The tree of liberty is *THIRSTY*.

For the blood of Kerry voters?

Or Bush voters?

21st Century version of the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men born in the United States (or whosoever spends ten or so years waiting on a government bureaucracy) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Hmm....doesn't have the same ring to it....

You convinced me that employer sanctions are wrong. And I also believe that any draconion round-up of illegals and deportation is not going to happen.
So, where does that leave us?
With a current El Presidente who is more Tex-Mex than than Texan, and a Senate that is selling out.
I have traveled down the Valley now for 25 years. I've seen Delano, near Bakersfield, change from it's once touted "internationl" status into a Mexican village. You go into the Bank of America, and only Spanish is spoken.
Same for the Burger King. The menu is even bilingual. (In 1983 only cities on the border like Douglas, AZ had that distinction)
My business customers in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and So. California who speak broken English have in the past year demanded that I either take their orders in Spanish, or they will go to my competitor who has someone who speaks Spanish at the order desk.
The militancy is palpable.
What do you suggest?
Way back when I studied Spanish in college, my instructor, a 3rd or 4th generation Mexican/American was livid about her treatment in Mexico where she obtained her PhD. Her experience in the "motherland" left her with the attitude that envy and hatred permeated educated Mexican culture.
And that attitude is now seeping into the so-far docile immigrant population in this country.
I stop at the local market to gas up and buy a few beers on the way home. Illegals are parked out front and a woman circulates comic books in Spanish explaining their "rights" and how to get benefits for free.
The Mexican drug cartels are carrying on a mini-war with each other while they stake out territory. The I-5 corridor is one seemless drug route for Mexican heroin into Portland, Oregon, and lately for meth as well.
Bush, and the Senate don't really have a clue. Or worse, they know, and just don't give a shit.

Eric,
I think that the "base" more likely than not,despite the rhetoric,is more in line with your ideas(why was no one terribly upset before last year when it seemed that amnesty,not security was being offered?).

It is just I think that many are incredibly angry that their supposed Representatives are and have been completely tone deaf to the fact that we all want our country to be secure BEFORE the amnesty,and that Congress need to make sure that doing the amnesty does not put any more strain on American's financial security. The illegal alien problem has helped to hold down the wages of the poor,and the costs to the middle class in particular to pay for the services that the illegals have been using are a serious problem that no one in the government seems to want to tackle.

If they can turn this bill around to security first,and then deal with the illegal alien problem, I think then the R side will be (mostly)satisfied.

>what kind of "base" is this that so badly wants its own party out of power?

A base that is committed to ideas/ideals over party.

I (and I suspect you) are a conservative/libertarian before I am a Republican. But the party does not get it. The biggest problem in DC is that it everyone is worried about what is good for "my tribe" rather then ideas and what is good for The Republic - and that is true on both sides of the aisle.

Also,it seems that at the moment that most of these folks are so angry that they are yelling past one another even when they are saying basically the same thing.

Hopefully Congress(and especially the R's) will wake up to the fact that they are supposed to be representing the American people,and folks are just not happy with how this seems to be playing out.

Of course Congress at the moment would probably choose from your poll as the form of execution to be torn apart by wild beasts,because it would be quicker and less painful than the earful and eye-full that they are receiving right now.Of course they have been asking for it for quite awhile!

How to Minimize Illegal Immigration From Mexico

Regime change. The only way you're going to minimize illegal immigration from Mexico is by changing the government to a truly representational democracy, and that means changing how society works. The oligarchy has to go.

Or, we open up the borders and let everybody who's a Mexican citizen cross who wants to. When Mexico is practically empty we send in people to colonize the now empty land and annex the territory. Inside 10 or 20 years we'll own new land down to the Guatemalan border, and have another 30 to 40 states.

American English would pick up more Mexican Spanish loan words, but most folks would be using English simply because it makes life simpler.

As an alternative we could purchase the Russian Far East from a cash strapped Moscow and settled volunteers there. Drawing in large part from undocumented border crossers. The deal being, settle in America's new Asian territories and participate in the defense of the territories when called upon for ten years and you'll get full citizenship with all rights and responsibilities.

As far as your 'We've had it up to here' question regarding how the base seems 'delighted' to be out of power. I think the situation can be likened to that of dealing with an alcoholic. It's not until the alcoholic hits utter bottom that the lies, deceptions, denials, and excuses are abandoned. And until such time as they are truly abandoned, life is made miserable for everyone close to the alcoholic.

Of course this is very bad news for the country.

The question is to we fight to restore principles and classical values, or do we continue to fritter them all away through a never ending series of 'meeting them halfway' compromises.

The main reason Bush had conservative or 'hard liner' support is damage control. The other options were far worse. So when this support turns to outrage in the face of disaster, one should not be too surprised.

It's our electing the 'least bad of candidates' that has landed us in this sorry situation. The machinery that produces such pathetic mediocrity has got to go - hence the conservative revolt.

We want to vote 'for' something. 'Voting against' has gotten very old and quite frankly, it sucks.

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