Governator Denies Bush’s Request for More National Guard Troops on the Border
Apparently these two cannot get on the same page. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week has rejected a request from president Bush that would place some 1,500 National Guard troops on the Mexican border. And you thought the immigration debate has cooled off. The National Guard Bureau requested the troops for border patrol missions in New Mexico and Arizona said two National Guard officials to the Associated Press on Friday. But the Governator rejected the proposal saying that it would stretch the California guard too thin in the event of a catastrophy.
Gov. Schwarzenegger is no stranger to political headbanging on the immigration issue with the Bush administration. On June 1st a standoff ended over whether California would join the border patrol effort with the Governator finally giving in and deciding to send the Cali. National guard to the border. Not to mention the fact that initially Schwarzenegger was greatly opposed to Bush’s plan to station the National Guard on the Mexican border. Believing it was a mistake in policy with respect to dealing with illegal immagration.
It would appear that an already overly politcized issue has be given another political shove. One must look at California Gov. Schwarzenegger with amazment at his ability to seeming begin a good fight and so easily roll over under political pressure from his Republican “buddies.” Whether or not the 1,500 California National Guard troops will be on our border remains to be seen. As Schwarzenegger does have the Mexican American voting population of his state to worry about along with his conservative higher ups that seldom tolerate decenters gumming up the works. One must wonder what the movie Terminator would have been like had he been so wishy-washy in it.
As for the Bush administration it would appear they have painted themselves in a political corner when it comes to immigration. Their elections have been won as a result of catoring to the voting conservative hispanic population which has in recent years surpassed the importance of even the African American vote in the political arena. Because of this should Bush become strictor with the immigration issue as his base would like he would be alienating the hispanic vote a move that would deffinately benefit the Democrats in upcomming elections. Then again should he ease up on immigration his conservative/moderates would most deffinately shift to independent voters thereby benefitting the dems. yet again.
Yes, these two sure are a interesting pair. To guard or not to guard that is the question, at any rate whether the governator stands on his convictions or not its ultimately irrelevant. The whole situation illustrates a re-occuring theme in the America of today with so much being done that nothing is really getting done. It would seem that America has political A.D.D. and this is just another example of that. I for one am not sure that the Dems. have the meds to calm this hyperactive child of a country we are seeing but perhaps its time they took their shot.
