(Bill) Clinton praises Bush view on immigration reform

[question everything]

Last modified Saturday, July 8, 2006 5:18 PM PDT

Clinton praises Bush view on immigration reform

By: ROBERT JABLON - Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- 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.

(snip)

"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."

(snip)


http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/07/09/news/politics/16_32_097_8_06.txt

[fun n serious]

1. I here crickets..

I think Hill and Bill drank the coolaid.

[unlawflcombatnt]

15. I think they helped pore it,

maybe even helped make it.

[PATRICK]

44. AP picked this up

and the crickets had no competition when he made his comments on RFK Jr.'s claims about stolen Ohio in 2004. Which means that Clinton has to sneak in criticism with the old backhand to get Ap or anyone else to print it.

On the other hand the news people are always tickled or astounded when Clinton(who is still popular) has something good to say about the Bushes9who are not). Such refined rules of voluntary courtesy and censored news for Democrats. What a way to get a message through, via a pool of vomit and praise that should at best be tongue in cheek(the facial one).

[w4rma]

2. Shut up, Bill. You aren't helping. This is the kind of BS that cost

Dems in 1994 (except then it was "free" trade that he agreed with the corporatists on). I have no idea why Clinton is renowned as good at politics.

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. Big Dog is making it harder & harder....

for me love him the way I used to. What's with all the hangin' out with Bushes lately? If he's still trying to work on his "legacy", this isn't helping.

[OKthatsIT]

4. Friggin Globalist...Clinton can kiss my @$$

And he's soooooooooo chummy with the Bush's...Hillary thinks GW is charming...GAWD!

[jaysunb]

5. Bill, is right

Bush and most Texans & Californians have a much different take on this issue than people named Senselessbreener. Pres. Clinton, correctly states that, you can't easily replace 5% of the workforce overnight , if ever. I don't like Bush any more than anybody else here, but he's
right about immigration.

***** broke clock metaphor at work here********

[MrPrax]

13. True...

Many are right that there are economic consequences to any of the immigration plans, especially the current GOP plan that is based in fear and racism.

But you still can't blame people for being pissed off that the Oligarchy are really 'blue skying' THIS BS by parading the Dawg in the South with fucking Bush.

It speaks volumes to the crisis in American politics on a much more fundamental level.

[unlawflcombatnt]

14. No, Bush is Dead Wrong on Immigration

I live in California, and I can tell you that Bush doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground about immigration. His only concern is making sure his criminal Corporate buddies have continued access to cheap illegal labor.

We Californians do take a much different attitude toward illegal immigration. We want it completely stopped. Period. We don't want "guest workers" and we don't want amnesty.

unlawflcombatnt

EconomicPopulistCommentary

EconomicPatriotForum

___________
The economy needs balance between the "means of production" & "means of consumption."

[question everything]

27. But what about the ones that are already here?

As NYC Bloomberg is saying: physically sending back all the 9 or 12 million illegals is physically impossible and it would cripple many economies.

And what about stopping it right now? We know that sending the guards is not going to do this.

I think that all sides are just talking. No one is coming with real plan:

1.

2.

3.

Except the ones who want to physically expel all of them which, again, is nothing but talking.

[jaysunb]

30. I live in So Cal,

and I've very seldom heard anyone express that kind of thinking. Yes, there are some folks here and there who have let their racial bias get in the way of reality, but for the most part, people understand that these workers are an importantant part of our lifestyles.

[earth mom]

39. People are being PC about it but if you ask them how they REALLY feel

you'll get a much different picture.

I lived in So Cal almost my entire life up (from early 60s) until '98 when we packed up and moved and got the hell out because we could just not take the crowds and the traffic-TWO HOURS to GO 20 MILES-and low wages anymore. Having a population multiply to the extent it did in just 20-30 years is IMO, just time bomb waiting to go off. :nuke:

Ask anyone there and they will say that there are just TOO MANY PEOPLE! The people who have lived there any length of time will also tell you-without a doubt-that the quality of life has gone down the drain. How can it otherwise given the traffic, the crowds, the lines, the smog and the lack of good paying jobs?! Anyone who tells you otherwise is pro-immigration because it's probably their own family, friends or employees they are talking about and who they want amnesty given to.

