President Bush has famously boasted that “I don?t do nuance” ? an expression of his pride in being clear-cut and decisive in his political judgments and actions. But his five-point plan for immigration reform is a self-refutation of the claim.
It?s a carefully crafted scheme to beef up border patrols, thus placating rebellious House Republicans who want illegal immigrants declared felons and sent packing, while also assuaging such immigrants with a testing path to citizenship.
A year ago, the president?s political clout may have been able to soften the conservative anti-immigration strain in the House. But Bush?s diminished popularity today has emboldened conservatives to stand up to what many of them see as a betrayal of their bedrock principles, such as runaway government spending and fighting illegal immigration.
Yet in a sense the Bush immigration plan is a tardy resort to his 2000 campaign promise of “compassionate conservatism,” with an emphasis on the first word. It seeks to respond to conservatives? worries about a rising immigrant tide while taking into consideration the humanitarian aspect of the individuals involved.
For a change, Bush has sought to strike a middle ground in terms and manner bereft of the cocksure swagger of his march to war in Iraq and other policies that brooked no compromise, no “nuance.” Here is a president who knows he has to consider conflicting views, and is seeking to address them rather than to ride roughshod over one side.
This is not to say that partisan political factors are not involved in his proposal. It is geared, first of all, to stem the bleeding of his support among Republicans and other conservatives in the House, where loss of 15 seats in November?s midterm election would surrender control to the Democrats.
At the same time, the swelling Hispanic vote, which Bush political guru Karl Rove once envisioned as a key element in creating a permanent Republican majority in the country, is obviously in the president?s reckoning. His embrace of a guest-worker program and an eventual ticket to citizenship via an arduous set of requirements is a pitch to them that many conservatives abhor.
In the latter approach, he is siding with Senate Democrats and a few moderate Republicans who are poised to pass immigration reform that clashes head-on with the punitive bill approved in the House. After a long period of finessing the issue, Bush has now taken a stand that calls on him be directly involved in the legislative fight.
The Senate Minority Whip, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, correctly observed in his televised response that the burden is on the president now to bring his fellow Republicans in the House around to an accommodation with the Senate position he now essentially supports.
That will not be easy, particularly if concessions to them persuade the Senate Democrats to walk away. They might well prefer going to the voters ? especially the increasingly organized and motivated Hispanic citizenry ? in November, blaming the Republicans for the breakdown or for enactment of immigrant-hostile legislation.
Use of the National Guard, stretched thin by the deployment to Iraq, to reduce the continuing immigrant flood across the border with Mexico has already generated sharp criticism from both parties. Bush?s comment that “we do not yet have full control of the border” was a ludicrous understatement.
Also, the charge of “amnesty” for longtime illegal immigrants will continue, despite Bush?s disavowal because his plan would exact payment of fines, back taxes and an English language requirement before they could get into the end of the line for citizenship.
It?s a far cry from the last major Republican overtureto immigration reform, when then-Gov. Pete Wilson of California 12 years ago proposed denying public-school education to the children of illegal immigrants in his state.
In contrast, this GOP president is taking a controversial issue and demonstrating a willingness to work through the differences of opinion and approach. His observation that “America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time” is an expression of optimism that will be tested now, even as he strives to restore his eroded credibility.
Jules Witcover, a Baltimore Examiner columnist, is syndicated by Tribune Media Services. He has covered national affairs from Washington for more than 50 years and is the author of 11 books, and co-author of five others, on American politics and history.
