The Blue State

Letting the clock run out on Bush

President Bush had never looked as insignificant as he did yesterday after the immigration bill was defeated -- not just because of what he said, but because no one was listening.  Usually when you are President, you can use the daily media attention that you receive as a vehicle to influence Congress.  Not this President.  He could not even get his own party to support a bill largely championed by Democrats.

Standing at a podium, obviously upset at the result, Bush said, "A lot of us worked hard to see if we could find common ground.  It didn't work."

Time is definitely running out on the Bush presidency.  Even his Republican Party is ready to move on.  A scholar at Princeton University put it well:

"Sand is flowing out of the hourglass," said Fred I. Greenstein, a Princeton University scholar on the presidency, who was struck by the gloomy tone of Bush'stelevised statement. "He looked much less like the kid on the cover ofMad magazine without a care. . . . He looked very angry and almosthaving difficulty getting the sentences out. That seems to me tocontrast with some of the early stages" of his presidency.

Between now and January of 2009, it is hard to believe Bush will accomplish anything other than fending off a few congressional investigations.  Congress will likely restrain the President's ability to wage war in Iraq.  The Supreme Court is forcing his EPA to regulate greenhouse emissions.  Even his former cabinet members oppose renewing No Child Left Behind.  The sky is falling on the Bush presidency.  The country is ready to move on.

This is what Bush gets for following Karl Rove's 51% strategy, instead of bringing the country together. 

Immigration bill delayed until after Memorial Day

Once again, the Senate finds itself bogged down trying to work out the specifics of the Immigration Reform Act.  Further action will be delayed until June:

In a nod to that opposition, Senate leaders won't seek to complete it before a hoped-for Memorial Day deadline.

Because in today's era the political climate on Capitol Hill is more hyper-partisan, it is difficult for the center to run things.  We are seeing that play out, as interest groups all over the political map have problems with the bill:

Conservatives want more bordercontrol and are alarmed at the enormous numbers of immigrants nowarriving on U.S. shores both legally, about 1.3 million, and illegally,estimated at 400,000 a year. Liberals and business and ethnic immigrantgroups want legalization for those already here and a path to permanentresidency for future workers.

California farmers who have sentdelegation after delegation to Washington complaining of fruits andvegetables rotting in the fields are among the few who are happy.

If no bill is passed, not only will it add another rotten tomato to Bush's legacy, but it could hurt the Democrats in 2008 as well.  Many swing voters are going to evaluate what got done during the Pelosi-Reid era, and ask themselves whether yet another change of direction is needed. 

Also, this debate will continue to take attention away from Iraq -- so the sooner we can resolve it, the merrier.

Immigration Issue Commentary/Discussion

Here at The Blue State when itcomes to the immigration situation, we don't post or discuss the issue all thatmuch, and this post is to start a discussion about it and see how our visitorsfeel (both new as well as the veterans).

I think the one commonality we all have is "something needs to be doneabout immigration". Whether you're on the far right that feels "theyshould all go", or the far left "they should all stay", I thinkwe all agree "something" needs to be done to coincide with yourargument.

I'll start: With the estimation at 12-20 million illegal immigrants in theU.S. (I went with the high and low #'s and don't want to start putting links inthis post), let's face it...we do not have the resources to "kick themout", and even if we could, getting rid of that many people would disruptthe country's economy. Most towns in the U.S. have illegal multi-familydwellings, or dwellings that house a number of illegal immigrants. Taking the"immigrant" part of this equation out, I personally don't want 10-20men, ages 17-35 living illegally next to me in a single dwelling, or 3-5families living in a 2 family home next door either. On the other hand (andunder the current circumstances) I don't want to see a family (orindividual) that have been here; working hard; living responsibly, andcontributing in a positive way to our society, to be uprooted and deported.

(Loosely) The new bill has the illegal immigrants paying $1000 to stay, workfor a couple of years then return to their homeland and remain for a year, thencome back. For starters, this isn't going to expose the terrorists or thecriminal element, and I'm not sure how many would have an extra $Grand floatingaround, which would keep them (non criminal element) in the shadows as well.Maybe this fine should be lowered? As far as the reality of people packing upand leaving their homes, jobs, friends etc. after 2 years doesn't seem very realisticto me either.

I do think that when someone is arrested on felony charges, they be tried andif convicted, serve their time and then be deported. If arrested on misdemeanorcharges, once processed, they need to be handed the paperwork for citizenshipand registered. There are way more issues than I have mentioned, and I'm noteven sure if my ideas are realistic, but I do know one thing, somethingneeds to be done. 

