Thread: More second-term blues for Bush on immigration

More second-term blues for Bush on immigration

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
Sat Jun 9, 8:30 AM ET



The collapse of a White House-backed overhaul of U.S. immigration laws was the starkest sign yet of President George W. Bush's dwindling influence during a second term undone by chaos in Iraq and last year's congressional election losses, analysts said.

The bipartisan immigration compromise unraveled in the Senate on Thursday night in the face of opposition from the left and right -- including many of Bush's fellow Republicans.

"An administration that practiced such effective message control in its first term now looks completely impotent," said Georgetown University political analyst Stephen Wayne. "They are stuck in their tracks."

The immigration compromise, which included tougher border security measures and a plan to legalize most of the country's 12 million illegal immigrants, would have been Bush's biggest triumph in a troubled second term.

But 38 Senate Republicans joined 11 Democrats and an independent in blocking a final vote on the centerpiece of Bush's legislative agenda.

"This was a clear demonstration of how little influence the White House now has in Congress," said Cal Jillson, a political analyst at Southern Methodist University in Texas.

Conservatives fought the bill because they said it would give amnesty and a path to citizenship to people who broke U.S. laws, while labor unions said a temporary worker program in the bill would create an underclass of cheap laborers.

The vote came as public dissatisfaction with continuing violence in Iraq and Bush's leadership have driven the president's approval ratings down into the low 30s. His standing has emboldened opponents and left Bush vulnerable to political attack.

"Washington operates on two cardinal rules -- you don't kick a man until he's down, and then you don't stop kicking him," Wayne said.

ANOTHER CHANCE?

Bush and other supporters promised to try to revive the immigration bill, and Bush said he would meet with members of the Senate when he returns next week from Europe, where he attended the G8 summit.

"Like any legislation, this bill is not perfect. And like many senators, I believe the bill will need to be further improved along the way before it becomes law," Bush said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

Polls showed public support for the compromise was mixed.

A Pew Research Center survey found most Americans favored at least one of the proposal's key objectives, but the overall bill drew a negative reaction.

A Gallup Poll put opposition at 60 percent among those who paid close attention to the bill.

"The energy and intensity is all on the side of those who think it's not fair," Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio said of the compromise. "The people who support the compromise are doing it holding their nose. They recognize it's not perfect."

Daniel Griswold, a trade and immigration expert at the conservative Cato Institute think tank, said Republicans ran the risk of making immigration hardliners like commentator Pat Buchanan and presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado the party's most prominent voices in the debate.

"That's not going to help them win general elections," Griswold said.

Fabrizio said Bush was simply battling a core Republican belief on the immigration issue, not suffering from fading political clout.

"Even at the height of his strength, Bush would have had the same problem. He would have the same problem trying to pass a tax increase -- there are some fundamental things that run against the grain of the party," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070609/pl_ ... ation_dc_1

Why does the media refuse to get this right? Oh yeah, because they can't tell the truth.

included tougher border security measures

MAYBE BUSH SHOULD JUST STAY GONE UNTIL HIS TERM IS OVER!!!

Has anyone noticed his wife has not been seen with him much lately, maybe she is sick of him to, he has pretty much had to have embarrassed everybody in his family lately!

ahhhh, don't be so hard on Bushie...afterall, he holds the title for being a failure 100 percent of the time.