Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« "Less than One-Third" of Everett He… | "Call Me A Hole" »

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

2016 Liberal Pinko Jeb Bush Disagrees with Conservative Author Jeb Bush on Immigration

Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 10:10 AM

I first told you about this yesterday, but it looks like Jeb Bush's opinions on immigration are starting a battle between Jeb Bush and some guy named Jeb Bush. ThinkProgress says:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday that he would support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants “if you can craft that in law where you can have a path to citizenship where there isn’t an incentive for people to come illegally” — a position that puts him at odds with his new book, out today from Simon & Schuster.

In Immigration Wars, co-authored with immigration lawyer Clint Bolick, Bush agues that denying a path to citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrations is “absolutely vital to the integrity of our immigration system that actions have consequences.” Those who enter the country illegally, Bush contends, should “start the process to earn permanent legal residency” after pleading guilty to breaking the law and paying “applicable fines or perform community service.” But they should not have access to “the cherished fruits of citizenship”

The poor bastard Romneyed too early! Everybody knows you don't Romney until after you've won a bunch of states in the Republican primary. Then, once you're the candidate, you switch your position to something that sounds a little more reasonable. Let's see how Jeb handles this one. Maybe he'll go Full Romney and talk up his severely conservative views in the next couple of weeks.

(Thanks to Slog tipper Matt.)

FacebookShare

Comments (13) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

it's 3 years till 2016. can we have a Jeb-free Slog till the fall, at least?

Posted by Max Solomon on March 5, 2013 at 10:20 AM

I'm a liberal pinko myself, but that really does sound like the same position stated in two different ways. On television, he said there should be no path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants UNLESS "there isn’t an incentive for people to come illegally." In print, he says there should be no path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants UNLESS people jump through extra hoops, "applicable fines or perform community service." Yeah, in one instance he phrases it to make himself sound more progressive on immigration and in another he adds a negative statement about immigration to which he immediately adds exceptions. I haven't (and probably won't) read the book, and I missed Morning Joe, so I'm only going off the quotes here, but, while Bush's rhetoric is slippery, maybe slimy, is it really contradictory besides in tone?

Posted by Park on March 5, 2013 at 10:52 AM

@2,

In the book, he says undocuments immigrants can only get *legal residency* after pleading guilty and paying fines. He then states clearly and unequivocally that those people should not ever gain access to citizenship:

Those who enter the country illegally, Bush contends, should “start the process to earn permanent legal residency” after pleading guilty to breaking the law and paying “applicable fines or perform community service.”

But they should not have access to “the cherished fruits of citizenship

Posted by keshmeshi on March 5, 2013 at 11:11 AM

Tip toe through the teabags. He'd keep the country swarming in undocumented people living in an underground system, not paying taxes but using emergency rooms. Remember Terry Schiavo? Our healthcare system would completely collapse with this guy. Our country can't survive another Bush.

Posted by Pope Peabrain on March 5, 2013 at 11:16 AM

Jeb's just selling books. He's smart enough to know that he will never become president

Posted by passionate_jus on March 5, 2013 at 11:27 AM

You are expecting a Republican to have an actual, valid opinion on anything?

Posted by very bad homo on March 5, 2013 at 11:32 AM

11-million illegal immigrants-turned-citizens equals 11-million new Dumbocrats.

It’s bad enough as it is without more mouths to feed. We can't afford the ones we have now...

Posted by GeneStoner on March 5, 2013 at 12:04 PM

It's simple: Bush didn't write his book, in fact he apparently didn't even proofread it very well before putting his name on it.

What a yutz!

Posted by passionate_jus on March 5, 2013 at 12:11 PM

@3 -- Yup. Jeb Bush likes his immigrants just they way they are: a permanent working-class. The only problem he sees with the current system is we can't make the brown people pay income taxes on the little bit of money we pay them now.

He understands, as do most centrist Rs, our economy stands on the backs of the poor (slaves, share croppers, hobos, brown people). We sure as shit aren't deporting them.

(FWIW, the teabaggers dislike the Bushes more than the Ls dislike them.)

Posted by six shooter on March 5, 2013 at 12:24 PM

@9,

I neither know nor particularly care what he *actually* thinks. Jeb will say and do anything for money and power.

The fact of the matter is that the main focus of the immigration issue for Republicans is not letting immigrants "sully" this country by being all brown and gross and stuff. The plutocracy benefits from underpaid labor, but the salt-of-the-earth teabaggers are threatened by the existence of brown people. And, consequently, Republican immigration "policy" is a cruel joke.

The easiest fixes for our immigration problems are giving more work visas to people who actually want to migrate here (compared to our ridiculously favorable immigration policies toward Northern Europeans, who don't want to migrate here), and to make it easier (read: possible) for undocumented immigrants to get green cards without having to leave the country first. But the Republicans will never agree to that, not until the old white racists die off.

Ironically, it was closing the border, and therefore disallowing migrants from coming and going when they needed work, that has led so many brown people to move here permanently. The old white racists are their own worst enemy.

Posted by keshmeshi on March 5, 2013 at 12:46 PM

Salt-of-the-earth teabaggers and liberals should be worried about their jobs. No union protections, right-to-work...

I imagine it sure looks to a lot of people like the brown people are taking over what used to belong squarely with the white trash.

Posted by six shooter on March 5, 2013 at 12:56 PM

I listened to Jeb this morning on NPR and what I gathered was he was against citizenship for illegals, but for permanent residency. He just wants to make sure they don't vote, I guess.

He was also hitting the "Obama has no plan to replace the sequester" talking point really hard, just outright ignoring the interviewer's overly gentle contradiction.

Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings