Wednesday, May 17: This post is closed. If you want to discuss illegal immigration (a misnomer if I ever heard one!), click over to the latest post.
Update II (5/16 @ 7:07 p.m.): Mexico threatens lawsuits over Guard. Nice.
Sailer: “The future of the GOP lies not with the Hispanic vote but with overlooked middle-class Americans.”
Update (5/16 @ 7:30 a.m.): Polipundit, the anonymous host of the popular group blog of the same name, has issued a new editorial policy to bloggers Lorie Byrd, DJ Drummond, Jayson, and Alexander K. McClure.
Based on the policy (which he briefly explains), Lorie has decided to leave the group blog. From her personal blog:
I received a lengthy email from Polipundit tonight alerting us to an editorial policy change that included the following: “From now on, every blogger at PoliPundit.com will either agree with me completely on the immigration issue, or not blog at PoliPundit.com.”
Apparently Lorie doesn’t agree completely with Polipundit’s position. The illegal immigration issue is potent, and it’s driving a wedge between Republicans and conservative in the blogosphere. Polipundit has every right to make the rules on his blog, so he can’t be faulted for that. I support his decision. (I considered guest bloggers at LBC, and I would have selected conservative Christians whose worldview matched my own.) Yesterday I linked to his El Presidente post and highly recommended it. I share his outrage, and it’s good to know that at least one conservative blogger feels as angry as I do about illegal immigration.
It is a slap in the face that George Bush is pushing his will on the American people. That’s not a president; that’s a dictator, and I hope true conservatives in Congress fight him to the death, figuratively speaking.
Lorie was one of the bloggers who disagreed with my impeachment post, but I still like her. She’s given me generous linkage on the high traffic blog through the years. Lorie’s leaving Polipundit on principle, and I respect her for it.
If Bush continues to push amnesty, expect more posts calling for his impeachment. I don’t march in lockstep with any political party. I may lose readers. Groups of bloggers may even de-link me from their rolls. It’s happened before, yet I’m still here, ranked high and drawing over 4,000 visitors a day. Do what you think is right. That’s all each of us is trying to do.
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I’ve written about illegal immigration a lot in the past 2.5 years, so I encourage you to check out the Immigration category (keep scrolling). I discuss and link to a number of disturbing facts and stats, including undocumented (paperless!) illegal aliens working as airplane mechanics (!), once-eradicated diseases making a comeback (when you sneak over the border, you get to skip the medical exam), the toll on the already over-burdened welfare system, etc. I didn’t suddenly jump on a bandwagon.
Visit Truth Laid Bear’s live-blogging page for bloggers’ reactions to Bush’s amnesty-for-illegal-aliens speech.
Steve Sailer: “If this speech reassures conservatives, we definitely are the Stupid Party…” He also discusses citizenship and residency, two different things.
Mychal Massie: “America cannot afford to applaud the president for a promise to strengthen our borders, without a specifically defined way to repatriate the illegal aliens residing within our borders — no matter how long they have been here.”
From one of MSNBC’s blogs: “And so we find conservative blogger LaShawn Barber, always reliable for defying expectations…”
May it always be so.
National Review Online: “In his Oval Office address, the president squandered what was probably his last chance to reconnect with conservatives on immigration. They will undoubtedly note that the president has waited six years to start talking about enforcement, and will accordingly ask why he can’t postpone his amnesty long enough to give enforcement a try? A speech that had reiterated his support for amnesty in theory, but conceded that enforcement had to come first, would likely have won significant public approval and helped shape events in Congress.”
Lawrence Auster: “To say that the granting to illegal aliens of temporary legal status leading to permanent legal status is not an amnesty is one of the biggest lies in American political history, and our president and his supporters such as Sen. McCain have made a career out of promulgating this lie.”
Debbie Schlussel: “Bush doesn’t care about the borders, or he wouldn’t have waited until 5.5 years into his presidency to do something about it…But he does care about elections. And those are just 6 months away. Timing is everything.”
As I wrote before, it’s taxation without meaningful representation.
Rich Lowry: “Having the National Guard sharpen pencils and fetch coffee for the Border Patrol can’t fix our broken immigration system. It is no substitute for a fence, nor for real interior enforcement that punishes employers for hiring illegal labor…That a president from the country’s law-and-order party has been so blase about both when it comes to immigration presents an obvious opening to the opposition. Shrewder Democrats are picking up on it…Bush’s heart just isn’t in enforcement. Perhaps it’s a tribute to his sincerity that he is so bad at faking it.”
I like this theory.
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7:46 p.m.: I’ve changed my mind about live-blogging the speech. I covered it in January. Here’s the text of the speech. People standing in line to immigrate legally will hear a big fat, “Screw you!” so I urge them not to listen.
You may “live-comment” the speech, if so inclined. I think I’ll read a book instead. Goodnight.
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As if it will make any difference in the scheme of things, I’ll be live-blogging President George Bush’s speech tonight, but the thread is open for commenting now.
Bush knows a majority of Americans oppose amnesty for illegal aliens and dislike him for pushing it, so he’s going prime-time to offer the people a few crumbs words of encouragement.
Bush’s boy Vicente Fox, all frantic about our country’s alleged plan (and right) to guard its own borders, called Bush, who assured him the border beef up is only temporary and will not be a “militarization.” What a thoughtful man, our president
I predict that his speechwriters will insult our intelligence and present unsustainable and bad argumentation supporting amnesty for border jumpers, including the straw man “We are a nation of immigrants!” and the claim that deporting millions of illegal criminals is impractical. He’ll toss us a half-chewed border enforcement bone to throw us off the trail.
I’m not that hungry. Are you?
- I agree with this blogger.
- Counseling Kevin writes about “restorative assimilation.”
- Steve Sailer on “marketing major post-modernism.”
- Michelle Malkin on Bush’s charade. Ha! Loving the Hot Air, Michelle.
- If Republicans hate my “King George” references, they must really hate Polipundit’s “El Presidente” label. The post is a must-read. An excerpt:
Tens of thousands of legal hi-tech guest workers who’ve been working here for several years are not allowed to join the line for citizenship, at the front or back. The 6 billion “decent human beings†around the world, who have never violated US or other laws, are not allowed to join the line, at the front or back.
The privilege of joining the line for US citizenship will be reserved for those who can prove that they’ve been committing immigration fraud, work fraud, forgery, and perjury for at least five years. Yet, this is supposedly not an “amnesty†for them.
The whole amnesty idea is shameful, and Bush should bear the consequences for even talking about it. Yet bloggers jumped all over me for a hypothetical article of impeachment! I’m constantly (and pleasantly) reminded these days why I never registered for the Republican party. And never will.
- Outside the Beltway asks why the “ridiculous step” of troops on the border?
- Right Wing News (also live-blogging) hopes it’s not a gimmick.
- Marc Cooper blogs of blood and mops.
- Kudos to Scott Ott for making me laugh during these frustrating times. For some reason I love reminding readers that he’s a Christian.
- Tim Graham blasts the left-leaning Washington Post on its coverage of the patriotic Minuteman Project.
- NZ Bear is tracking bloggers doing live coverage of tonight’s speech. Add your link.
- Uh-oh. Talk of sedition goes on at Ace in the Hole.
(AFP photo)
