Clinton Praising Bush...

denverfandenverfan Posts: 218
edited July 2006 in A Moving Train
Clinton praises Bush on immigration reform

7/8/2006, 3:08 p.m. PT
By ROBERT JABLON
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton praised President Bush on Saturday for supporting reforms that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to seek citizenship but said the debate in Congress is being fomented by Republicans who want to divide America.

"I'm proud of him for doing it and I thanked him for doing it," he said of Bush during a "Cafe con Clinton" breakfast speech to the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights advocacy group.

Clinton said Bush's roots in Texas — which has one of the nation's largest Hispanic populations — have helped him view immigrants as people rather than statistics.

But Clinton also argued that the nation's government is controlled by Republican ideological hard-liners who want to use immigration to divide Americans and distract them from issues such as the war in Iraq and the health care crisis.

Instead of equal opportunity, they support a "financial elite" because they favor "concentrated wealth and power," Clinton said.

"They believe in a government that is secret, unaccountable and that maximizes its own power," he said. "They really believe the world works better if they run it and we keep our mouths shut."

Clinton supported an immigration reform measure passed by the Senate that would provide a way for many of the estimated 12 million foreigners living in the country illegally to become citizens. A House-approved bill would make illegal immigrants felons and build 700 miles of border walls. House and Senate negotiators so far have not been able to work out a compromise.

Bush has said he wants to enforce the borders so fewer people sneak across but also provide a way for those already in the United States to become legal. He has praised Hispanic immigrants as hardworking and family oriented. Clinton used similar language in his own speech.

The message played well with La Raza, which opposes the House bill and whose current president, Janet Murguia, was an assistant in the Clinton White House.

Before Clinton's speech, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa noted a string of rallies over the immigration issue, including one in March that sent 500,000 people into the streets of Los Angeles and garnered international attention.

"You literally reshaped the political landscape of our nation ... we can still see a movement blooming before our very eyes," he said.

Both Democrats and Republicans have been looking for ways to court Hispanics, whose fast-growing population gives them the potential to become an enormous voting force. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was scheduled to address the convention on Tuesday.

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/washington/index.ssf?/base/politics-8/1152394158292660.xml&storylist=washington

What a fucking joke...(R) and (D) working together to rot this country from the inside out? This is what I make of this, you?
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity but they've always worked for me." Gonzo

'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude

Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • know1know1 Posts: 6,794
    I think all immigration should be easy, quick, and simply legal.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • denverfandenverfan Posts: 218
    Seems to me we're providing preferential treatment to illegals...In Colorado, it's much harder for a citizen to receive government povided programs, than it is for an illegal to receive these programs. Point being, illegal immigrants here in CO dont want to become legal citizens, Denver is a sanctuary city. There is no risk for illegals to be deported, all's they have to do is get here.

    Bush just provided more incentive...not less like he's saying he's doing. Makes me sick.
    "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity but they've always worked for me." Gonzo

    'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude

    Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
  • blackredyellowblackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    denverfan wrote:
    Seems to me we're providing preferential treatment to illegals...In Colorado, it's much harder for a citizen to receive government povided programs, than it is for an illegal to receive these programs. Point being, illegal immigrants here in CO dont want to become legal citizens, Denver is a sanctuary city. There is no risk for illegals to be deported, all's they have to do is get here.

    Bush just provided more incentive...not less like he's saying he's doing. Makes me sick.

    How is it much harder for a citizen to receive government provided programs?
    My whole life
    was like a picture
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    “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
    ― Abraham Lincoln
  • SoonForgotten2SoonForgotten2 Posts: 2,245
    But hey, Clinton's a liberal, right?
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  • This isn't really Bush's idea, he's merely supporting the Senate immigration reform bill sponsored by John McCain and Teddy Kennedy. He was pretty vague on immigration before the senate passed this bill, then he jumped on board with it. Now it's the nutjobs in the House, like Colorado's Tom Tancredo, who are holding up real immigration reform.
    "Of course it hurts. You're getting fucked by an elephant."
  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    "They believe in a government that is secret, unaccountable and that maximizes its own power," he said. "They really believe the world works better if they run it and we keep our mouths shut."


    great quote. that bill. so dead-on, as usual. i may have to use this in my sig one day.
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    denverfan wrote:

    Instead of equal opportunity, they support a "financial elite" because they favor "concentrated wealth and power," Clinton said.

    "They believe in a government that is secret, unaccountable and that maximizes its own power," he said. "They really believe the world works better if they run it and we keep our mouths shut."

    enough said... the funny thing is they have average joe voting for them
  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    But hey, Clinton's a liberal, right?

    no, he's a democrat. which is the root of the word democracy, btw.

    we all remember THAT concept, don't we??

    :p
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    on a side note... future interns are drooling over the Hillary '08 campaign :p
  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    my2hands wrote:
    enough said... the funny thing is they have average joe voting for them


    that's because average joe is an intellectually lazy ball scratcher who responds better to sound bites that lengthy explanations of complex issues, like immigration.
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    that's because average joe is an intellectually lazy ball scratcher who responds better to sound bites that lengthy explanations of complex issues, like immigration.



    i definitely agree with this
  • denverfandenverfan Posts: 218
    How is it much harder for a citizen to receive government provided programs?

    Locally, those providing government services are required to provide for those undocumented, no questions asked. On the other hand, documented citizens (naturalized or not) are subjected to an application process, referral's, etc., which are subject to denial.

    There is a news story floating around where a homless disabled veteran was denied medicaid (he didn't qualify for whatever reason) yet an undocumented worker next in line was approved. Obvioulsy it goes deeper than this but still strokes the point perfectly.
    "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity but they've always worked for me." Gonzo

    'If my fuckin' ex-wife told me to take care of her dog while her and her new boyfriend went to Honolulu, I'd tell her to go fuck herself." -The Dude

    Whisky Drinker, Non-Hunter from Denver.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    reform? What reform? He's praising him for doing nothing.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    Anytime Clinton has praised Bush it has been with a caveat. He is/was an excellent politician. He didn't exactly give him a gushing compliment. He made note of the fact that since Bush is from a border state he is more sensitive to immigrant issues than some yahoo from Iowa. He made it clear that Republicans definitely have more of a love/hate relationship with immigrants than the Dems.
  • Eliot RosewaterEliot Rosewater Posts: 2,659
    gabers wrote:
    Anytime Clinton has praised Bush it has been with a caveat. He is/was an excellent politician. He didn't exactly give him a gushing compliment. He made note of the fact that since Bush is from a border state he is more sensitive to immigrant issues than some yahoo from Iowa. He made it clear that Republicans definitely have more of a love/hate relationship with immigrants than the Dems.
    Great point. Bill is right too. Damn I wish I would have appreciated him more when he was president....
  • know1 wrote:
    I think all immigration should be easy, quick, and simply legal.
    Thanks, Bill


    :D
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  • EvilToasterElfEvilToasterElf Posts: 1,119
    But hey, Clinton's a liberal, right?

    I believe Clinton is trying to come off as someone...rational, on the left. Someone who's vitriolic hatred of the administration doesn't turn everything he says into inane bluster, and someone who can actually reach across party lines to people he doesn't agree with...all of these things will be useful as the first husband to the next president.
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