Anger over immigration plan surprises GOP senators
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=750
WASHINGTON (CNN) — In his speech Tuesday on immigration reform, President Bush was trying to provide political cover for members of Congress to support the legislation. That could be tough.
Republicans are getting an earful on immigration. “I have learned some new words from some of my constituents,” Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, said.
The angry response comes as a shock. “The level of intensity and volume is, I think, surprising,” CNN contributor and radio talk show host Bill Bennett said. “We’ve talked to a number of Republican senators, and they confessed to being surprised by the reaction.”
There’s a difference in intensity. Among those who favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, 28 percent say the issue is extremely important to them, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. Those who oppose a path to citizenship feel much more strongly about the issue. Forty-seven percent say it’s extremely important.The poll, conducted May 4-6, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
President Bush said the legislation puts enforcement first. “If you’re serious about securing our borders, it makes sense to support legislation that makes enforcement our highest priority,” Bush said Tuesday.
Conservative critics responded with a scathing indictment. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said, “The folks out there in America who, when they see Washington saying we have this wonderful plan, they say ‘Yeah right. We saw what you did with Katrina, we saw what you did with corruption, we saw what you have done in terms of managing the war. So when you tell us you fixed immigration, we are not buying.'”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/29/bush.immigration/index.html