A petulant Michael Chertoff (a man whose always best served by his silence) has decided to smack-down the GOP’s Conservative base.
A nice strategy if you’re an “Open Border Democrat,” or even a Moderate “Cheap Labor” Republican, but it’s certainly not the best way for a so-called "Conservative Republican administration" to reach out to America’s Conservative majority.
“I don't believe Americans in large numbers are going to go pick lettuce,” Mr. Chertoff says.
“What you will see is a major shift of our businesses, certainly the agriculture business, out of the country, and that that is going to be a very, very bad thing,” he says.
Mr. Chertoff also faulted much of the right-wing blathersphere for its opposition to the Senate bill.
“We are fighting a very heavy headwind,” he says, pointing to talk radio as a major culprit.
A nice strategy if you’re an “Open Border Democrat,” or even a Moderate “Cheap Labor” Republican, but it’s certainly not the best way for a so-called "Conservative Republican administration" to reach out to America’s Conservative majority.
“I don't believe Americans in large numbers are going to go pick lettuce,” Mr. Chertoff says.
“What you will see is a major shift of our businesses, certainly the agriculture business, out of the country, and that that is going to be a very, very bad thing,” he says.
Mr. Chertoff also faulted much of the right-wing blathersphere for its opposition to the Senate bill.
“We are fighting a very heavy headwind,” he says, pointing to talk radio as a major culprit.
Lawmakers are being swamped with letters, e-mails and phone calls from constituents with opinions about the proposed changes.
"Senators on both sides are being pounded by talk radio," said Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., told the Houston (Texas) Chronicle.
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=5430
As the good folks at Freedomfolks, put it, “Blathersphere? WTF? So I’m thinking they haven’t gotten the memo, the one that suggests not excreting on your supporters heads? Perhaps it hasn’t crossed the border illegally yet?"
Without question, the biggest problem with the failed Bill was that enforcement was an afterthought, at best.
And even a cursory look back at how the last “Amnesty Bill” (the 1986 Bill) worked out proves the legitimacy of the skepticism of the huge majority of Americans who support enforcement first.
Moreover, the “cheap labor” argument is ill-served by the push for mass legalization. After all, once these 12 million illegals become “Americans,” they will be guaranteed the minimum wage, withholding taxes, social security, etc., they will no longer be “cheap labor,” in fact, they’ll be part of that mass of Americans who no longer want to do all those drudgery-jobs, at least for the subsistence wages some employers want to offer for those jobs.
See where that goes?
Amnesty creates the need for ever more cheap labor and ever more amnesty.
Better to focus on going after the rogue employers, from those companies that hire massive numbers of “undocumented workers,” “off the books,” to the homeowner who hires a few workers at a local shape-up. KILL those illicit jobs by heavily fining these employers for first offenses and jailing them for second offenses and the vast majority of the illegal aliens here will self-deport.
The idea that “we need these people to voluntarily come out from the shadows,” is absurd! For one thing, NONE of the criminal aliens, nor potential terrorists here illegally are going to step forward under ANY process. Moreover, a recent Mexican Poll asserts that fewer than 40% of those Mexican nationals in America illegally would want American citizenship even if were offered free, as they remain fiercely loyal to Mexico.
So how is offering something, the majority of illegals don’t even want (U.S. citizenship) going to make those we desperately want out of the shadows (the criminals and potential terrorists, of whom over 90% probably don’t want citizenship) come out and identify themselves?
The short answer is, “It won’t.”
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So what's wrong with "Enforcement First," again?
Man, I am down with you on this one. I have grown so cynical about this 'conservative-in-name-only' bunch lately, I'm beginning to think we may have to take to the streets. I thought I had left all that behind in the sixties.
ReplyDeleteYou make a number of good points, though. They have not enforced the existing laws, so why should we expect them to enforce this one? And, as you have so forcefully pointed out, the solution lies in enforcing the existing laws at the employer level and closing the damn border.
Or perhaps we should just get it over with and buy Mexico?
You've got it 100% right, Mick!
ReplyDeleteFor me, the odd thing is that the Democrats have never offered any coherent argument in favor of open borders or mass legalization of illegals, but the so-called "Moderate" Republicans certainly have - CHEAP LABOR.
BUT, if cheap labor is the argument, then the answer isn't amnesty, nor mass legalizations, but the reverse - maintaining the status quo, because we ALREADY HAVE all that "cheap labor!"
In fact, legaling the estimated 12 million illegals now here, would only undermine their cheap labor status via Min Wage Laws, etc., etc. creating a need for ever MORE cheap labor/illegal immigration.
You can see where that goes, right?
So even the pro-amnesty side's ONE coherent argument can be shown to be at odds with this Bill and with the entire pro-amnesty view.
But at least it's unmasked the pseudo, semi and so-called "Conservatives" and revealed them for what they really are.
So, I guess that's kind of a good, if not scary, thing.