Idiocy and Arrogance on Immigration (R)

It's bad enough that the open borders crowd on the left want to surrender on the question of illegal immigration by waving a wand an declaring them all legal. They have a self-interest objective of increasing their voter base. Deplorable, but inderstandable.

What's not understandable is why Republican leaders in the White House and Congress are eager to join in the surrender and therby ensure living in an electoral wasteland for generations.

More recently, what's not forgivable is the idiocy and arrogance with which President Bush, his spokesmen, and Senators are defensively attacking critics of the misguided comprehensive immigration reform bill that they are trying to quickly stuff down the throats of America. Some examples:

1. Let's start with the President himself, who attacked conservative critics of the bill in a recent speech before law enforcement trainees:

"Those determined to find fault with this bill will always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they don't like," the president said. "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.

Excuse me? We "don't want to do what's right for America"? How dare you make that statement. Unforgivable. After six years of support for this President's policies even as he's grown unpopular, he backhands us in this desperate calumny. President Bush - you lost me right there in that one ill-advised insult. You go the distance of this last 18 months without me. As a matter of fact, it's on. I'm all out to defeat this bill. This achievement that you hope will be your legacy will not be if I have anything to do with it.

Peggy Noonan was exactly right in her excellent column this week where she observes that the White House has broken with conservatives, not the other way around.

How about this gem from the President's speech:

He described his proposal—which has been agreed to by a bipartisan group of Senators—as one that "makes it more likely we can enforce our border—and at the same time uphold the great immigrant tradition of the United States of America."

Excuse me? "Make it more likely that we can enforce our border...."? I don't want to hear more likely. What have you been doing for six years now? ENORCE THE BORDER ALREADY! It's your job. Unfortunately, there are at least 12 million indictments of the government's ability to enforce the border, and this ridiculous bill will not - as advertised - make it any more likely that this government will perform any more competently.

The President rightly notes that people are "skeptical" that government can fix the problems, then notes:

"And my answer to the skeptics is: give us a chance to fix the problems in a comprehensive way that enforces our border and treats people with decency and respect. Give us a chance to fix this problem. Don't try to kill this bill before it gets moving,"

Give you a chance? Are you kidding me? Again, what have you been doing for the last six years of your administration, while the citizens of this country have been under invasion from illegal aliens? Give you a chance? What desperate nonsense and a complete and abject failure of leadership. CLOSE THE BORDER ALREADY, MR. PRESIDENT!

President Bush has lately been given in speeches to observe that the "immigration system is broken". Broken? Like a toy? Like several remote controls laying around my living room? Broken? Mr. President, it's not broken. It's incompetent, and the fault is yours. The Executive Branch, charged with enforcing laws drafted by our Congress with enforcing the immigration rules, works for you. LEAD THEM TO ENFORCE THE LAWS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS! It's infantile to walk around whining about how the system is "broken".

Okay, enough with the President's eggregious conduct. How about his press spokesman's? I'm a fan of Tony Snow, but he has fallen into the same pattern of idiocy in trying to sell this misguided sellout of our nation's sovereignty. From a recent talk show pitch:

"You have to understand that this bill does three things: 1. secure the border, 2. restore the rule of law, and ....."

Okay, stop there. There are too many things wrong with this statement already.

"You have to understand..." Exuses me? You think I don't understand? Can you be any more condescending in trying to win me over? Can you even concede that we might completely understand your arguments and reject them on the merits. It's the recourse of the merit-less to accuse their audience of not understanding.

"1) Secure the border" Please, don't make me laugh. As I said, there are at minimum 12 million "undocumented" indictments of your ability to secure the border. If you were even serious about securing the border, you might have started with actually building the 750 miles of fence that the Congress authorized LAST YEAR, instead of the 2 miles actually built. No one believes that any new bill negotiated in secret in the Senate with Ted Kennedy will secure the border. How can you say that with a straight face?

"2) Restore the rule of Law...." Excuse me? Who allowed the rule of law to collapse? YOU DID. The Bush administration, and the Clinton administration before it, neglected the basic duty of government to secure it's border so eggregiously that we've undergone an unprecedented illegal invasion. The dereliction of the President is so extensive that it's mind-boggling. Yet, you have the unmitigated gall to talk down to us about restoring the rule of law? Unbelievable.

To all federal government officials, let me be clear: you have a three decade record of being completely incapable of drafting effective immigration legislation or executing the laws enacted. Evidence 12 million times over, offered as proof. Yet you want to draft another worthless law, and declare the "rule of law" restored. Ridiculous. You can only restore your credibility when you SECURE THE BORDER. NOW. Enforce the laws already written, or resign.

Finally, let me not leave the Senate Republicans unexamined. Let's look at the arrogance of Senator John McCain, a major architect of this travesty of a bill. In speeches this week, he's levelling this charge:

"If you defeat this bill, if we do nothing, then you will have a silent
amnesty".

Who asked you to "do nothing"? Did I ask you to do nothing? Is that the only two possibilities that those of you in the cloistered community in the Senate can envision: pass this abomination of surrender or do nothing?

Here's what I want from you, Senator. ENFORCE THE LAWS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS! Secure the border. Enforce legal-only immigration. Stop the invasion. It's your duty. Every day you fail at it. Any new legislation is just fantasy and folly, if you can't enforce the law that your body already passed before you. Secure the border, first and foremost, or resign.

As a matter of fact, just resign.