Immigration
Jimmy isn't happy.
Neither is Michelle.
I'm not quite as displeased.
President Bush, as far as I can tell, gave a very strategic speech, and it seems to be that he is being criticized too sharply for his plan's tactical shortcomings. The problem is massive, pervasive, and it is the result of neglecting the border for decades. I don't think it'll be solved overnight, no matter what the president's own proposed solution is.
I've thought about the argument put forth by many conservatives that a wall made of concrete is preferable to a wall made of technology, and I'm not sure if I agree. I don't understand "virtual wall" technology too well - what I do know is that there are devices called "ladders" and "shovels" that have been known to circumvent the protection offered by conventional walls. People are making the point that 6,000 troops won't be enough, but the point of technology is to reduce manpower requirements - perhaps both together will be enough. I don't know, but I believe that the President deserves the benefit of the doubt here.
I don't want to be too quick to condemn the President's back taxes/fines/back of the line proposal, either. Nobody (on the right, at least) really wants to grant blanket amnesty to the illegals that are here now, but it is also grossly impractical (and likely impossible) to ship them all back to their countries of origin. The only middle ground I see is to affix some value to the social services that they've been stealing, and deal with the issue of their citizenship only once they have compensated us for said theft. Some variation of the President's proposal, I think, will work.
At the end of the day, the President has demonstrated (mostly) that he understands the day-to-day realities of politicking and getting policies turned into law. And I'm trying to keep in mind that from a constitutional standpoint, the President's job is to enforce the law, however badly written. What we really need here is a new law, which is the job of Congress - if anyone deserves blame, it is our senators.
I could be wrong, but I'll wait to see how this plays out before I join the uproar over the speech last night.
The Anchoress, who has done an exceptional job blogging on this issue, has a couple more good posts:
Text & Reax: Bush's address on immigration
Blog meltdowns and echo chambers
Neither is Michelle.
I'm not quite as displeased.
President Bush, as far as I can tell, gave a very strategic speech, and it seems to be that he is being criticized too sharply for his plan's tactical shortcomings. The problem is massive, pervasive, and it is the result of neglecting the border for decades. I don't think it'll be solved overnight, no matter what the president's own proposed solution is.
I've thought about the argument put forth by many conservatives that a wall made of concrete is preferable to a wall made of technology, and I'm not sure if I agree. I don't understand "virtual wall" technology too well - what I do know is that there are devices called "ladders" and "shovels" that have been known to circumvent the protection offered by conventional walls. People are making the point that 6,000 troops won't be enough, but the point of technology is to reduce manpower requirements - perhaps both together will be enough. I don't know, but I believe that the President deserves the benefit of the doubt here.
I don't want to be too quick to condemn the President's back taxes/fines/back of the line proposal, either. Nobody (on the right, at least) really wants to grant blanket amnesty to the illegals that are here now, but it is also grossly impractical (and likely impossible) to ship them all back to their countries of origin. The only middle ground I see is to affix some value to the social services that they've been stealing, and deal with the issue of their citizenship only once they have compensated us for said theft. Some variation of the President's proposal, I think, will work.
At the end of the day, the President has demonstrated (mostly) that he understands the day-to-day realities of politicking and getting policies turned into law. And I'm trying to keep in mind that from a constitutional standpoint, the President's job is to enforce the law, however badly written. What we really need here is a new law, which is the job of Congress - if anyone deserves blame, it is our senators.
I could be wrong, but I'll wait to see how this plays out before I join the uproar over the speech last night.
The Anchoress, who has done an exceptional job blogging on this issue, has a couple more good posts:
Text & Reax: Bush's address on immigration
Blog meltdowns and echo chambers
posted by matt at
12:19 PM
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