Thread: Pres. Bush hopes Americans are a Bunch of Dopes

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James P. Pinkerton: Bush hopes we're all a bunch of dopes

12:02 AM CDT on Friday, May 19, 2006


Now we know what George W. Bush really thinks of his immigration-restricting conservative base: They're a bunch of dumb, hysterical, soulless racists.

Well, maybe that's a little overstated, but if so, not by much. At his White House press conference Tuesday, alongside Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Bush said quite a lot, revealing much about his mind-set. He thinks he can fool his fellow citizens, enough of them at least, by using a few focus-grouped buzzwords. And as for those recalcitrant types who aren't gulled – well, he figures he can cow them into submission with loaded smear words.

Let's consider some of the president's statements: Asked whether he would accept tougher border protection only, with no "guest worker" program, Bush answered that he wanted a "comprehensive bill." That's a great-sounding word, "comprehensive" – the implication being that the whole plan is really thought through. But in this instance, "comprehensive" is a con.

"Comprehensive" is code for a bill that makes pro-immigration constituencies happy – that is, big business, the Democrats, Hispanic reconquistadors and the Mexican government. The key to making the pro-imms happy, of course, is legislation that negates itself. Build a big wall? Fine, so long as you then shoot it full of holes. Bush will agree to tighten up the border, but only if it's linked to a guest-worker program that loosens things up everywhere else. That's what "comprehensive" means – and the alternative spelling, by the way, is S-H-E-L-L G-A-M-E.

Further demonstrating his hope that the American people are a bunch of dopes who will fall for the cheapest of rhetorical tricks, Bush then set up a straw man: "You know, there are some in our country who say, 'Let's just deport everybody.'" There might be some who say that, but the spearhead of the secure-the-homeland movement, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), is long on record as favoring an "attrition" strategy against those who are here illegally, mostly by toughening up on employers.

Yet, the Bush administration has virtually eliminated worksite policing: The Government Accountability Office counted 2,849 immigration arrests in 1999, but just 159 in 2004, a decline of 94 percent. And on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that the number of "absconders" – those who were arrested for immigration violations and released on bail, and then simply disappeared – has risen by nearly half under Bush, to 536,000 in 2005. No wonder a Heritage Foundation study projects that if present trends continue, total immigration into the United States could increase in two decades by 217 million.

Having used a code word and set up a straw man, Bush then tried to sound soothing: "We've got to be rational." The obvious point: Anyone who opposes him is irrational.

The president added: "Let's don't get so emotional that we forget who we are." So calm down, people! "We're a land of immigrants," Bush soothed, even as he skipped past the differences between immigration then and immigration now. Back then, tough-minded officials checked newcomers for disease at places such as Ellis Island, then lectured them on civics and the need to learn English.

But the successful assimilation of the past is just so much ancient history to Bush, who touted yet another benefit of immigration: "It helps restore our soul." Got that, Christians? Karl Rove has been studying how to push your buttons, too.

Then, finally – you knew it was coming – Bush dropped the big bomb: "We're not going to discriminate against people," he said, equating patriotism with racism. That is, to favor American citizens over the other 6.2 billion people around the world is to practice discrimination.

So we see the Bush strategy for getting a phony – oops, "comprehensive" – immigration bill. First, use carefully crafted wording. And if that doesn't do the trick, pull out the rhetorical intimidation hammer. Bush's one-two against his own base might succeed. But he should know that the people he's fighting against know how to fight back.

Excellent disection of Bush's talking points!