President Surprised by Conservative Backlash?

In today’s Washington Times there is an interesting story on the anger raised by conservatives following a recent speech by President Bush on immigration. The reaction “surprised” the White House. My question is “How can the White House be surprised when it constantly tries to alienate the conservative base?”

During a speech last week on immigration President Bush said the following:

Those determined to find fault with this bill will always be able to look at a narrow slice of it and find something they don’t like. If you want to kill the bill if you don’t want to do what’s right for America you can pick one little aspect out of it you can use it to frighten people. Or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all.

As noted in the Times “Some Republicans on Capitol Hill said that Mr. Bush seemed to be questioning their patriotism and several conservative activists said the president was splitting the Republican Party by insulting those who have been his most loyal supporters.”

This accusation is right on the money! President Bush and the administration have used the “patriotism attack” many times and it is wearing thin. There are many of us who believe that if you want to do what’s right for America regarding illegal immigration you build a border fence you enforce existing employment and immigration laws you address the outdated “anchor baby” law.

There is NOTHING in the immigration bill that addresses these topics better than they have been addressed in other bills. The White House talks about enforcement but you need political will to do it. They somehow want us to believe that if we go along with them and grant mass amnesty they will then start to enforce immigration laws.

To say that if you don’t support this bill you “don’t want to do what’s right for America” is insulting and this kind of attitude is one of the main reasons why the Republican Party is suffering. We had such a tremendous coalition that was built throughout the 80s and 90s and the last six years have done incredible damage to it.

The Times quoted White House spokesman Tony Snow as saying that the “immigration dispute between the president and conservatives ‘does not mark a point of disjunction’ and emphasized that the White House recognizes and is responding to conservative opposition to the measure.”

Recognizing and responding? I’ll say they are. They are responding by continuing to ram a terrible immigration “reform” bill down the throats of Americans.

There are so many aspects to the bill which are bad and I’ve addressed them in previous commentary. As noted in The Dangers of Doing ‘Nothing’ About Illegal Immigration:

We have the laws in place both old and recent to increase the level of Border Patrol Agents to construct hundreds of miles of security fencing and to punish employers for illegal hiring practices. We can deport law-breakers now and we have a system that allows for legal immigration. Add a strong dose of political cajones and not passing this bill doesn’t seem so “dangerous” or “unacceptable” to me.

American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene noted that in a recent meeting with Tony Snow Snow indicated that “at the end of the day we’re all on the same team.” As noted by the Times:

“So it’s easy to see why he’s in denial” Mr. Keene said “but the president’s prepared remarks and some of the things he has said make it clear that conservatives or at least those with the temerity to disagree with the White House line on immigration are no longer welcome on the team.”

Building a strong conservative coalition is going to take a lot of work. The problem is that we don’t have much time. In order to get things going the White House needs to forget about the “economics of cheap labor” forget about rewarding illegal behavior forget about treating conservatives with disdain. In other words the White House needs to “do what is right for America.”

Editor’s Note: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may attempt to end debate on the immigration bill this week and bring it to a final vote on the Senate floor. Continue contacting your senators through GOPUSA’s Legislative Action Center. Ask your senator to vote no on cloture to prevent a full vote on the Senate floor.