Grassroots Rage

Gary Bauer's End of Day Report is a great asset. Here's his thoughts of Pres Bush's speech and other surrounding events. Please note that I do not always agree with everything he says, but I do like his ideas most of the time.

To: Friends and SupportersFrom:
Gary L. Bauer, Chairman
Campaign for Working Families
Date: Friday, June 1, 2007


Grassroots Rage

It’s getting hot here in Washington, and I don’t mean the summer heat.Both political parties are feeling the heat right now from their coresupporters, and grassroots activists on the Left and the Right are takingtheir rage out against the Washington establishment.

On the Left, the issue is the war funding bill that passed the Democrat-controlled Congress over the objections of MoveOn.Org, which referred tothe troop funding bill as “the most shameful moment on Iraq since the voteto authorize war in 2002.” MoveOn is now organizing protests againstSenate Democrat Leader Harry Reid.

Cindy Sheehan quit the anti-war movement in disgust, issuing a blistering“letter of resignation” blasting the Democrat Party. Liberal blogs arefull of posts from demoralized members vowing to withhold funds from theDemocrat Party and promising to defeat Democrat incumbents who voted tofund our troops.

On the Right, the issue is immigration “reform.” The respected pollingcompany Rasmussen Reports recently noted, “Each time immigration reformdominates the news, President Bush’s job approval ratings tumble to newlows.”

The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party acknowledged to the press thathe has received “hundreds and hundreds of calls, e-mails and letters fromRepublicans angry about the bill. They were saying, ‘I am going toregister independent and not give you any more money’ -- and that’s thebase of our party saying that.”

Republican Party officials in Iowa noted that they have had “nothing butangry phone calls streaming into our office since it was announced … notone happy caller.”

Today’s Washington Times reports that the Republican National Committeerecently fired all of its telephone solicitors in part due to a 40% declinein contributions. According to one of the fired staffers, “Every donor…wereached has been angry…and for 99% of them immigration is the No. 1 issue.”

Today, Peggy Noonan writes about the strikingly offensive tone that theWhite House is taking in promoting Ted Kennedy’s immigration plan. This isan extraordinary column from Noonan, who has written eloquently about herlove for immigrants. Noonan has championed the administration and, likeall conservatives, has only wished for the president to succeed. For herto write the column she has today should be a wakeup call for the WhiteHouse.

Here are some excerpts:

“For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters havefelt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don’t like endlessgushing spending…? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental…power?Too bad. … But on immigration it has changed from ‘Too bad’ to ‘You’rebad.’

“The president has taken to suggesting that opponents of his immigrationbill are unpatriotic -- they “don’t want to do what’s right for America.’His ally Sen. Lindsey Graham has said, ‘We’re gonna tell the bigots to shutup.’ …Why would they speak so insultingly, with such hostility, ofopponents who are concerned citizens? And often, though not exclusively,concerned conservatives?”

Peggy’s got a point: The White House saves its harshest rhetoric for itsown friends over a domestic policy dispute, not those who would see theirown country humiliated on the battlefield in front of an enemy that hasvowed to destroy us. And she’s not the only one to notice this.

Yesterday, a reporter for the Houston Chronicle wrote, “President Bushsounded like he hoped to sever ties with the remaining 30 percent who likehim when he went after critics in his party this week over opposition tohis latest immigration plan.”

But, my friends, here’s the main thrust of Noonan’s op-ed:

“What political conservatives…must understand at this point is that theyare not breaking with the White House on immigration. …Whatconservatives…must recognize is that the White House has broken with them.”

I couldn’t agree more.

It is not a conservative value to reward law-breaking, which this bill doesby granting illegal aliens visas to live and work in this country beforethose who have applied legally in their native countries.

It is not a conservative value to fail to assimilate or “Americanize”immigrants, which this bill does by allowing the Z visa to be renewed forthe lifetime of the holder.It is not a conservative value to burden our own citizens with a massiveamnesty for millions of poorly-educated, low-skill workers, who willconsume more in services than they will pay in taxes.And it is not a conservative value to put forth such a massive plan thatdoes not adequately address the most serious national security issuesconfronting our country.

For more on this last point – the intersection of immigration and the waragainst Islamofascism – please read my weekly column at Human EventsOnline, at http://www.humanevents.com



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