Yet again, Bush made another pitch for a Guest Worker Program in a speech earlier this week in Kansas. In a response to a (canned) question from the audience he had this to say about scab laborers (illegal aliens), "It is humane to say to a person, 'You are doing a job somebody else won't do. Here is a temporary card to enable you to do (it),' " .

EXCUSE ME?

I am so tired of this red herring being trotted out to excuse Corporate American and elected officials owned by the likes of Abramoff using this reasoning to push forward a WRONG AGENDA of a Guest Worker Program.
What I would like to know, the questions I would like answered are:

1. Does Mr. Bush recommend honest Americans break laws by working for cash, and not paying our taxes, so that we can afford to compete with those in America illegally?

2. Does Mr. Bush recommend that legalized Americans begin living 20, 30 even 40 to a house so that we can afford to work for less money?

3. Does Mr. Bush feel Middle Class Americans should see their standard of living drop until they are living as Lower Class Americans so that these illegal workers can have a life in America at our expense?

Enough already, it is time for a change, and glad I found a like minded voice in the wilderness.

Pinto Bean
http://www.blogcharm.com/beltwaypintobeans/

Jan. 23, 2006, 10:31PM
Bush still touting guest worker plan
But it would not include amnesty, he assures critics
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3607342.html

By GEBE MARTINEZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON - President Bush renewed his push for guest worker permits for illegal immigrants Monday while reassuring conservative critics that the program offers no amnesty and will include a crackdown on infiltration at the border.

"It is humane to say to a person, 'You are doing a job somebody else won't do. Here is a temporary card to enable you to do (it),' " Bush told a questioner at a forum in Kansas.

The president's long-standing guest worker proposal has deeply divided Republicans between those who consider the workers vital to the economy and others concerned about border and national security. The House passed a bill last month that blocked any mention of a guest worker program.

Some senators, led by John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., have proposed letting the 11 million immigrants in the United States work toward legalization or citizenship by paying a fine and passing background checks.

But the president emphasized that he favors only temporary legal status, similar to the concept in a bill sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. It would require workers to leave the country after a few years and apply for permanent status from within their home countries.

"I do not believe that any guest worker program ought to contain amnesty because I believe that, if you granted amnesty to the people here working now, that that would cause another 8 million people or so to come here," Bush said.


More penalties
The House bill dealt with tighter border security and increased penalties for illegal immigrants and their U.S. employers. The White House supported the House bill on the assumption that the Senate would include a type of guest worker plan in its version.


"Everything remains in play, but the one thing that there's consensus about is that security has to be the foundation of any reform," Cornyn said Monday.

Bush's reluctance to specify exactly what he will support is confounding activists on both sides of the issue as the Senate prepares to work on a bill.

His desire for a guest worker program likely will require the unusual step of working with Democrats to win Senate approval, said Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tight immigration controls. At the same time, the president has implied he will not favor green cards for the illegal immigrants already here.

"If he were to say that, it would be helpful to know what he means. But he does not say that," Camarota said.

Also trying to read between the lines is Angela Kelley of the National Immigration Forum, which favors legalization for the workers.

The president "has been very, very squishy about whether there's any permanent status at the end (of the visa period). He's trying to send a signal that there's not, but he has not closed the door on it, either," Kelley said.

gebe.martinez@chron com