What's Bush "Really" Up To with this new Immigration Policy?

[KoKo]

Does Congress have to approve it, or has he done it by Executive Order?

The Left seems more "worked up" than the Right about this. But, it seems an idea that would appeal to Liberals more than Conservatives so that's what worries me.

I thought it might be just to take attention off Iraq, and maybe it was an issue he could afford to Lose on with the benefit being Distraction or showing that he "was a good guy" and could take a chance "offending his base" for the Good of America?

I really am confused on this latest Rove Distraction. I know it's a political calculation, but I can't quite get a handle on how it will turn out. I think the Outcry of opinion from Left will defeat it...but what will that cost him? And, if it's NOT Defeated it certainly enrages his "RW" Base who thinks that Illegal Undocumented Workers are competing for their jobs.

:shrug:

[wingnut]

1. The right seems pretty worked up

I think this will bite him on the ass.

[readmylips]

2. I just don't know what those fookers are up to...

but we know that this Administration Cannot Be Trusted.

1) Spy Outing Case is heating up, 2) Calif.Annold the pig, is opening up Pete Wilson's old resolution against immigration/Mexicans.

The boosh new policy sounds like No Child Left Behind, which is actually, Kick each Child's Behind. Same as the new Health Care policy; Seniors get to double pay and boosh's buddy get to triple their bottom line.

This country under this idiot little man is really fooked up!

[bif]

3. Screwing more Americans out of jobs?

And further eroding the middle class?

[number6]

29. bingo

..

[Snow]

4. Read Josh's article, Talking Points memo -

it's a reach for the latino vote, nothing more. Congress has to approve it.

[maveric]

27. And he's losing the freeper vote. His main voter base.

I personally dont think that hispanic america will support the shrub in spite of this new legislation. They're smarter than that.

[shanti]

35. and they won't

n/t

[cthrumatrix]

5. it has to be voted on (WSJ page A4)...not voted on until 2005 and there

are 60 conservatives against this issue...so far now..it's just an election "feel good" for hispanic voters by shrub...and maybe validating cheap labor for corportations in the future

all politics baby..no meat

[Devlzown]

6. I think it's a cheap labor giveaway

to his corporate contributors. What will happen to the case against Wal-Mart if these new regulations go into effect? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if exceptions are made to the minimum wage laws if the employee is an noncitizen. This is going to make an already awful labor market even worse.

[RC]

7. bu$h is buying votes

from the Spanish population.

[ochazuke]

8. You got it, RC

Bush wants to get a larger percentage of the Hispanic vote, and he thinks this program will get it for him.

Being a total Chamber-of-Commerce Republican, Shrub is totally in favor of globalization: he wants the cheapest labor possible, here or overseas it makes little difference.

So, total amnesty isn't against his ideology. Trouble is, there are a lot of "America Firsters" in the Repuklikan party (Pat Buchanan for example), and they are upset by amnesty.

Also, some Hispanics who obeyed the law resent a plan that makes things easier on illegals.

So, Bush is walking a real tightrope on this one. I think it is an opportunity for Democrats to extend rights to illegals while enforcing the principle that a nation must control immigration. In other words, Democrats can appeal to both Hispanic Americans and America Firsters. (Shrubco want businesses to exploit cheap labor and won't put forth a plan that makes that difficult.)

[KoKo]

10. NPR had a show and two Mexican-Americans Called in and said that they

were angry that they were "proud of being American Citizens" and they had entered the country LEGALLY, and were very upset with Bush's NEW policy of America allowing Illegal/Undocumented aliens into the country. One caller was from NC and he said: "If President Bush thinks this will get votes with us he is Wrong! We are here legally and we are proud..and he wants to allow those who came in illegally to have the same rights as us." (paraphrase...because I was doing something else while listening) but both of these Mexican-Americans were NOT in favor of Bush's new focus on Immigration. :shrug:

[KansDem]

9. I read where it was slated to be taken up by Congress in 2005...

So, this is the scenario I see:

1.) Introduce and promote this legislation leading up to Nov. '04. Look like a moderate;
2.) Get elected with large voter turnout in Latino sections;
3.) Pass legislation on to Congress, who votes it down;
4.) Throw up hands and whine about how "he tried" but evil Democrats in Congress said "NO!"

