Thread: Jeb Bush Says Immigrants Are 'More Fertile,' Twitter Gets Mad

Jeb Bush Says Immigrants Are 'More Fertile,' Twitter Gets Mad

By Ben Terris and Matt Berman

Updated: June 14, 2013 | 10:34 a.m.
June 14, 2013 | 10:24 a.m.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

It's hard to give a speech nowadays without starting some sort of a Twitter war. This morning, at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, it was Jeb Bush's odd way of talking about immigrants' ability to procreate.

"Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans," Bush said. "Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity."

The theme of the conference is the "Road to Majority" for conservatives, and part of that equation will require winning support from immigrants.

Especially because immigrants are a rising percentage of the population.

While it may seem strange to imagine immigrants as baby-making machines capable of eventually deciding elections, most people seemed more interested in Bush's word choice.

Are immigrants more "fertile" just because they have more children? Let's let Twitter decide.

On the Fertility of Immigrants

• daveweigel@daveweigel
  
  100% true. RT @michaelpfalcone: Jeb Bush tells Faith & Freedom audience: "Immigrants are more fertile”
  
  
  
  2 HOURS AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  
  
  
  
• daveweigel@daveweigel
  
  If you're unaware that fecundity of recent immigrants is higher than that of current citizens, don't write about immigration
  
  
  
  2 HOURS AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  
  
  
  
• pourmecoffee@pourmecoffee
  
  @daveweigel Fertility is ability to reproduce, not birthrate, which while high is also falling rapidly goo.gl/4C6Cg so no.
  
  
  
  AN HOUR AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  
  
  
  
• michaelscherer@michaelscherer
  
  .@daveweigel Ability to reproduce is different than decision to reproduce. Fertile not right word. Nor fecundity.
  
  
  
  2 HOURS AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  
  
  
  
• Matt Yglesias@mattyglesias
  
  Let’s give Jeb a break, eh? Immigrants have a higher fertility rate. They’re not “more fertile”. He misspoke. You know what he meant.
  
  
  
  AN HOUR AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  
  
  
  
• Jonathan Cohn@CitizenCohn
  
  Not sure why Jeb Bush "fertile" comment is getting attention. Common usage/meaning nber.org/papers/w3608 Slow morning on twitter, I guess.
  
  
  
  2 HOURS AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  
  
  
  
• Elise Foley@elisefoley
  
  The fertility comment from Jeb Bush was weird, but Latinos (of course not all are immigrants) are on average younger than the general pop.
  
  
  
  2 HOURS AGOREPLYRETWEETFAVORITE
  
  

http://www.nationaljournal.com/polit...s-mad-20130614

"Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans," Bush said. "Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity."

Simply another progressive Bush family member.

If he's so high on 'immigrants' perhaps he should become one. He would look nice in Cuba. Or maybe Saudi Arabia.

I'm more concerned that Jeb Bush doesn't reproduce because people like him and his offspring contribute to the down fall of the human race since his has the intelligence of a soapdish

Another Bush for amnesty

Jeb wants to fix economy with illegal immigrants

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told WND this week the amnesty plan currently in the Senate is identical to the plan of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pushed by George W. Bush during his presidency.

She also said her constituents were more outraged by that piece of legislation than any other she’s ever seen, including Obamacare.

Jeb Bush may have been speaking to conservative Christians, but he wasn’t preaching to the choir.

His pitch to grow the economy by providing amnesty for illegal immigrants was met with silence in a packed room at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” Conference.

The Republican former governor of Florida may not have helped his case by stating, “Immigrants are more fertile and they love families,” which appeared to confuse the audience.

Bush presented a four-point economic plan that justified amnesty by arguing America needs more taxpayers to pay for the retirement benefits of the aging baby boomer generation.

Immigrants bring a younger population and “create far more businesses than native-born Americans over the last 20 years,” claimed the brother of former President George W. Bush.

“We’re going to have fewer workers taking care of a larger number of people the country has a social contract with to be able to allow them to retire with dignity and purpose,” said the long-time proponent of a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.

Bush recommended more legal immigration to add more taxpaying citizens to the workforce to pay for boomers depending on government support, because, ”We cannot do that with the fertility rates that we have in our country. We’re below break-even today.”

“The one way that we can rebuild the demographic pyramid is to fix a broken immigration system to allow for people to come and learn English and play by our rules, to embrace our values and to pursue their dreams in our country with a vengeance to create more opportunities for all of us,” Bush said.

“This is a conservative idea,” he insisted. “If we do this we will rebuild our country in a way that will allow us to grow. If we don’t do it we will be in decline, since productivity of this country is dependent upon young people who are equipped to work hard,” he said.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told WND this week the amnesty plan currently in the Senate is identical to the plan of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pushed by George W. Bush during his presidency.

She also said her constituents were more outraged by that piece of legislation than any other she’s ever seen, including Obamacare.

The Senate killed that amnesty plan in 2007.

In 2002, Patrick Buchanan wrote in WND the McCain plan would have been a disaster for low-income workers who would have lost their jobs to even lower-paid immigrants.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/06/another-bush-for-amnesty-2/

Originally Posted by HAPPY2BME

Another Bush for amnesty

Jeb wants to fix economy with illegal immigrants

Like He Fixed Florida's Economy "NO THANKS"

Your State May Be In a Recession; Florida is in a DEPRESSION

Between Jeb Bush and Charlie Christ Florida is a WRECK and will take YEAR's to Recover