NY Post- PREZ'S GOP BASE WON'T

Tuesday May 16, 2006

From NY Post:

PREZ'S GOP BASE WON'T
BACK HIM UP ON THIS

By DEBORAH OREN

May 16, 2006 -- Inside Washington

 


ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON - President Bush gambled last night that sending the National Guard to police the border would persuade get-tough Republicans to back citizenship for illegal aliens.

At first blush, it looks like a bad bet. Republican skeptics say what Bush calls tough action is really just a token gesture.

"What the president said sounds good - until you realize it's maybe 5,000 troops and you know how big the border is and they're going to be in rear positions," said House Homeland Security chairman Peter King (R-L.I.). "Then you hear the troops are only temporary. People want proof the borders are secure. If we legalize 10 or 11 million before that, we just attract a lot more. It's the worst of both worlds."

Insiders say Bush guru Karl Rove wants a comprehensive deal in the hope that it will offer something for everyone and prove that Republicans can get things done heading into a tough fall election.

But that may misread the public. RasmussenReports.com polls in 33 states over the last month found that huge majorities want border enforcement first, not a broad deal that offers citizenship.

In Nebraska, just 29 percent now back Bush on immigration - and the acting governor just won an upset GOP primary after vetoing in-state college tuition for illegal aliens.

The Senate seems to be moving toward a Bush-style comprehensive deal but none of the Republicans leading that push - including Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) - is up for re-election this fall. But what worries some Republicans most is that Bush now sounds closer to such Democrats as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on immigration.

If that happens, Bush's stance could become a useful example for Democrats to cite to paint House Republicans as extremists - a road to political disaster for the GOP in the fall.