Did I leave out anything?

[TreasonousBastard]

14. Just that Menendez...

head of the House Latino caucus, sez he'll stomp this one back into the ground before it sees daylight.

He seems to know he'll have a lot of help.

[Cannikin]

18. Let me give my Arkansas farm boy perspective....

Down here over the years I've personally known farmers who hire illegals and pay them 'under the table'. A lot of the smaller farms and farm related businesses rely on them to stay profitable. I'm sure many other types of employers do the same thing. The Border Patrol knows it goes on down here. I've seen them actually bring people that they've picked up and present them to the farmers to see if they could be of any use.

If they were deported, the employers loose their cheap labor. So Bush offers to grant the work permits, they get to stay, and they will pay taxes. Bush gets the huge number of immigrant votes for gratitude.

[Granite]

19. I agree

dailyKos seems to think the same thing -

Bush has no intention on spending the political capital needed to pass the proposal (three year renewable guest worker visas). The opposition within GOP ranks dooms it outright. And there's no way that Democrats allow this thing to pass, giving Bush an election-year trophy amongst Latinos (the biggest swing constituency in politics today). They would poison-pill it by adding amendments further easing immigration restrictions -- perhaps an outright amnesty -- that would guarantee the opposition of wavering GOoPers. Democrats would also seek stronger labor protections in the law (think WalMart), further dooming its prospects amongst the Right.

Bush has no intention of pushing this hard, IMO. This is political favoritism at its worst. Plus, just like the recent prescription drugs bill, the solutions that are proposed don't go nearly far enough in addressing immigration reform.

[Suziq]

11. Corporations will . . .

benefit greatly from this policy. Now they can continue to pay low wages instead of doing the right thing and paying a decent living wage.

:hippie:

[KoKo]

12. What I don't get is that Bush is confronting his RW who hate Mexican

Americans just as they hate "brown people, and shades inbetween." He's losing his "Base" with this..

[kskiska]

15. I figure they must really be desperate for those votes

to risk upsetting their loyal base – and they knew they would. There are so many variables in this election – especially the situation in Iraq, which could blow sky high at any given time.

[camero]

23. Bush got the mexican vote in all of his elections

Including his selection. I just hope that hard working LEGAL immigrants will not fall for this trap.

[KoKo]

26. According to Lou Dobbs/CNN Report its only from 35 % downward of Mexican

vote......somethings missing here. :shrug:

[camero]

30. The wealthy

Lower labor costs.

[Granite]

33. Do you really think he's jeopardizing his base?

I'm not so sure - I think they are going to vote GWB* no matter what, especially when they find out that this will pretty much be the last we hear about work permits for illegal immigrants for a while. Remember:

- no vote on this until 2005
- no way House repubs vote for this
- Dems won't give-up a gimme to Bush* on this one
- Bush* won't spend the political capital to get this done

IMO, this is a classic Rove ploy designed to make GWB* look "compassionate" while at the same time doing nothing of substance to follow-through on his commitments.

Its smoke and mirrors time. Just like Healthy Forests, Prescription Drugs for Seniors, No Child Left Behind, Clean Air Initiative, etc.

[shanti]

36. exactly right, my friend~

smoke and mirrors is right.

[Cocoa]

13. it's fake

just as fake as that sex-slavery thing Bush spoke about once.

What ever happened to that, anyway?