In my opinion the ideas from the far left and right are mainly based onpersonal feelings rather than reason or common sense..."get rid of em"no "keep em" just doesn't make sense and wouldn't work. We do as anation have a right to know who is here.

Chime in and be heard.

$1.2 Trillion for War - $18 Millions for Refugees

The administration's NewWay Forward is forwarding us into a sea of quagmires. The refugees are payinga personal price (to say the least), and being the nice guys we are, we'repledging millions to help solve what the UN describes as "aneglected humanitarian crisis". $18 million to be precise, andthat is extremely generous considering the war to date has costus $1.2 trillion...so Iraqi people, tack that onto the list of "reasonsto thank the US" for. And as a consolation prize we're taking 20,000of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees for resettlement. Maybethey'll get here in time for the anti-immigration crowd to round them up anddeport them.

Four years later and we realize something needs to be done tohelp the displaced people of Iraq? Maybe if the White House had their "WarCzar" sooner, this wouldn't be an issue (or if they asked any pre-schooler).

The offers came at a UN conference in Geneva, which ended onWednesday.

In all there are an estimated four million displaced Iraqis,nearly two million of whom remain in Iraq, forced to move by the violence in thecountry.

Washington and other western states have pledged millions tohelp solve what the UN describes as a neglected humanitarian crisis.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, says an estimated 50,000Iraqis are now fleeing the violence in their country every month, and has warnedthat without international help, the crisis could have grave humanitarianconsequences for the entire Middle East.

Western countries, particularly the US and UK, have been criticizedfor not doing enough to help Iraqi refugees or the countries neighboring Iraqwhich have received millions of refugees.

It seems like we were shamed into helping out.

Where Iraqi'sHave Fled To:

 

                         Syria: 1,200,000                                           

    Jordan: 750,000   

    Gulf states: 200,000 

    Egypt: 100,000   

    Iran: 54,000 

    Lebanon: 40,000   

                         Turkey: 10,000 

                         Internally displaced: 1,900,000 

 

We Need A Middle Ground on Immigration Reform, NOW!

Pelosi:President Should Work Collaboratively on a Bipartisan Basis to PassComprehensive Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON, April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

                         -- House Speaker Nancy

Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to 
President  Bush's remarks on immigration reform:
    "The President should work collaboratively and on a bipartisan basis to
pass comprehensive immigration reform. He should embrace proposals such as
the STRIVE Act by Congressmen Gutierrez and Flake, which provides an
excellent framework and reflects a strong commitment by a bipartisan group
of House Members toward realistic and comprehensive immigration reform.
    "Our priorities on immigration reform are clear. Our first
responsibility to the American people is their safety. We must secure our
borders and enforce our laws, while also protecting against discrimination
and adhering faithfully to the rule of law. At the same time, we must enact
immigration reform that is humane and honors our American tradition of
being a nation of immigrants.
    "By starting House Judiciary Committee hearings and introducing the
STRIVE Act last month, the House has already begun the hard work of
addressing immigration reform."

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House

 

DNC: President Joins FellowRepublicans on Immigration: Wants Nothing Done

WASHINGTON, April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the fourth
anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, President Bush decided his best PR
photo op would come on the Arizona border with Mexico, touting his
immigration proposal. The PR stunt, however, doesn't distract from Iraq so
much as it highlights another problem for Republicans, their failures on
border security and their internal strife on immigration reform.

He also failed to mention the fact that Republicans never actually funded
the 700-mile border fence they passed as a PR gimmick before the 2006
election. [Associated Press, 4/09/07; Washington Post, 10/12/06; Washington
Post, 10/6/06]

<--Lets change this

Immigration reform strategies are all over the place, it isabout time we start coming together and with a realistic view. It would be bothfinancially and physically impossible to accommodate the far right wing nuts anddeport all 12-20 million (estimated # of them) illegal immigrants, and it issimply ridiculous to let it continue the way it is as the far left nuts wouldhave it. I'm not against "loosening up" a bit, but I AM against anyoneand everyone coming and going as they please.

<-- To This

Virginia Beach Mayor responds to O'Reilly outburst

Last night on the O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly got into it with Geraldo Rivera over a incident involving a drunk driver that killed two under-aged girls in Virginia Beach.  The suspect was an illegal immigrant.  O'Reilly blamed the city officials for not deporting the male suspect after an earlier drunk-driving conviction.

It is difficult to reason why someone coming to this country illegally would not be deported for breaking the law.  That is not the cause of debate.  The debate is over whether city officials are to blame, even though it is the federal government's job to enforce the border.  O'Reilly thought so.  Rivera differed.

