Other Columns by Kevin Fobbs
Kevin Fobbs Bio

Printer-Friendly Version

President Bush Builds New Bridge to The American Dream
By Kevin Fobbs
January 12, 2004

Yesterday's coverage of the president's immigration proposal reminds us already of the Medicare debate. As mentioned in a previous column, if both conservatives and liberals have a problem with the president's proposal, there must be something inherently beneficial in there somewhere.

As is normally the case with the mainstream media and the president's critics, they've missed a key component of the president's plan, not mentioned yesterday, but definitely there if anyone bothered to look. This president doesn't suffer fools, and he doesn't spend political capital unnecessarily. They are acutely aware of the objections of the more conservative members of the House caucus. Their opposition to any "blanket amnesty" is well known. Their desires to better guard the borders and not reward people who got here illegally, is also well known.

So what does the president gain by making such a proposal at the beginning of his re-election year? Cynics immediately pounce on the "Latino" vote. It must have been purely a political move. And while it's almost certain "political considerations" discussions went on in the White House before yesterday's announcement, the bigger picture was again lost. The president received between 35% and 40% of the Latino vote in 2000. He's not in serious danger of losing that margin.

He has other "numbers" concerns, like his own base, conservatives. Pundits have properly written about concerns within his own natural constituency, conservatives, and their rising anger over issues such as gay marriage, the Medicare bill, runaway spending, and the ever eroding role God has in our public discourse. Plenty of ammunition, plenty of work to do to shore up the base for the election. If political concerns drove this president, he'd be PLAYING to his base, as opposed to angering it regularly as some critics in 2003 surmised.

So what is the real story? At the risk of sounding truly Pollyannaish, being accused of being a blindly loyal "Bushie," and giving away trade secrets, here is the real scoop: This president is interested in changing policies he finds either outdated or just plain wrong for the current state of affairs in America. He will propose legislation, change the status quo, and run the war against terrorism, the way HE thinks it needs to be done, period. He leaves it up to his staff to deal with the political implications of his policies, and last year, they were very busy and there's no sign it will get any easier this year, despite the fact he needs to run for re-election.

And here is the political calculation, the trade secret, for the announcement yesterday. Getting back to the fact that despite the Democrats continuing contention that the president is a buffoon, he is really sly like a fox. Being fully aware of the conservatives' problems with this proposal, and the democrats' problems with it not including a blanket amnesty, the president has set the stage for a compromise. The conservative Republicans are firmly in charge of the House. They are ALL also running for re-election this year. They get to be tough on the border issue, insist on better enforcement to get the bill passed, and take credit for being compassionate by embracing the larger picture of the president's initiative.

Democrats also can't afford NOT to pass this bill, as they too have to run for re-election. They run in largely urban areas, with many immigrants. They can not afford to alienate THEIR core constituents. You don't think the president gets all that? Of course, he does. He gets to set the stage, paint the set with a broad brush, and let the Congress sort it all out. He will get the ultimate credit for changing yet another outdated policy that is years overdue for an overhaul.

In our post 9-11 world, he will wind up with tighter borders, a more compassionate immigration policy to deal with the real concerns of business owners, our border patrols, and the immigrants themselves. There will be a new mechanism to better track the people who are already here and for letting new people in legally, with rules and an end game. The true downside is the appearance, real or imagined that he is rewarding people for breaking the law. A fair point. And one that will be debated furiously throughout this process. But in the end, we'll wind up with something better than we have now, more accountability, and another entrenched bureaucracy, reformed.

Add immigration to the list of Education and Medicare, issues that traditionally have belonged to the other party that the president has transformed into sound, firm and workable solutions for the nation and its future. He may well be spending more money and political capital than makes his conservative base comfortable. But real change takes courage, guts, and money. This president has plenty of the first two and as for the latter; you do at times have to spend money to save money. Change is not inexpensive, but in the post 9-11 world we now live in, the changes are necessary and they will cost us all less in the long run.

President Bush continues to confound both his allies and his critics. His list of accomplishments in his first term are both astounding in their depth and reach, and infuriating to his critics and opposition. Not in recent memory has a president so angered both his base and his opposition simultaneously. Must be doing something right.

-----------

Kevin Fobbs is President, Lisa Sarrach is Vice President of National Urban Policy Action Council (NuPac), a non-partisan civic, and citizen-action organization that focuses on taking the politics out of policy to secure urban America's future one neighborhood, one city, and one person at a time. Visit their web site at www.NuPac.org.

--------------------

Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.