[karlschneider]

16. Rove figures 3 million Mexican immigrants will become Republicans.

It's really not much more complex than that.
:grr:

[T Bone]

39. Maybe they figure it will cover the vote fraud on touch machines?

They plan vote fraud in areas heavy with latino vote. Then to explain the massive latino *vote* for shrub they have the echo chamber media shill on about how popular this was with latinos and how it swung the latino vote to shrub. ?? I know :tinfoilhat:

[Tesha]

17. he's trying to pre-empt the issue, and grab it for his own,

but the final package will be just as broken as the rest of what he's done - You know, clear sky and no child left behind kind of lying...

But just last week I heard Dean talking about the need to address the issue - must have put the wind up bush... he's got to own the issue to grab the votes now

I really hate bush and his friends

[grasswire]

20. a freeper said it's to prop up Social Security

A freeper noted that several more million workers paying FICA taxes could help pay for the prescription drug benefit.

[Beaker]

25. not really...

part of the plan will also allow the immigrants to collect SS money when they return to Mexico- in the past, that money was just absorbed into the SS General Fund.
Bush's proposed plan will put a MUCH bigger strain on Social Security.

[Cleita]

21. Bush always moves to the center before elections.

When he wins he retreats back to the extreme right. Look at his record in Texas and his campaign in 2000. You will see the pattern.

[camero]

22. What are they up to?

Easy. More competition for less jobs brings labor costs down. Which means more families struggling to survive which means a more compliant workforce.

Putting this canard out the day after we find out that they are telling businesses how to avoid paying OT tells alot. Another giveaway to the corporations.

[Nay]

24. I haven't figured it out yet, either.

First: why the hell is he doing something that will royally piss off his base? And they are pissed off, according to people here who have been listening to RW talk radio today.

Second: Even us bleeding-heart liberals think immigration should be a controlled process, so he can't be pandering to us. And it looks like the legal immigrants feel that way, too. Do it legally, keep the process under control.

Third: I don't believe he is doing it to curry favor with the corporations, because they are already in his pocket AND the timing is off--if it was just for business, why not announce it after his election? Why piss off the base now, right before the election?

Fourth: for every CA businessman vote he gets (and remember, businesspeople voted for Bush overwhelmingly anyway), he loses 2 base voters and probably an Hispanic voter, too. Doesn't add up. Plenty of white young men who voted the Gropinator in are going to vote against Bush now.

Fifth: When he does not care about the wholesale shipping of IT and other white-collar jobs overseas that used to belong to U.S. citizens, isn't it weird that he all of a sudden is all compassionate about making sure illegal and pre-legal aliens get jobs?? How weird is that??

[number6]

28. lower wages for everybody ...

:thumbsdown: :(

[Sterling]

31. Selling out our lower class americans and getting hispanic votes

Some old shit as NAFTA. Helping the rich hurting the poor and getting votes at the same time. He may have really pissed off his base though in the process.

[KoKo]

32. Kick.

:kick:

[Junkdrawer]

34. Republican. Cheap Labor. Any Questions?

Let's just say that protecting American jobs isn't a high priority with this administration.

[KoKo]

37. I've heard the "cheap labor" arguments, but still he's trashed RW of

his Repug Group which he's carefully nurtured. So, I think it's more devious than the obvious explanations, but most repliers to this post seem to feel it's legit. I don't know....it's very suspicious to me.

[Junkdrawer]

38. Always remember: The higher the Unemployment Rate...

The more "volunteers" for the All-Volunteer Army. Given the choice between a Draft and, say, 8%-10% unemployment, what do you think they will choose?

[Stephanie]

41. Cheap labor, and keeping wages low for non-immigrants

Trashing unions, keeping minimum wage low, corporate profiteering. Bring in low wage workers. Let them pay into FICA and never collect. Etc. Like all Bush plans, it's a scam.

[jbm]

40. I read on another board...

that many wealthy people have wanted this for years. They have maids and gardeners that have spent many years working for them,and they don't want to lose them due to immigration laws. The theory was,this is payback to some big contributers.