If liberal Democrats are unhappy with their Congress for not doing enough to end the Iraq war, conservative Republicans may be even angrier with their president for going the wrong way on illegal immigration.
The website of GOPUSA reported last week that among its “grassroots” supporters, President Bush’s approval ratings had plummeted from a recent high of 84 percent last October to just 40 percent in mid-June. (“Grassroots” is a term used at both ends of the political spectrum to denote a party’s most ardent true believers – the left-most Democrats and the right-most Republicans.)
Because of the president’s position on illegal immigration, wrote GOPUSA commentator Bobby Eberle, “President Bush is losing the Republican base, and the party is suffering because of it.”
Among GOPUSA Web browsers, it isn’t immigration “reform”; it’s “amnesty.” Some of these very conservative Republicans, who helped Bush get elected twice, now even speak of impeaching their former hero.
Here’s a sample of the postings:
“The amnesty bill has knocked the feet out from under the Bush supporters. We no longer can or will dig in our heels for Bush … . He will fall into political oblivion.”
“He has definitely gone over the edge, should be impeached based on the fact he has gone against his oath of office to protect and serve the people of America and its laws.”
“His legacy will fit in with Carter as one of the worst presidents of all time.”
Others lumped him with other “left-leaning Republicans” and said they were giving GOP fundraisers “a huge piece of our minds … . I refuse to give even one dime to their campaigns””
“As for me, I’m done with Bush. I’ll support Fred Thompson, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Newt Gingrich, or whoever will make me proud to be an American.”
Even in Colorado, once a reliably Republican state, the president is getting flak from his right flank.
State Sen. Dave Schultheis of Colorado Springs attacked Democratic U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar in an open letter last week for supporting “the continued push for amnesty by President Bush and certain select senators in Washington,” including the reviled Ted Kennedy.
But he made it clear that “President Bush is equally to blame for this embarrassing circus.”
Schultheis used words like “strong-arm” and “bribe,” “travesty” and “pandering to big business” to describe the president’s tactics.
Schultheis is hardly alone. During the legislature’s session, four other legislators joined him in writing the president to denounce his attempts to pass new immigration legislation. Republican Sens. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch and Mike Kopp of Littleton, and Reps. David Ballmer of Centennial and Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs, also signed the letter, saying that “amnesty” posed unacceptable economic and national security risks.
They want a fence, and they want it now. They also want, as Schultheis put it, “stiff fines and/or jail time” for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and they want immediate deportation of 656,000 “absconders,” who are ignoring their already-issued deportation orders.
Schultheis says Republicans of all stripes are “incensed.” They think Bush “has just lost it.”
He blames Karl Rove, the president’s political strategist, who has given Bush “severely bad advice.” Bush has strayed from GOP ideals of limited government; he has bought into the global warming thing; and, of course, he has betrayed the “grassroots” on the hot-button issue of illegal immigration.
“Bush has lost his compass, I think, and Karl Rove has outsmarted himself.” Schultheis said. “I don’t recognize the man I voted for.”
Fred Brown (punditfwb@aol.com), retired Capitol Bureau chief for The Denver Post, is also a political analyst for 9News.