The two engaged in a three-minute shouting match, which ended up striking a nerve back in Virginia.  Virginia Beach city officials called a press conference in the late night hours of Thursday, and blamed O'Reilly for distorting the issue as a family mourns:

During the news conference, MayorMeyera Oberndorf said she has never even O'Reilly's show and did notmention him by name throughout the conference.

Themayor and Tessa Tranchant's father both said that making an issue outof immigration loses the focus that the girls were killed by a man thatpolice said was driving drunk.

Ray Tranchant said, "We need to heal, and to bring immigration, that's disrespectful to a family who's just mourning."

Just in case you missed the O'Reilly/Rivera cat fight, here is the video.  It gets heated around the middle part:

Immigrants aren't criminals

Everyone thinks the borders should be secure.  Everyone wants immigrants to go through the full legalization process.  Yet, not everyone thinks that immigrants increase crime.  A new report shows that the perceived connection between immigrants and crime is overblown:

Another study released Monday by the Washington-based ImmigrationPolicy Center showed that immigrant men ages 18 to 39 had anincarceration rate five times lower than native-born citizens in everyethnic group examined. Among men of Mexican descent, for instance, 0.7%of those foreign-born were incarcerated compared to 5.9% ofnative-born, according to the study, co-written by UC Irvinesociologist Ruben G. Rumbaut.

Full Story

This study was based on U.S. census data.

President Bush and a bipartisan coalition in Congress are about to unveil a bill that would give lawful, tax-paying undocumented immigrant families a path to citizenship.

Weekend immigration protest encourages Bush's base to jump ship

It's pandering time.  Expect the White House to do whatever it takes to win back their base, which has abandoned him following the border patrol controversy.

Yesterday, while the media focused primary on other issues, tensions escalated in the Southwest on the immigration front.  With the Iraq war, CIA leak trial and all the other corruption investigations that are taking place now on Capitol Hill, it might seem like the battle over the jailed border patrol agents is quite irrelevant.  But electorally speaking, as we get closer to 2008, this is serious business for the Republican Party.  Tensions in that region have reached a boiling point.  Conservative activists and human rights demonstrators marched in Hollywood, California yesterday. 

This story has been the number one issue in the Southwest this weekend.  Just about every advocacy group, from the race-baiting White Peoples Party on the far-right to immigration rights organizations, seems to be butting heads.  Right-wing groups are taking their anger out on the President, and are demanding a full pardon for the border patrol officers.

These two photos, of the many posted on the right-wing SaveOurState.org site, illustrate why Bush's approval rating could dip below 25% if this situation is not defused by the end of the month:


Next Saturday, another anti-immigration rally is scheduled -- this time in Las Vegas.   The racist White Peoples Party is setting up the event.  The Anti-Defamation League might have people out there to conduct a counter-protest.

Even though all eyes are on Washington for many obvious reasons, the Southwest is at war with itself over whether the border patrol agents that shot an unarmed drug dealer should be set free.

Republican lawmaker threatens Bush impeachment -- on immigration issue

It is tough for President Bush to get any political supporter these days, including Republicans.  While Democrats and some Republicans are after him on the war, far-right Republicans are playing just as tough on immigration.  The recent arrest of two border patrol agents for shooting an unarmed alleged drug smuggler is angering the conservative base.  Over the weekend, things went a step further.  After one of the officers was assaulted by an inmate in a Mississippi jail, California GOP lawmaker Dana Rohrabacher warned President Bush:

"Itell you, Mr. President, if these men -- especially after this assault-- are murdered in prison, if one of them lose their lives, there'sgoing to be some sort of impeachment talk in Capitol Hill."

Oh, I get how it works.  More than 3,000 Americans have died in a war that was based on a lie, but only when two border patrol agents get put in jail it suddenly becomes acceptable to use the I-word.

CA-50: Busby shows depth on immigration issue

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-California) is still leading Democratic challenger Francine Busby by 11-points in the battle for the U.S. House seat in the 50th congressional district.  But after watching the two outline their immigration stances on today's edition of MSNBC's show Hardball with Chris Matthews, you have to ask yourself why Busby is not out in front?

As Busby said, just saying that you are for enforcement does not go that extra step to address the full socioeconomic affect that illegal immigration has on San Diego:

Click to watch video clip << (You Tube)

Like I said, I can't believe that Bilbray is beating her when he has very little knowledge about the number one issue on the minds of San Diego residents.

Unfortunately, the DNCC back in Washington has partly abandoned Francine Busby because they want to spent even more money on defending incumbent Democrats in races are already projected to stay blue.  We need the netroots to get involved in this race and help Busby carry a seat that she only lost by 4-points in last year's special election.  Do what you can to help.

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Other sites blogging about this race: MyDD, Ed Schultz, Words Have Power, Political Action, California 50th.