Dean: Border Top Priority

In a laughable statement, DNC Chairman Howard Dean said that border control is the Dems' highest priority.

"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."

That's a laughable statement in light of Ted Kennedy's amnesty legislation and the House Democrats thinking that illegal aliens shouldn't be charged with felonies. Does that sound like a 'get tough on illegals' Democratic Party?

Before Dean got the DNC Chair, I didn't think it was possible that anyone could make more assinine, bone-headed statements than Terry 'The Punk' McAuliffe. I was wrong. It's like thinking that you've seen the ultimate fool only to find that someone's built an even better fool. You don't think it's possible until you see it for yourself.

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."

If Dean is a big border security advocate, why isn't he telling Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer to allow debate on the House 'enforcement only' bill since it's closer to his stated beliefs? The answer is simple: Dean shoots from the lip without thinking about the damage he's doing to his party.

Democrats have suggested that this is their best chance in years to recapture control of Congress. Finessing the immigration issue will require Democrats to walk a tightrope between appealing to Hispanic voters and assuaging the Democrats' strongest constituency, labor unions, many of whose rank-and-file members view illegal aliens as undermining wages and job security for U.S.-born workers.

“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."

Ted Kennedy might put Dean in a hammer lock after hearing the part about Democrats not liking "guest-worker programs" since that's a cornerstone of the McCain-Kennedy bill that was so widely hailed as the key to ending the immigration reform fight.

As for Democrats walking a tightrope between the unions while still appealing to Hispanic voters, good luck. That's tricky at best for smart people. And the Deaniacs aren't my idea of smart.

Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz yesterday responded scornfully to Mr. Dean's immigration rhetoric.

"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."

I suspect that Mr. Rove will remind Democrats of that on a daily basis this fall. Democrats want to sound tough to Heartland voters but they won't dare be tough because they're worried about the Hispanic vote.

Cross-posted at California Conservative

---

Posted Thursday, April 20, 2006 11:41 PM

No comments.