Friday, June 01, 2007

Can both sides lose?

I'm having a hard time finding a a side to support in the comprehensive immigration debate.

On the one hand, the Administration seems to be doing a replay of the Iraq war sale, and I didn't much care for that the first time. This includes:


  • Asserting that immediate action is required, when it might not be.
  • Name-calling against all those opposed.
  • Aspirations of some grand historical event that will establish a legacy.


Add in that part of the motivation seems to be to try to win Latino voters to the Republican Party, and I'm even less enthused.

On the other hand, I'm not too thrilled with those opposed either. There's
the subtext of xenophobia and racism. There's the extreme labelling.

And now, there's the feigned shock that the Bush Administration would engage in ugly name-calling against those who stand in the way of its political goals. Can you imagine? George W. Bush imply that his political opponents are unpatriotic? The nerve! I thought he was a uniter, not a divider! Who could have foreseen this turn of events?