“A house divided against itself cannot stand”

The Anchoress on immigration:

The President of the United States is not merely President of the Base, but of the whole country. When a president is elected, his job is not then to “do the bidding of the base” or face their wrath. I daresay you would be horrified to see a Democrat president listening only to “the base.” I respectfully suggest that when a president is elected, it does not translate into “the base gets to decide policy for the nation.” I further suggest that a president who has managed to give you 70% or so of what you, “the base” wanted has earned both his say and a calm, rational, NOT-hysterical perusal of what he is proposing before the lynching party goes off half-cocked.

Maxed Out Mama on immigration:

I think we should take off the gloves and admit that unlimited cheap immigration is suppressing wages for huge numbers of people, including recent legal immigrants. Furthermore, it's an absolute undercutting of unions everywhere, because no way are illegals going to join a union and strike. It's class warfare.

It's fuelling a level of anger that's unimaginable to those who talk only to people who are insulated from the world of factory workers, house cleaners, roofers and WalMart workers. These people are subsidizing, in the form of lower wages and therefore lower costs, the lifestyles of people who have much more and make much more than they. In many areas of the country, most construction workers are making around $10 an hour. They make less in real dollars than they did in the 1970's, and they know it, and they are hurting.

Dr Sanity on immigration:

Did I mention that my Grandmother at age 15 stowed away on a boat to America and entered New York without a penny to her name, ultimately starting her own sewing business, before she met my Grandfather?

My immigrant Grandparents always understood what this country was fundamentally about.

In short, while I was lucky enough to be born an American, I am proudly descended from some incredible people who chose to be American. And I salute them and thank them from the bottom of my heart. In fact, I believe the real strength of this country comes from people who consciously and deliberately choose the liberty that America offers–whether they are born between the shining seas of this wonderful land or they make their way here by other means.

Beth on immigration:

I like what I’m reading–I don’t have a problem with any of it. No amnesty, crackdown on employers, beefing up border security with manpower AND technology, and a temporary worker program. And a statement addressing respect for American culture and our language.

Sounds good to me. I’m sure there will be some who aren’t happy no matter what he says, though.

Mamacita quotes a particularly moving passage:

In the novel "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn," the illiterate grandmother lifted her new granddaughter and said, simply, "This child has been born of parents who can read and write. This, to me, is a great miracle." The cycle of education had started, you see.

There are no quick fixes for the serious immigration problems we now face. Immigration reform and assimilating 10-12 million illegal aliens already here, is a decades long project- all because of the neglect of the last few decades, by every administration and party. We can, as a nation, fix the problem, if we can come together, define the problem and work out a solution, together. The solution will not originate in Congress, but rather, in coffee shops and with discussions across kitchen tables. Woe unto the congressman that thinks otherwise. He too, may soon be looking for work.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."