Illegal Immigration,  Politics

Howard Dean Watch: Border Security Democrat Party’s Top Immigration Priority for November

Former President Bill Clinton, left, jokes with Congressman Charles Rangel, center, and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean at a DNC fundraising dinner in New York, Monday, April 10, 2006.

Washington Times: Dean calls the border top priority

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean yesterday called border security his party’s top immigration priority for November.

“The first thing we want is tough border control,” he said. “We have to do a much better job on our borders than George Bush has done. And then we can go to the policy disagreements about how to get it done.”

Republicans reacted with surprise to Mr. Dean’s announcement, which puts the DNC chief’s views at odds with those of many Democrats in Congress.

“If Dean means what he says about border enforcement, that would put the Democrats somewhere to the right of President Bush on immigration,” said Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican.

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee dismissed Mr. Dean’s “newfound commitment to border security” as “not believable.”

But, what did the Chairman of the Democrat National Committee actually say?

The Quotes:

Mr. Dean said he wants “immigrants who obey the law and pay taxes to be able to apply for citizenship. We support earned legalization vigorously. And, much to my surprise, so do the American people.”

“We don’t like guest-worker programs,” said Mr. Dean, a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. “I don’t like guest-worker programs. I think the president’s guest-worker program is essentially indentured servitude. It doesn’t help the immigrant, and it threatens wages.”

“Don’t forget — the Republicans have been in power for five years. They’ve had the House and Senate and the White House most of that time. And they have done nothing about immigration.”

To Summarize the Democrat Party’s Fall position on immigration:

1. Tough border control but what does that mean? Fence? Troops? No specifics….

2. Amnesty for the 12 million illegal aliens already in the USA but what does ‘earned legalization” mean? Is it the Kennedy-McCain bill?

3. No Guest Worker Plan because it depresses union wages and is involuntary/indentured servitude.

It sounds to Flap that the Democrats should support Senator Bill Frist’s secure the border bill rather than the Kennedy-McCain bill voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But, Howard Dean as the Democrats fearless leader has to balance the unions vs. Latino immigration activists vs agricultural interests in order to troll for votes and campaign funds.

And why did over 200 House members vote against the House immigration reform bill passed in December? And why did Senator Reid (Democrat Senate Minority Leader) block amendments to compromise legislation prior to the Easter recess?

Congressman King (R-Iowa):

“If Dean and his Democrats in the Senate are serious, they could force the president to make a decision to sign or veto an enforcement-only package,” he said. Mr. Bush and several Senate Republicans have sought to tie border enforcement to a guest-worker plan — a program that many of the Republican Party’s conservative supporters sharply criticized.

“Someone should remind Howard Dean that it was [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid [Nevada Democrat] who obstructed immigration reform, underscoring the fact that Democrats would rather manipulate the issue than reform it,” he said. “President Bush and Republicans in Congress have increased border-security funding by more than 65 percent, expanded the number of border agents by 30 percent and significantly upgraded technology on the border.”

Howard Dean, the mouth that roared, has been BUSTED for pandering to all sides again.

Stay tuned……

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