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Thursday, January 23, 2025

George W. Bush's thoughts (at one moment in time) on immigration enforcement

I know intellectually that if you read any politician's speeches in any sort of depth, you will find contradictions. So cherry-picking a speech given on a particular day, on a specific subject, and further narrowing your excerpt to an isolated paragraph is . . . not on solid rhetorical ground.

BUT! 

I'm trying to refute POTUS 47, Donald J. Trump, who has no rhetorical center at all and so, I guess it's fair game to fight fire with fire? I'd say his political opinions spin like a weather vane, but Trump's particular brand of hate-filled politics is depressingly consistent in the fact that it must:

a. benefit him above all

b. help him retain power, influence, and punish his enemies (see a.), and 

c. attack the weak and those who aren't in his camp.

ANYWAY . . .

here is something President George W. Bush said in a May 15, 2006 speech about the need for immigration reform:

America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. Feelings run deep on this issue, and as we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind. We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger, or playing on anyone's fears, or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. We must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and decisions, and that every human being has dignity and value no matter what their citizenship papers say.

I've never been a fan of the 43rd president. But he is so much more of a reasonable human being and political opponent than Donald Trump is. I've never voted Republican in my life and I'm not about to start now. But the way that Trump has captured and reshaped the GOP in his own fun-house way is disgusting. 

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