[amandabeech]

46. It isn't always about race. It's also about sheer numbers of people,

supply and demand working its numbers on wages at the bottom.

If all the illegals and other new immigrants had all come from my own ancestral homelands, I'd still say that it is simply too crowded in many areas.

I moved from D.C. seven years ago and will be moving back later this summer. I love D.C., but the increasingly crowded conditions are not something I look forward too. From the time I moved down in '91 to the present, I cannot get over the incredibly rapid growth and resulting extreme congestion. In my opinion, few people are on their best behavior when confronted with such a level of crowding.

And don't get me started on the amount of well-watered farmland that we've paved over in the past 20 years. At this rate, I wonder when we will be forced to import food not because we like out-of-season fruits and vegetables, but because we will not be growing enough of the staples ourselves.

I feel badly for people who live in the hell holes of the world, and I'd like to help them, but not by increasing the population of this country to unsustainable levels.

[Biernuts]

42. So your position mirrors the House Republican hard-liners. (N/T)

[rodeodance]

38. yes, i agree (we have to deal with the ones already here).

[1932]

6. I hope people take the ten seconds required to read beyond subject.

[w4rma]

11. The Senate bill is bad for America and is a loser politically.

I read much farther than the headline.

About 2/3's of Americans are opposed to Bush's and President Clinton's stance on this (that includes a huge number of Democrats, probably a majority of Democrats). And Bill is out there trying to pin the stance to Dems at a time that it's pinned to Repukes.

Shut up, Bill Clinton.

[question everything]

28. Clinton has always been a pragmatist

If not Bush's than what are the alternatives?

1. Physically expelling all of them which cannot be done and is sheer demagoguery

2. Keeping all of them as second rate people, part of an underground economy to be exploited. This is something that Republicans cherish, especially the wealthy ones who employ them as their housekeepers, nannies and gardeners.

Personally, I don't know. What bothers me is how many liberals, many on DU, support them as "people who come here to work." No doubt, none of these liberals have lost their jobs, or know someone who did because they could not compete with them who work at lower wages and no benefits and, of course, no payroll taxes.

[Terran1212]

7. Clinton goes back and forth between praising Bush and condemning him

And it's not one of those mixed opinion or in the middle things. He either makes a statement of extreme disgust or love of Mr. Chimp.

[howmad1]

8. If only Bubba would have kept his pecker in his pants......

.....what a far, far better world this would have been.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

26. Harmful impact of his “character issues” has eclipsed his good deeds

Which is part of the reason he works so hard at playing both sides of the street to rebuild his legacy but as usual at any expense so long as he comes out looking good. I’ve been disappointed too many times by this very charismatic individual that makes you want to like him but may only be a very self-centered selfish egotist. Bottom line is I can’t trust Slick Willie with his personal agenda to represent the vital interests of the working class in the Democratic Party.

[Cha]

32. It's mind boggling to

realize.. that "woulda shoulda coulda" would have changed the course of world history so damn much!

[The Wielding Truth]

35. If we weren't such a bunch of Puritans, his X affairs would be his own

business.
Maybe he would have bargained big business into following the law and securing proof of legal worker status before a job is given and this issue would not exist.
Immigrants would have no choice but to get documented before they could work and live here.
But the Big Dawg was caught in the jaws of the jealous hyenas of the Republican party - AKA - Unrestrained Corporate America.

[silverojo]

9. Dear Bill:

Shut the fuck up, you butt-barnacle to the Bushes!

[unlawflcombatnt]

16. Well Put

He's certainly making it much easier to vote against Hilary.

