The 1980 debate between Reagan and Bush compared to the GOP primary debates in 2011 is flabbergasting.
Comments
Via my colleague Doug’s Twitter Feed, this is unbelievable:
I’m not sure what astounds me more. The compassion and pragmatism in Reagan and Bush’s positions on illegal immigration, or the fact that they’re not speaking in talking points. Either way, it’s a sad reminder of what the Republican Party used to be.
Categories
This was before the Immigration Reform And Control Act of 1986, which was supposed to fix — or at least drastically reduce — the number of illegal aliens in the United States, and that attitude was a big factor in passing that bill.
We’ve had 25 years to live with the consequences of that law. Funny how experience can sometimes shape attitudes…
And remember, a good part of “pragmatism” is “learning what does and doesn’t work.”
J.
Both Bush and Reagan made the illegal immigration problem worse by supporting a program of open borders and unlimited immigration. Now the schools in Houston Texas are so bad that no one in a position of authority in the Republican Party would ever think of sending their children to them. The same goes for the upper classes in cities from Los Angeles to Miami.
Reagan and Bush refused to enforce the border and soon there will no longer be enough middle class whites to sustain a Republican Party in the face of the demgraphic changes creates by open borders and unlimited immigration. What a lousy legacy for Reagan and Bush.
@Jay Tea:
This was before the Immigration Reform And Control Act of 1986, which was supposed to fix — or at least drastically reduce — the number of illegal aliens in the United States, and that attitude was a big factor in passing that bill.
Yes, but as both candidates made clear in this video, the goal was to reduce the number of illegal aliens by making them legal, not by stopping them entirely. Bush and Reagan thought the problem with illegal immigration was the law. For most of the current Republican party, the problem with illegal immigration is the immigrants.
Now the schools in Houston Texas are so bad that no one in a position of authority in the Republican Party would ever think of sending their children to them.
Rick Perry’s children were attending a public school in Houston as recently as 2005.
@Stormy Dragon: My point, Stormy, is that we tried that approach — and look how well it worked. “Pragmatism” does not mean “doing the same thing over and over, hoping for different results.”
Good intentions that lead to bad consequences are not something one should emulate.
J.
@Jay Tea:
My point, Stormy, is that we tried that approach — and look how well it worked.
We created a guest worker program that allows most anyone who wants to come here and work to do so legally? Or in your mind does “we tried that approach” mean “we didn’t load them all onto trains”?
@Stormy Dragon: Don’t pull that bullshit, Stormy.
Ted Kennedy on the 1965 immigration reform bill:
“First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same…. Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset…. Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia…. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think…. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs… No immigrant visa will be issued to a person who is likely to become a public charge.”
By my reckoning, we’ve tried the “compassionate” and “amnesty” approach to addressing our illegal immigrant problem in 1952, 1965, 1986, and 1990. And in each case, the problem only got worse and worse, despite all the promises and predictions of their backers.
How many more times do we try that before we give something else — anything else — a try?
J.
@Jay Tea:
And in each case, the problem only got worse and worse, despite all the promises and predictions of their backers.
Only if you define “the problem” as being the fact immigrants are still coming to this country.
How many more times do we try that before we give something else — anything else — a try?
We haven’t tried what Reagan proposed in this very video. But again, in your mind, there are only two options. Everything but your preferred solution of rounding up millions of people, deporting them, and then cutting off immigration from latin america is “amnesty”.
That reminds me, anyone catch the “Keep the Legal Immigrants Out” ad during the debate last night? WTF?
How many jobs would open up for Americans if we got rid of the illegal aliens? 6 million? 7 million? How many? How much money would be saved if we got rid of all the illegal aliens using this country as a welfare country? obama’s aunt is an example? Can someone answer these questions?
I’ll check back.
Both of Perry’s children attended Austin High School in Austin Texas. Perry’s eldest son attended Vanderbilt for college and works in a hedge fund. Not exactly the sign of Perry knowing anything about being an innovator and creating jobs.
