Thread: Rove tells Latino leaders US facing critical moment

http://today.reuters.com

Rove tells Latino leaders US facing critical moment
Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:06 PM ET



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Karl Rove, U.S. President George W. Bush's senior political advisor, on Tuesday took the administration's message on immigration reform to Latino leaders, saying the country was approaching a "critical moment" in the debate.

Speaking at the annual convention of leading Latino civic group the National Council of La Raza, Rove said Bush would work with Republicans and Democrats in coming weeks to push through reform legislation that has bitterly divided Congress, the Republican Party and the nation.

"We face a critical moment in our immigration debate, a moment when our nation will make an important decision about what kind of country and what kind of society we will be," said Rove, one of Washington's most powerful and polarizing figures.

Immigration promises to be a hot issue in the November mid-term congressional elections, and Republican strategists are mindful of the growing clout of Latino voters. In Los Angeles, where Hispanics account for nearly half the population, Rove said Bush "appreciates the vital contributions of Latinos to the greatness of our country."



La Raza estimates that the number of Hispanic voters in 2008 will increase 30 percent from the 7.5 million who cast ballots in the 2004 presidential elections.

"We need to work together, which will require making tough choices to get a bill that is not perfect, but is meaningful, and fair and comprehensive," Rove said.

"Working together we can do it or we can run the risk of a failure, a bill that splits apart and takes a political rather than a practical direction," he added.

A hard-line Republican contingent in Congress advocates a House bill that represents a crackdown on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, most of whom come from Mexico and Central America seeking low-paying jobs Americans won't do.

Bush is more aligned with a bipartisan Senate bill that offers a guest worker program and path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants

Ya....and I hope to God it's not another MEXICO!!!!

Karl Rove is going to have a Critical Moment in a few years when we have him on trial for damages to our nation and citizens.

W

"We face a critical moment in our immigration debate, a moment when our nation will make an important decision about what kind of country and what kind of society we will be,"

The CITIZENS of THIS NATION do not want to become a third world cesspool!

Hispanic voters in 2008 will increase 30 percent

Who is funding the massive voter registration? Hmmm, I wonder...
Seems pretty sure of himself.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 015852.htm

Rove: Hispanics are `real Americans'
MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - White House political strategist Karl Rove said Tuesday that the highly charged immigration debate has "clouded" the views of some Americans, leading them to dismiss the importance of immigrants and their contribution to the nation's success.

"Everything that this country is, everything that we have achieved, everything that we hold, everything that we promise, is because we are a nation of diversity, brought together by immigration, and sharing a common dream," Rove told members of the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group, the National Council of La Raza.

Alluding to the deadlock over immigration reform on Capitol Hill, Rove said the debate had "clouded the views of some people in America and led them to fail to understand that Hispanics, and all immigrants, are real Americans."

"It is vital that our county not fall into this trap," he said.

In a 20-minute speech, Rove gave an energetic endorsement for President Bush's plan to curb illegal immigration, which calls for stricter border enforcement along with a way for those who have been in the United States for some time to become citizens. That stance has Bush at odds with many Republicans in Congress, who favor a harder-line approach.

Rove was applauded politely by most of the audience, and he ignored a smattering of anti-war protesters who were escorted from the cavernous hall.

La Raza, based in Washington, D.C., says it has 40,000 members along with a network of several hundred affiliated community groups that focus on civil rights, immigration, education, health and other issues. The left-leaning group is supportive of Bush's call for a path to citizenship for illegals who have been in the country for a number of years.

La Raza's meeting in Los Angeles took place not far from where hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and their supporters demonstrated last spring against the House GOP immigration reform bill calling for stricter enforcement.

In his speech, Rove talked about his family's Norwegian heritage, saying he kept a picture of his great-grandfather, an immigrant, on his office wall "to remind me of the promise of our great county."

Rove said that immigrants throughout the nation's history suffered a backlash of "public distortions," and he saw a parallel between the experience of other immigrant groups in decades gone by "and what we are seeing today."

"We need to remember the shared values that draw men and women to our shores, our that drew our parents or our grandparents or our great-grandparents before us," he said.

Rove's appearance comes at a time when both political parties have been vigorously courting Hispanic voters, the fastest-growing ethnic segment of the U.S. population.

Bush has urged Republicans to broaden the party's appeal to Latino voters to help keep Democrats to the political minority for years to come. But GOP efforts to reach out to Hispanics are being unsettled by House conservatives, whose proposed crackdowns on illegal immigrants and English-only policies could alienate the very voters Bush wants the party to pursue.

Rove ticked off enforcement elements of the president's proposal, but added, "All these measures will come to naught without a temporary worker program. ... It's not enough to say send them home."

He also warned that critics against were confusing the debate with catchwords, rather than solutions.

"Too many simplify the problem into one word, "amnesty," Rove said. "In an issue this vital, we cannot allow words to be misused."

In a statement, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Rove "is the one person most responsible for the anti-immigrant platform being adopted by congressional Republicans around the country.

"In 2002 it was African-Americans who were scapegoated with the use of the anger point code word 'quota,' and in 2004 it was gay Americans. Now, ahead of the 2006 elections, it's immigrants. Democrats will not scapegoat any group of people to win elections," Dean said.

W I hope that is true. Every one of these pandering, Anti American traitors needs to go to jail!

Sounds like things are gonna get ugly around here (the U.S.).

Karl Rove is going to have a Critical Moment in a few years when we have him on trial for damages to our nation and citizens.

W, as I was reading that article, before I read your post, that EXACT thought came over me. There is going to come a time when he will be held accountable for his actions by the American people. It's almost inevitable.

Let's see if we're all right. In using my best judgement and in being as honest with myself as I can possibly be, I do believe that we are right.

Ladydrake's

Sounds like things are gonna get ugly around here (the U.S.).

Yes, it does Ladydrake, and it is CLEAR that we are standing up to and fighting a much bigger monster than we might have originally thought.

Yes, it does Ladydrake, and it is CLEAR that we are standing up to and fighting a much bigger monster than we might have originally thought.

The bigger they are the harder they fall?

Feeling like David and Goliath yet?