[Sven77]

10. Bush's Blanket Amnesty Guest Worker Program

is gonna kill the middle class and the sovereignty of this nation. NAFTA and the Pan-American Union. Bush wants to spy on everything in our daily lives but leave the border security wide open. the fake right/left politics is becoming so apparent with hilary being a warhawk with lieberman, skull and bones kerry being a fake candidate, and bush senioor and bill clinton vacationing together.

[KKKarl is an idiot]

12. Bill trying to win right vote for Hilary

I believe it is true. They Clinton's decided Hilary is to unpopular to win the presidential race so they have decided on a course of action that brings then in line with Bush center-right political moves. This may backfire as it will anger the democratic base who like we all know here are almost totally opposed to anything Bush does.

[truthisfreedom]

17. this is a brilliant ploy by the big dog, and i hope it works. he's managed

to befriend w's father, and now he's praising w, and w can't do a damned thing about it... he's making w look like he's being led around by his nose by freaky right-wingers, and making bush look powerless as a result. i personally think this is a complex and well thought-out plan to undermine both the thug party and bush's authority.

[Tellurian]

18. thankyouverymuch- that makes two of us able to see the Big Dawgs plan

He is cutting the cat away from the kittens, so to speak.
Dividing the leader away from his base...praising Bush with
accolades he is desperate to hear while deepening party divide.

Brilliant, as usual.

[sadiesworld]

19. Republicans up for reelection WANT to distance

themselves from * on this issue. Clinton is supporting an unpopular position championed by an unpopular president (who has no reelection worries). The more this looks like a dem deal, the better off repubs (with reelection worries) are.

[Tellurian]

20. I think you mean 'worse' off..

Better for Dems.. n'est pas?

[sadiesworld]

21. The */dem position on immigration reform is unpopular.

Certainly, you can choose to delude yourself into believing otherwise.

[Tellurian]

22. ha,ha,ha, With Right Wingers, yes- http://www.wordplaymovie.com/

doublespeak! <gg>

you go, sadie!

Bill setting them up for a mucho gusto backlash
from the hispanic vote!

Brilliant!

[acmavm]

23. You're being sarcastic, right?

[humbled_opinion]

24. Concur

It is as if we finally have someone on our side that is as good as Rove is i.e., as good at manipulating public opinion by playing out a winning strategy, melding complex political issues that leave the thugs infighting and the Democrats smelling like roses. I love it... Keep it up Bill the more things like this I see the more convinced I become that we will win the House and Senate in November and the WH in 08....:7

[Tellurian]

29. check! :)

n/t

[Rose Siding]

25. Good. Bush was going wobbly. Seems Bill is out to define bush for

bush's benefit: "See, here's what you think, son...". He could even be speaking for 41. If that occurs to me, it MUST occur to Jr.

[mitchum]

31. republicanlite approves of republicanright

[Cha]

33. They didn't call Clinton

the best damn republicon president there ever was for nothin'.

[Cocoa]

34. lol, this is the last thing Bush wants

the Freepers are no doubt freaking out over this. :rofl:

[bklyncowgirl]

36. I totally agree.

All Shrub needs is Bill Clinton laying on the praise.

The conservative base that he is trying to win over hate Clinton with a passion. Anything that Clinton likes is dead on arrival.

Good work, Bill.

[pinkpops]

37. my thoughts as well

I'm not sure Clinton would do this intentionally, but him praising Bush will anger Bush's base.

[Tellurian]

45. Heh! The Freeper Lites on this board are freaking out!!

Wheat from chafe..sifting away..

[dansolo]

40. Bill is a corporatist

He agrees with Bush because he is in bed with the same interests who want a cheap labor force.

[earth mom]

41. Bill's nothing but a tool. Shame on him and Hillary!

:puke:

[dailykoff]

43. Hey maybe Bill can campaign for pukes in the SW!

Wouldn't that be bipartisan?

[goforit]

47. Clinton, you're becoming more pathetic than Bussh!