Is Bush going after the Hispanic vote with his new immigration policy?

[kentuck]

Since he crossed wires with the President of Mexico, this seemed to be slightly out of touch. However, this is the political season. Obviously they have their polls that show it is somehow political advantageous or they would not do it. Everything is political with Bush & Co. Will he be successful in pulling some of the Hispanic vote from the Democrats with his immigration proposal?

[jbfam4]

1. the short answer to your question..

YES !

[cthrumatrix]

17. WSJ says it won't be voted on until 2005 -- it's an election ploy

[StClone]

2. This is bad... for Bush

It shows desperation. He will lose a lot on a gamble that Hispanics will vote for the fluent(?) Spanish speaking pRez while loosing white males.

[beachdreamin]

3. Bush's Immigration Policy

Bush's is playing pure politics with his new Immigration policy.This could come back to bite Bush in the ass and it should. There are 9 Million of AMERICANS with no jobs and Bush is allowing Millions of "illegal aliens" to gain citizenship and jobs. I wonder if Arnold will have to reinstate driver's licenses for all these "illegals" now.

The other problem with Bush's proposal is the Health Care for all these people. Today, our health care industry is being over run by people with no Health Care coverage and that is passed on to all Americans currently driving up the Health Care cost to millions of Americans. I believe Bush's "illegal aliens" proposal will be a Huge mistake for the majority of America.

[Gin]

4. is the pope polish?

gin

[lib13]

5. Conservatives agree with you

This is pissing off conservatives more than anyone else....

[d_ashley]

10. it sure is pissing conservatives off and they will fight it BUT...

rush limbaugh may actually have this one right. his so-called "big theory" is that bush is stealing democrats issues with policies such as these (i.e. nominating estrada, the medicare package for seniors, etc), and in doing so, bush hopes to destroy the democratic party. he doesn't need to steal 30-40% of each traditionally democratic voting group (hispanics, blacks, unions, etc.), just 3-5% of each one which could essentially set him up for a landslide win. in doing so, at least in rush's mind, this could effectively destroy the democratic party for years to come.

[StClone]

12. Problem

Real Dems will not vote for Bush. But he will lose real Publicans. Middle grounders will "say what?"

[stanwyck]

14. Where will these people go?

will they come over to us? And vote Democratic? My concern is that the people who are so hotly opposed to increased immigration and who also avidly support Homeland Security will not find much to like about the Democrats. So. Where will they go?

[dansolo]

25. Home?

They just won't go out and vote. That's fine by me.

[d_ashley]

15. i'm not so sure...

this is a ploy to garner moderate and centrist hispanic votes which could backfire if a moderate democrat such as lieberman or gephardt wins the nomination. this would be due to the fact that he may lose more republican moderates than he does gain hispanic moderates. however, if someone percieved as extreme left-wing, such as dean, wins the nomination, it is not likely that even moderate conservatives would change their vote. bush would simply be seen as the lesser of two evils.

[Skittles]

26. OK

please explain exactly HOW BUSH could EVER be the "lesser of two evils".

[newyawker99]

22. Hi d_ashley!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Emboldened Chimp]

6. What? Smirk play politics? Perish the thought!

He would NEVER do anything for mere political gain. Haven't you heard that he's brought honesty and integrity back to the White House?

/sarcasm

[kentuck]

7. Perhaps he expects Congress to shoot it down??

He can say he tried....

[lovedems]

8. What is shocking to me

is their "ID card" allows them to open bank accounts in the US. I am not against that but it screams to me "You can't get a drivers license in this country, but our banks will gladly take your money!" The saying is, the more people who come north, the more money goes south. So the banks charge these people $10 a pop for transferring money to their families in Mexico. It looks like more corporate greed if you ask me.

[Gin]

16. I think I heard 30 billion yearly gets sent back to mexico.....

Fox is no dummy...we are supporting the US/Iraq/and Mexico.. Damn were generous!

[lotteandollie]

9. That would be a first.

To have a politician pandering to a segment of society.

[NoKingGeorge]

11. These 3-6 year temps will pay taxes and then

have to go home. Will the government send there tax refunds South?
Can they vote? If not how would this benefit * other than giving corporations a big cut on their labor costs?

[ButterflyBlood]

13. yes but I doubt it'll work

and he'll piss off the xenophobe vote who could stay home. this is great great news.

[Silverhair]

28. Wishfull thinking, and wrong.

The conservative vote will turn out. The Angry Left also energizes them to stop the Angry Left.

It doesn't need to capture the ENTIRE Latino vote to work. All he needs is a few Latino votes that he doesn't now have. If he gets one in 20 Latinos to switch, it will be enough to put New Mexico back as a red state, keep Arizona his, and put California back in play.

[wuushew]

18. Where is Pat Buchanan and what is thinking?

$64,000 question

[lovedems]

19. He was on the Today Show this morning and he was saying

that immigrants are taking jobs away from americans. He made an analogy if that a farmer can't find an american citizen to come pick oranges at 6.00/hr then that farmer needs to raise his wage to 8.00/hr. He said employers need to pay citizens enough of an income to support themselves and their family and not take jobs away for cheap labor. That is in a nutshell.

[CalebHayes]

20. ummmmm.... Yeah..... DUH!

[slackmaster]

21. Yes and it will probably backfire on him

Just like attempted pandering did to Gray Davis in California.

Mark my words. There is no Hispanic vote. Hispanics are as diverse among themselves as the population at large.

[Cleita]

23. I just had an epiphany.

Besides the other reasons I gave on your other thread, here we have a ready source of new soldiers for our endless wars.

[Granite]

24. I thought Bush* didn't govern by polls?

Isn't that what they always tell us? I'm sure he's really just interested in helping Mexican immigrants get a little part of the American dream. No politics involved in this decision at all. Yeah right :puke:

Oh yeah - couple of little points - there is no vote on this 'till 2005, there is no way in hell the Repubs are going to vote for it, and Bush* won't go to the wall for it - pretty bloody convenient, no?

[Blue_Roses]

27. Well, why not?

He tried it in 2000...lol!

George W. Bush Commits To Free Trade With Latin America
August 25, 2000

"Should I become president, I will look south, not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental commitment of my presidency. Just as we ended the great divide between East and West, so today we can overcome the North-South divide. This begins with a renewed commitment to democracy and freedom in this hemisphere -- because human freedom, in the long run, is our best weapon against poverty, disease and tyranny. . . . "

--snip-

The United States is destined to have a "special relationship" with Mexico, as clear and strong as we have had with Canada and Great Britain. Historically, we have had no closer friends and allies.
And with Canada, our partner in NATO and Nafta, we share, not just a border, but a bond of good will."

"Our ties of history and heritage with Mexico are just as deep.
Differences are inevitable between us. But they will be differences among family, not between rivals. To strengthen that bond, our two countries need a meeting at the highest level, shortly after the American election -- even before the new presidents of our nations are inaugurated. Should I be elected, I will use that November summit to keep Mexican-American relations moving forward. "

-snip-

"We must talk about the availability and cleanliness of water on both sides of the border, about opening the promise of Nafta to small businesses and entrepreneurs, about economic development in areas of Mexico that send illegal immigrants to this country, about improving health and criminal justice in both nations."
-snip-


"...I look forward to working closely with the nations of this hemisphere but recognize that they cannot be bullied into progress.
We will treat all Americans -- North, Central and South -- with dignity..."

http://www.australianpolitics.com/news/2000/00-08-25.shtml

Yeah, he really stuck to that promise...:eyes:

[King Coal]

29. The funny thing is

Most hispanics are against illegal aliens being allowed to stay.