July 25, 2006
Not Crazy About It, But I'd Sign
So, what does everybody think of the Pence-Hutchison compromise? If it will bridge ThreeSourcers, it might keep the GOP together for a couple more years.
Speaking for myself, I'd pretty anxious for compromise and am willing to not get everything I want. Most any compromise would be an improvement over the status quo.
The WaPo reports that "White House officials, including presidential adviser Karl Rove, have been told of the framework but not the details. A Republican close to the White House said President Bush 'won't be crazy about it, but I think he would sign it.'"
The best thing about it is a chance to get conference committees talking again. I'm not calling for more talk in the MidEast, but I think the Senate and the House might do better by talking.
I suppose this could be a step in the right direction. I endorse the measures to delay citizenship for 17 years but then to allow applications without leaving the country. The biggest flaw I see is the requirement that applications for the new visa be made from outside the US. Unless this legislation includes mandatory exportation of illegals I doubt that a sizeable number of them will leave the country just to "get legal." This is something that can be addressed later though.
Maybe it is an improvement on the status quo after all. It's definitely better than the Senate plan. Citizenship for a fee was a horrendous idea.
Posted by: johngalt at July 26, 2006 1:57 AM | What do you think? [1]