Anderson@Large

You Have the Right to Vote

It’s all over but the voting in the New Orleans runoff election. Sadly, the evil of two lessers is on the ballot -- Mayor Ray Nagin and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.  Neither one has offered a rebuilding plan that provides real hope for evacuees who are now scattered throughout the Katrina Diaspora.

Still, it's critically important that the voices of hurricane survivors are heard.  If you are a displaced voter, there's still time to vote.  Absentee ballots must be received by May 19 at 4:30 p.m. CT (the day before the election).  If you have completed a displaced voter affidavit, your absentee ballot must be received by 8:00 p.m. CT on Election Day (May 20).

For more info, click here or call the free Election Protection hotline at 1-866-OUR VOTE.

Standing By Her Man

Well, the first review of President Bush’s address is in.  According to the Zogby poll, only 17 percent think Bush’s proposed “comprehensive immigration reform” is ready for prime time:

Despite the mixed reviews on the speech's content, a majority of viewers saw the speech more as an exercise to gain political advantage in Washington and less as an effort to inform the American public about the issue. While 37% said they believed Bush was trying to bring the public up to speed on immigration, 58% said they believed he was simply trying to gain a political edge by stemming criticism of reform proposals that he backs.

Zogby pegs Bush’s job approval at 32 percent.  But don’t tell that to his old lady, the First Lady.  Laura Bush recently said polls showing Americans have had enough of her husband are bunk.  She told “Fox News Sunday:”

I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country. I see people. I see their responses to my husband. I see their response to me.

As I travel around the United States, I see a lot of appreciation for him. A lot of people come up to me and say, “Stay the course.”

Mrs. Bush neglected to mention that those "people" are hand-picked Bush loyalists. When critics do manage to slip in, they are summarily kicked out.

So, while Mrs. Bush has to stand by her man, the Republican base has moved on:

But a day after Mr. Bush delivered a nationally televised address on the issue from the Oval Office, there was little immediate evidence that he had bridged the deep divide in his own party or rallied public opinion sufficiently to break the impasse.

And to think conservatives once “loved” President Bush. Ain’t love grand.

Shamnesty

I watched President Bush on TV last night.   It wasn’t easy but fixing our broken borders is so critical that I forced myself to look at him rather than simply read the transcript.

Bush talked a good game about securing the borders, but the devil will be in the details.  His temporary worker program and citizenship proposals will not appease the Republican base or fly with the illegal immigrants lobby.

Republicans are not interested in legalizing millions of illegal immigrants who are flouting American laws and burdening taxpayers with their school, health and other bills.  Instead, the GOP base supports a FAIR -- strict enforcement -- solution.

Rep. Tom Tancredo told the Associated Press:

If the president thinks by taking one step forward with enforcement the House will follow with two steps backwards with amnesty, he's confusing us with the Senate.

In the past few weeks, I’ve attended several meetings of illegal immigrant activists.  I was stunned by their sense of entitlement that foreign nationals should be able to come to the U.S. because there are no economic opportunities in Mexico, China, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, etc.

Question:  When did it become America’s responsibility to provide a better life for the world’s impoverished billions?

The illegal alien lobby talks about an earned path to citizenship when the cameras are rolling, but “regularization” is code for amnesty.  When push comes to shove, they are not likely to support legislation that would require illegal immigrants to pay a “meaningful penalty for breaking the law” and back taxes.  These are, after all, low wage workers.  Where are they going to get the money to earn the right to “wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law.”

Since they get to remain in the country with or without amnesty, illegals will simply stay in the shadows and drain social services.  Meanwhile, the employment of illegal immigrants will continue to put downward pressure on the wages of similarly employed Americans.
         

Bush’s call to debate the issue with a “reasoned and respectful tone” misses the point.  It’s reasonable for Americans to want results and to want them now.

The tone was ratcheted up by the in-your-face march of the illegals who have no respect for the rule of law.

Border Guards

President Bush will address the nation tonight to try to reverse his slide into oblivion (here, here and here).  “This is crunch time,” said new White House press secretary Tony Snow.

And indeed it is.  Americans are in no mood for another snow job (and here).  Yes, this is “a nation of immigrants,” but for the umpteenth time, the issue is illegal immigrants.   Nor do Americans want to hear about “comprehensive" immigration reform when they find it incomprehensible that the world’s only superpower cannot secure its borders (and here) from intrusion by illegal aliens.

As for illegals doing the work that "Americans won’t do," don’t believe the hype.  While illegal immigrants are concentrated in low-wage occupations, with the exception of the agriculture industry, Latinos do not represent more than 30 percent of the workers in any occupation, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center.  It's interesting to note that these are, in large part, low-skill jobs that cannot be outsourced to, say, China.
       

To even stand a chance of getting Americans’ attention, Bush must first fix our broken borders.  If he doesn't, he’ll be doing a job no American president wants to do – serve the remainder of his term as a lame duck.

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is Sunday.  Don’t forget to do something special for the woman who brought you into the world (and from time to time threatened to take you out).

My mother has passed so I’ll probably pay my respect by attending the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s performance of “Freedom!”  The concert will include the world premiere of “Remembering Harriet,” a tribute to Harriet Tubman (and here), Grandma Moses of the Underground Railroad.

Happy Mother’s Day.

America's Mayor

Last night, I attended a screening of “Giuliani Time,”  a new documentary about Rudy Giuliani, organized by the Medgar Evers College Film & Culture Series.

The series is curated by my buddy Miles, who described the film as “mad stuff about the cat, even before he was mayor. His pops was a straight gangster, he had an insular upbringing, and as Associate Attorney General, he lied about Haitians [boat people].”

While folks outside of New York City see Giuliani as "America’s Mayor," his former constituents would be loath to describe him as a hero of 9/11.  The reason:  We were there. We all did our part.

Truth is, New Yorkers loathed Giuliani on Sept. 10, 2001, and they loathe him today.

The filmmakers skillfully expose the man behind the myth.  It's laughable that Giuliani fancies himself the heir to the Reagan legacy.  He's certifiable if he thinks the Republican base of religious conservatives will embrace a pro-choice candidate who was once married to his cousin, openly cheated on his wife who then kicked him out of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the Mayor.

And since Giuliani had little more than a pot and a window before he cashed in on his 9/11 fame, he acted like Kato Kaelin (albeit with a combover) and stayed with a same-sex couple. Not exactly the stuff of conservative activists' dreams.

So, America, you can have him. Giuliani may be your mayor but he’ll never be America’s president.

March of the Illegals and Unintended Consequences

The blowback from the illegal immigrant marches and demands, and the hijacking of the national anthem, continues. Latino activists’ move to blur the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants has caused Americans to feel less sympathy for "undocumented workers" (and here).

Americans are also feeling less charitable towards illegal immigrants' amigo in the White House.  Americans' disapproval of President Bush's handling of immigration has helped drive his approval rating to a new low of 31 percent, according to the New York Times/CBS News poll.

Also, reauthorization of the language assistance provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act may be at risk.  The fallout from the protests has emboldened a group of House Republicans to renew their efforts to ban bilingual ballots.  Though they're not expected to prevail, it shows that Republicans have not been swayed by the march of the illegals.

Yeah, it looks like the open-borders lobby made their move too soon.