Howard Dean's bogus attack on Bush

Why is Howard Dean accusing President Bush of scapegoating immigrants? He's been predicting that Bush would do so since last year, but the fact is that Bush is taking major flak within his party for not supporting a punitive, enforcement-only approach.

Nonetheless, Dean is doing his best to blur the line between Bush and House Republicans:

Democratic Party chief Howard Dean accused President Bush and the Republican Party on Friday of exploiting the immigration issue for political gain by scapegoating Hispanics.

Dean and Bush agree on the legislation at the heart of the debate. Both support a Senate bill that would expand guest-worker programs for an estimated 400,000 immigrants each year.

However, at a speech in an Oakland union hall, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate sought to tie Bush to a much tougher House bill that would tighten borders and make it a crime to be in the United States illegally or to offer aid to illegal immigrants. Bush does not back the House bill.

"This is a nonsensical proposal put out by far right-wingers in the Republican Party who have been endorsed for re-election by the president of the United States," Dean said. "The president has a moral obligation to rein in the right-wing extremists in his party and stop this divisive rhetoric about immigrants."

Dean devoted much of his short speech here to the immigration debate, which has taken center stage in Washington this election year and touched off mass demonstrations elsewhere...

Bush has spent his political career courting Hispanic voters, the nation's fastest-growing voting bloc, and he has helped double the GOP's share of the Hispanic vote since 2000.

Nevertheless, Dean accused Bush and fellow Republicans of demagoguery in the immigration debate, saying it fit with a long-standing pattern. He cited the president's opposition to the University of Michigan's affirmative-action program and Bush's decision to "pick on" homosexuals - an apparent reference to the gay marriage issue in the 2004 election.

"In 2006 it's immigrants. That's what their strategy is on the Republican side: divide people, scapegoat them, set them aside, point the finger at them," Dean said. "Well, that may be good for the Republican Party, but it's bad for America, and we're not going to do that."

Did Bush exploit the gay marriage issue in 2004? Yes. Is it possible that Republicans will demonize illegal immigrants in 2006? Yes. As I've written, 2006 may be the year of Wilfredo Horton. But there's just no evidence that President Bush is exploiting the issue. Dean is grasping at straws.

Comments

[The Bosun]

Great article! We are playing off the same sheet of music on this Howard Dean, King of ad hominem attacks on everyone from his own party (John Edwards and other who ran against him), members of the conservative party, and of course our President.

Dean is one sour grapes type of Politian. Of course he is also liberal and that gives him the license to not tell the truth. Have a great day. And, I will be back. You have a very good weblog here.

Respectfully,
Bosun

[dave s]

Let's remember that Dean is the guy who, after Kelo was decided, attributed the decision (of which he disapproved) to the Reeps. Dean's basic view of the world seems to be 'if it's evil, the Reeps are behind it'. It's not very far from that to, 'if it's evil, the Reeps will do it'... The Reeps may well lose, but somehow I don't think it will be because of the splendid generalship of Howard Dean.