (BloodSpite Note: I’m actually in this court. Fines for companies, fines for apartment owners, fines for anyone who offers some form of incentive of hiring an illegal worker versus a legal and the problem will be reduced dramatically, IMHO.)

    Eighty-one percent of Americans believe that illegal immigration to the United States is “out of control.”
    The Gallup Poll, April 7-9, 2006

    One hundred percent of Americans believe it is important that the government take steps this year to control U.S. borders to halt the flow of illegal aliens.
    The Gallup Poll, April 7-9, 2006

    Two Americans in three (sixty-eight percent) agree that the United States should set a goal of completely halting new illegal immigration.
    Roper ASW Poll conducted for Negative Population Growth (NPG), April 14-16, 2006

    NPG has an excellent poll breakdown as well.
    * 83% of those polled support mandatory detention and forfeiture of property, followed by deportation for anyone here illegally.
    * 70% of those polled support a mandatory prison term and forfeiture of property, followed by deportation, for anyone here illegally.
    RoperASW Poll, March 2003

    Now granted, I’m sure there are polls that twist this way that way, and every which way (typically I’m not big on polls) but I’m looking at 2 different sites here, plus the recent report for my region, and all 3 are saying essentially the same thing.

    Posted 31 May 2007 at 11:06 pm

  7. Alon Levy wrote:

    CNN’s 2006 exit poll. The question is, “Most illegal immigrants should be deported/offered legal status.”

    Nationally, it’s 58-37 for legal status. In Arizona, it’s 56-36; in California, it’s 64-28; in New Mexico, it’s 63-31; in Texas, it’s 59-35 (for some reason I thought it was higher in Texas and lower in New Mexico).

    Also, a while ago I saw a poll on Political Animal that established that by margins of about 2 to 1, Americans support,
    - A border fence,
    - A guest worker program, and
    - Offering legal status to illegals rather than deporting them.

    A good poll generally asks about two or three alternative programs offered rather than about just one. Asking about just one program puts it in opposition to the problem, rather than in opposition to a different solution.

    For example, even in Europe, where the death penalty is considered barbaric by consensus, many countries’ populations have majorities for “yes” when a pollster asks, “Do you support the death penalty for murderers?”. But when the pollster then asks about the death penalty versus life imprisonment for murderers, people in those countries break 2 to 1 for life imprisonment (and Americans break for the death penalty by 6 percentage points). Public debates about the death penalty tend to explicitly invoke life imprisonment as an alternative, so a poll that mentions it should gauge public opinion better.

    Likewise, public debates in the US about what to do about illegal immigrants already in the country aren’t about deportation versus the status quo, but about deportation versus some legal status. The status quo issue is also why Americans support guest worker programs by far higher margins than they support increasing quotas for legal immigrants.

    Posted 01 Jun 2007 at 12:44 am

  8. BloodSpite wrote:

    Well I could be a prig and say your poll was done by CNN, a left leaning mass media giant. But I’ll be a good boy and won’t go there :) (I’m kidding, honest!)

    Instead I’ll use date wars. UPI/Zogby Poll; April 13-16, 2007. In other words just last month.

    Fifty-nine percent of Americans polled believe the more effective way to deal with the potential treat to national security posed by millions of illegal immigrants living within the United States is to crack down on illegal immigration by toughening the enforcement of existing laws, deporting illegal immigrants and prosecuting the employers who illegally employ workers.

    UPI has been around since 1907, basically they are a media information warehouse, pushing stores off to media giants for publication.

    Zogby is well known for doing National and International polling since 1984.

    CBS did a poll on the 25th of May 2007.

    69% said they should be prosecuted and deported.

    According to Berkley, in April 2007 53% of California wanted to deport Illegals.

    And Berkley’s just a tad more Liberal than most institutions that I could use for sources :)

    Here’s one from Congress.org

    Should we continue the current level of immigration or has the time come to reduce immigration so we can assimilate the immigrants already here?

    23% - Continue current level
    64% - Reduce immigration
    14% - Not sure

    Do we need to allow more immigrants into the country to fill the jobs that require relatively little education? Or, are there plenty of Americans already here to do those jobs, but employers just need to pay higher wages and treat workers better?

    14% - We need immigrants to fill jobs
    77% - There are plenty of Americans here to fill jobs, employers just need to pay higher wages and treat workers better
    9% - Not sure

    With regard to the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, ideally would you prefer they go home or be allow to stay legally?

    58% - Go home
    30% - Be allowed to stay legally
    13% - Not sure

    You can read the other questions at the link, but this was also sent out May 25, 2007 via Pulse Opinion Research.

    I’m not saying your wrong. In 2006, they probably did feel that way.

    However I think as more and more information is brought to the service, and as more and more people see this bill as a complete joke (I mean c’mon, how many times can we hear “We’ll protect the border!” and it not be done? What just happened at Ft Dix less than 4 weeks ago? Remind anyone of “We’ll find the WMD’s!” ?)

    That and I think the protests by Illegals, may have actually hurt their cause more than it benefited it.

    Oh and complaining about being given amnesty, and saying THATS not enough doesn’t help much either in most of the publics eyes would be a good guess on my part, after they announced this joke of a bill.

    Another blogger had a real good point.
    If we’re going to do this, then why not just give amnesty to other criminals too?

    Given that amnesty is a forgiveness for one’s crimes against the system how can one condone one type of crime and not another? Consider the millions of unsolved crimes on the books throughout this great land that no one can truly hope to solve. Should those domestic fugitives be granted amnesty simply because it is impractical to think that all of those crimes will ever be adjudicated? As far I know, no one has ever suggested that domestic criminals, even those charged with tax evasion, should be allowed to pay some fine, and then apply to have their crimes overlooked so that they can be restored to good standing in our society; so why should we overlook the crime of illegal immigration?

    Posted 01 Jun 2007 at 2:21 am

  9. canuckistani wrote:

    I guess the argument boils down to whether the presence of illegal immigrants really does harm the United States. I’ll be honest, I don’t know. There are a million counter-arguments each way, and I have no way of knowing which ones really outweigh the others. I don’t accept “61% of Americans believe..” as evidence, though, given people’s tendencies to believe self-serving nonsense in so many other fields.
    If one accepts the premise that illegal immigrants are beneficial, then amnesty makes sense. To draw a metaphor that will instantly be picked apart, I’d be willing to forgive the crime of trespassing for some guy who kept sneaking into my back yard to mow the lawn.

    Posted 01 Jun 2007 at 11:17 am

  10. Alon Levy wrote:

    Should we continue the current level of immigration or has the time come to reduce immigration so we can assimilate the immigrants already here?

    That’s a different question, one about legal immigration.

    On the other hand, check the CBS/NYT poll you link to. Question 50, “Should LEGAL immigration into the United States be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased?” breaks down 39/20/35, so the median voter wants to keep the status quo for legal immigrants. Question 55 has Americans saying by a margin of 59 to 30 that illegal immigrants take jobs Americans don’t want.

    Finally, look at question 61, “If you had to choose, what do you think should happen to most illegal immigrants who have lived and worked in the United States for at least two years: They should be given a chance to keep their jobs and eventually apply for legal status, OR They should be deported back to their native country?” 62% of respondents say they should be allowed to apply for legal status; only 33% say they should be deported.

    Posted 01 Jun 2007 at 5:38 pm

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