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Thursday, May 18, 2006

DOWN RIO GRANDE WAY: The Mexican socialist oligarchy announces that Mexico will file suit in U.S. federal court if American troops "detain illegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexico border." Translation: The Mexican government believes it has a right to violate U.S. sovereignty with impugnity, enforceable by the decree not of a Mexican court, not even an international court, but an American court. Meanwhile, Dick Durbin frets that building a fence between the two countries might "sour" relations with Mexico. Words like "Orwellian" and "surreal" fail.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

LEGACY: George W. Bush: a Rockefeller Republican who prayed a lot. Is this how history will remember the man? The groundswell now emerging against the amnesty disguised as a "comprehensive solution" makes it reasonable to wonder: Is Bush headed toward the same dismal presidential echelon as the famously tone-deaf peanut farmer who got elected only because of Nixon's near-destruction of the GOP and Gerald Ford's bizarre insistence that Poland wasn't "dominated" by the Soviet Union? Apparently Rove thinks he can eke out GOP control of both houses of Congress by "turning out the base" yet again. Keep dreaming, big guy. It's the base that's furious, Karl — livid at you and your boss, no matter how many times you try to play the married-gays-are-coming card. It has taken time for conservatives to "get it" that Bush has been wrong about everything important, except: the need to defeat jiadism, the importance of low taxes, and of course solid judicial appointments. Don't get me wrong: Those aren't minor achievements. But their importance to GOP voters and conservative independents will continue to wane as Bush continues to blow it on immigration, and as he allows the war in Iraq to drag on rather than kicking ass the way Reagan would have, and the way Shelby Steele wonders why we aren't doing now. One remembers the Reagan stalwarts who pleaded with the Gipper not to select GHW Bush for the second spot on the ticket, not to bring this philosophically neutered Texas careerist into the inner circle, not to trust him with the future of the Reagan Revolution. Oh well. Maybe it's true that Republicans govern best when they're in the minority, because that's when the remember the dangers of power. Let's practice. "Speaker Pelosi." Deep breath, now try: "President-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton." At least we'd know what we're getting.
KENNEDY JUSTICE: Ted admits it would be a good idea to keep actual criminals from coming to the USA under the auspices of his immigration-amnesty-by-some- other-name. I wonder about his views on illegal aliens who don't have drivers licenses, yet who drive American roadways. Interesting, that when the senator from Massachusetts left the roadway back in 1969, and took that fateful detour off the pier, he was driving on an expired license. Interesting, too, that his license problem got "fixed" before the legal proceedings began. Surprised that Teddy is opposed to "criminalizing" people whose very presence in this country is a crime, but whose presence on the voting rolls in key states may be the major infusion the Democrats need to get back in power?

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

BUSH GETS IT SERIOUSLY WRONG: The president's quest for "middle ground" on immigration brings to mind Chesterton's observation that the world has divided itself into progressive and conservatives. "The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected. Even when the revolutionist might himself repent of his revolution, the traditionalist is already defending it as part of his tradition." Everything Bush said last night was predictable, not because the White House leaked most of it in advance but because this failed approach has been America's policy for more than two decades.The president's immigration "solution" amounts to little more than shoring up the status quo, and that is unacceptable if America is to have a future as the kind of nation our founders had in mind. Yes, America is a "nation of immigrants" but the distinction between legal and illegal is crucial and must be kept at the center of the debate. The president would have hit a home run if he had said something along these lines:
"Our great and immediate priority must be enforcement and protecting our borders. Some will say a "comprehensive" approach is required, and I agree we must come to terms with those who are here illegally, but too often that language has meant: amnesty now, enforcement later, which really means enforcement never. Those days are gone. Today we must act to secure our borders."
Bush couldn't say that because he doesn't believe it. When push comes to shove, Bush too often reverts to his family's Rockefeller Republican status. Meanwhile: Michelle Malkin offers an excellent round-up here, emphasizing how and why Bush's approach is "too little, too late." Deborah Saunders explains that what's needed are big time sanctions against employers. Wes Pruden insists Bush has sided with the GOP's corporate wing over its conservative wing. Tom Tancredo warns: "If the president thinks (the House will now approve a guest-worker program), he's confusing us with the Senate. The American people understand that blanket amnesty is not a pre-requisite for border security." (If Tancredo is correct, his party will remain in control of Congress next year. If Tancredo is wrong, Frist and Hastert will get to move into the small offices their party occupied for decades.) The truly important issues — the big, powerful, transcendent issues — go well beyond the specifics of immigration and America's southern border. Former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm's warning about how cultures commit suicide is more timely than ever. Money quote on how to destroy a nation:
[Start by turning] America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar Seymour Lipset put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans."

Sunday, May 14, 2006

OCTOBER 19: That's the day my book Leaving the Left will appear in bookstores. Readers of the essay that preceded the book will recall that the left's refusal to celebrate the January 2005 Iraqi elections was the tipping point: the moment I came to terms with the fact that, over a period of many years, I had been leaving the left in small but significant steps toward something better. My book chronicles these many steps, as the subtitle makes rather clear: "Moments in the News That Made Me Ashamed to Be a Liberal." The obvious question: How can you get your hands on one of the first copies? Well, given that gas prices may be even higher by October, I cannot in good conscience urge you to drive to your local bookstore and buy a copy of the book at that time. Consider ordering online so the book can be delivered to your doorstep. Am I suggesting that by ordering an advance copy today you will be playing a crucial role in saving the planet from further warming and eventual widespread flooding? Not exactly, but...