Thread: Bush to visit Arizona border Monday

Originally Posted by jean

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

Originally Posted by jean

From what I hear when Bush goes anywhere the areas he is to visit are cleared big time. Afterall, don't want to burst that bubble he's living in.

To be fair, that's what they've been doing for every pres.
At least from Klinton but I do believe it began after Reagan was shot.
Definitely got more intense after 9/11.
Klintons were the masters at this set up.

Anyhoooo, it's not just for bush that this is done. We do need to be fair or our opinions and information will be less effective.

FYI: it's also done for "some" in Congress but my guess is that they simply don't want any objectors in the photo op vacinities.

I see what you're saying about protecting their image, etc and being fair. Yes, they all have to do it partly due to security.

My reference to Bush being in a bubble is more a generality because I believe that's his world, in his own bubble.

Someone here once posted a great pic of Bush within a bubble too. Should have saved that one.

Really you can't blame them there are alot of crazy people out there , we may get mad at them for not protecting us and putting us and our country first, but we all know we would not want anything bad to happen to any of them. It just like when Chavez from VEN. called Bush the Devil it really pissed me off! I thought who the hell is he, talking to our president like that ! GEEEZZ

I hope a lot of the citizens show up and tell him exactly how their neighborhoods have been changed, how they can't find jobs, etc.

Give him He--!

White House spokesman Blair Jones declined to elaborate on the details of Bush’s planned remarks, including whether the president will re-iterate his five-point plan or offer a new plan. More details about the president’s trip will be announced in coming days, Jones said.

Bush will "re-iterate" his 5 point plan. We've heard it all before. Why he feels the need to go down there to make his point is beyond me.
Nothing will change except for the tone of his message. He has told the "people of Mexico" and President Calderon, that by August he thinks "Immigration Reform" will be passed. Never mind how Americans feel about the plan. He can't go back on his word to Mexico, can he?

He's not going to let an everday citizen tell him how they feel about his immigration plan, he wants to do what the big businesses want him to do sense he's in their back pockets.

Sunday, Apr. 08, 2007
Bush Plays Border Sheriff to Court GOP Votes
By Massimo Calabresi/Washington
President Bush returns to the Mexico border at Yuma, Arizona,� Monday to reprise last year's role as buggy-riding border sheriff. And as with every piece of White House theater, this one has a very specific audience in mind: the anti-immigration right wing of the Republican party. It is this deeply skeptical crowd Bush must win over if he is to get the last potential domestic policy achievement of his presidency: "comprehensive immigration reform." And, with Congress' summer recess and the 2008 presidential primaries approaching, time is running out.

Bush will spend most of his time in Yuma talking about his achievements in combatting illegal immigration: nearly doubling the number of border guards, funding hundreds of miles of border fence, a significant uptick in border arrests and so on. He'll also talk about progress in cracking down on illegal hiring of undocumented workers by restaurants, hotels, construction and food processing plants, among other employers. Burnishing his credentials as a law-and-order border guard is key to the effort.

But the President's "comprehensive" reform includes more than border security, and that's where conservative skepticism comes in. His proposals, unveiled to Democrats for the first time two weeks ago, aim to create not just tougher border security and tighter domestic enforcement at work sites, but also a new guest worker program and a solution for the 11-12 million illegal immigrants in the country. Though these goals� are associated with a softer line on immigration, under his new plan, Bush has played to the hardline consensus among Republicans on these issues too.

Although the plan does create a guest worker program, Democrats and Republicans familiar with it say it would not offer new guest workers a faster track to citizenship than any other foreigner trying to become an American. And while the plan does offer a path to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already in the country, it sets high hurdles: They would be sent to the end of the line of those applying for citizenship, would have to pay heavy fines for the years they have been in the country, would have to show that they have held a job while here, pay full back-taxes on their earnings and pass an English exam. And in a major departure from U.S. immigration policy as it has existed since 1965, the plan would do away with citizenship for their family members.

Even as Bush struts and frets on the GOP stage, Senator Edward Kennedy is doing the same for his audience, the pro-immigration left, which is calling for full amnesty for the illegal immigrants, a liberal guest worker program and broad new thresholds for immigration in coming years. Kennedy's staff says Bush will have to make concessions before Kennedy will sign up for the President's plan, and they insist the Massachusetts Senator won't back down on such core principles as reunification for immediate family members.

Yet, for all the appearance of conflict between the two men, each is well aware that he needs to the other to get an immigration reform bill passed — that's why they've been in deep discussions on the issue since the start this year. The positions each is taking now are less oriented towards coercing the other side than towards securing maximum support from within their own party. By giving the appearance of a deep Democrat-Republican divide, they increase the chances of winning their skeptics over to a compromise. Bush and Kennedy will have more leeway to make small concessions on fines or family reunification if each has the extremes of his own party on board.�

It's a smart strategy, but it faces tough challenges, as both men are finding it harder to rally even centrist support than it was a year ago. Thanks to the 2008 elections, two key Republican� backers of last year's effort at immigration reform, John McCain and Sam Brownback, have disappeared down the campaign trail. McCain had previously united with Kennedy to form a central Senate bloc for a compromise, while Brownback played a key role representing the compassionate right. Mel Martinez, a key Hispanic Republican voice in the debate, has also gone quiet since taking over the Republican National Committee.

For his part, Kennedy must deliver Democrats who in strictly political terms have no reason to back reform. The new Congress, under Democratic control, has had a very effective three-month run blocking Bush on everything from domestic proposals to foreign affairs and the war in Iraq. Handing the president a win on a major issue like immigration reform in the run up to the 2008 elections might be good policy, but it would be bad politics.

At some point between now and the end of May, when Senate majority leader Harry Reid has said the Senate will vote on immigration reform, the theater will end and real negotiating will begin. But with thin centrist backing, skeptical party extremes, and very little time to negotiate it will take more than compelling theater to get the deal done.

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,881 ... 40,00.html

Have him come out and visit me, I can show him around and tell him some stories about what goes on around here.

MountainDog wrote:

Have him come out and visit me, I can show him around and tell him some stories about what goes on around here.

Bush will care 'when pigs fly', unfortunately.