The geniuses at CNN: "Pointers-out of the obvious"

CNN has made an amazing discovery, and naturally they're three weeks late in noticing it. Yes, the right side of the 'sphere is ticked at the president over immigration:

Different conservative blogs have different pet issues -- government transparency, federal judges, Fred Thompson, to name a few.

But no issue in recent memory has united conservative bloggers like the debate over immigration. Their frustration has culminated in a full-scale revolt against the Bush administration and a Senate bill that activists say does little to solve the country's border security problems.

President Bush's pledge to support $4.4 billion in additional border security funds has breathed new life into the bill, but the drumbeat against the legislation shows no signs of quieting.

It's increasingly clear from Web postings and interviews with top conservative bloggers that the immigration bill has done serious damage to the president's credibility among the conservative netroots, the grassroots bloggers on the Web.

Erick Erickson, managing editor of the popular conservative blog RedState.com, says he receives between 800 and 900 e-mails a day from readers, most of whom are "enraged" by the White House's immigration efforts.

"Of all the issues the president has picked to make his hill to die on, he has picked the one that has divided his base," said Erickson, who lives in Macon, Georgia. "I am shocked by the anger and outrage out there ... You've got war against the president within the Republican party."

When details of an immigration compromise were announced this spring, conservative bloggers were immediately incensed. Michelle Malkin labeled it "a White House betrayal."

Another popular blogger, Hugh Hewitt, called the bill a "fiasco" and wrote: "this push for this bill is a disaster, Mr. President."

Conservative bloggers make various arguments against the bill. Some say the bill grants amnesty to illegal immigrants who have already broken the law. Others say normalizing millions of new workers would depress wages and harm American workers.

Most conservative bloggers see border enforcement as the priority, an issue they say the president can enforce on his own without having to push a bill through Congress.

According to several top conservative bloggers, Bush simply has a credibility problem when it comes to border security.

"The administration has not done anything to fix the border or the visa program," said Ed Morrissey, the Minnesota-based founder of the blog Captain's Quarters. "It's a huge gap in national security. It's been six years past 9/11 and the administration has done nothing to fix either one."
Many bloggers said they are disappointed the president has pushed so hard for the immigration bill while letting the war and other issues conservatives care about fall by the wayside.

"The White House will go out and zealously promote Harriet Miers [the former White House counsel who Bush unsuccessfully nominated for the Supreme Court], defend [Attorney General] Alberto Gonzales, promote this bill, but will not take a firm stand on the war," said Erickson. "I know people who are boiling with rage that the president has been beating up his own side over this bill but won't take the bully pulpit to beat up Democrats over the war."

What's interesting about this is that CNN is reporting this as though they're surprised. Maybe, in the deepest recesses of their pea-brains, they forgot that as conservatives, we're free thinkers. Yes we support the president. He is the leader of this nation, and his office demands the utmost respect. We, however, also have a voice that we utilize daily on things such as this bill. Anyone who has read the elite bloggers above, and our site, too, knows that we delve into a number of subjects. All of them we know quite a bit about, and we make compelling arguments for our point of view.

At times we disagree, but more often than not we're on the same page. The immigration bil;l is just one of those issues. Furthermore, if anyone wants to see the one person that knows more about the immigration bill than anyone else, then I suggest reading Hugh Hewitt on the subject. He went through the bill with a fine tooth comb, and located a lot of the flaws in this bill. Flaws, I might add, that haven't been corrected, and don't look like they will be.

Some of us think the president betrayed the nation. The problem is that if they knew the president back in 2000 when he was campaigning, we knew then he was a modetrate like his father. We hoped that having Cheney on the ticket would balance some of that moderation, and bring it closer to the conservative side. That's not to say that he hasn't been on our side more often than he isn't, but those moderate decisions are the things people will point to when he leaves office.

We're not his water-bearers. We call him on things we think he's making a mistake on. That's what conservatives do. We don't turn a blind eye to a mistake one of our makes. We're not Democrats. We call them on the carpet and take them to task. This time, however, the bill's supporters -- the president included -- decided to lash out at those making a stink. And our response was swift and deafening. We dug in, presented the facts, and urged people to call the Senate. We did what we do best.

No we're not going to give the president a pass on this. And Trent Lott's stupidity on Friday didn't help the president's cause. every time he gets a high opinion of himself, Trent Lott chews on his own foot. Threatening those within the base that energizes is not a smart ploy. So, this fight is going to continue until one of two things occurs:

Either they correct the problems int he bill, and the concerns of their constituency, or they pull the bill, let it die, and start over from scratch.

That's the only way this fight is going to end. If CNN would like to sit on the sidelines and take notes, go for it. Have fun. Pop some popcorn. It's going to be a bumpy ride for the white House and the Senate.

Publius II