Republicans and Democrats alike are weak on the border. Conservatives seem baffled by Bush’s refusal to recognize their needs as he did with the Harriet Miers situation. To understand why Bush is weak on this, though, you have to summarize where the nation is as a whole right now politically. For Democrats, the border is a matter of self-preservation. They have lost so many elections and so much power over the last twelve years that they are starting to get truly desperate. The bad news for Democrats is that they have a very difficult road ahead of them if they want to use the border for their own good. For currently denoted “illegal aliens” to ever help Democrats, the illegals have to be able to vote. In order to be able to vote, Democrats would have to push transparent citizenship requirement modifications through a Republican-controlled Congress.For Republicans, the border is also a matter of votes. That should be no surprise as we are talking about politicians, aren’t we? However, Republicans have no reason to be as desperate as Democrats about this. Not yet anyway. Conservative Republicans want serious immigration policy reform and they want a secure, controlled border along with a good economy and a good fight against terrorism. Not-so-conservative Republicans are simply afraid of what might happen to the country if Democrats gain power. Neither one of these factions will vote for a Democrat any time soon.If Bush remains weak on the illegal immigration issue there will be a conservative rally to polling stations in 2006 and probably 2008 as well. In staying weak on the conservative’s problem, Bush leaves an opening for fellow Republicans to capitalize on his low poll numbers (and their inability to ignore the polls) by being more conservative than the President. Republicans can simultaneously distance themselves from President Bush and appeal to conservatives, provided, of course, that they stay strong on terrorism, etc. Terrorism won’t change anyone’s mind at this point and Social Security probably will not, but border protection can. This should result in the retention of the Republican majority and maybe even Congressional gains.Voter turnout has always been a concern. The combined force of the moderate Republicans’ fear of Democrats and the conservatives’ flight to the polls to fight for border protection will save the Republican majority.

However, Bush’s position is not that simple. His position affects conservatives negatively – for a positive net result. It also appeals to some people, though. His guest worker provisions appeal to some people enough to draw them to the GOP. Some business owners and certainly many newly naturalized citizens will remember Bush’s compassionate conservatism the next (or first) time they vote. Bush’s well-publicized stance on this issue tells some people that the Republicans are the nice guys. They may even gather, “nice and smart” from Bush’s ideas. Bush can make gains for the GOP in the Hispanic community with this position, just like he already has with his family values and pro-life stances. This can result in new wins in new districts for Republicans.Regardless of all this, though, there is a broader goal in mind for George W. Bush. Everybody wants a new immigrant’s first vote, but for President Bush, there is a much deeper issue. The Democrats are getting desperate right now. They were desperate in the 2004 Kerry campaign, obviously, but they’re getting more desperate now. If Bush can help the GOP defeat the Democrats a couple more times in congressional elections and the 2008 Presidential race, he is going to force Democrats to either change their tune or kill themselves off. Republicans can beat Democrats by being more conservative than the President while Bush changes hearts and minds to draw people to the GOP. If these defeats occur a couple more times, Democrats will either change direction and become more conservative or dig their own graves. George W. Bush believes that would be the best thing for the country, and that is what he is concerned about. He wants what is best for the country long-term.Democrats can either join the war on terror, drop their angry adolescent understanding of terrorist surveillance, get real on border security, and help fix social insecurity, or they can go home and watch on television as the Republicans do it all and take all the credit for it. Sadly for Democrats, they believe media polls should dictate public policy. Bush’s low approval ratings have made liberals more liberal, and that will not help them win elections. Liberals have to mask their liberalism to get elected. They are too arrogant to even consider the possibility that Bush’s approval rating may be higher if he were more conservative. All conservatives have to do to get elected is be conservative and ignore media attacks.

Bush has employed the self-sacrificial technique of making himself the object of Americans’ anger because he believes that it will cause the best thing for the nation long-term. He is using media polls and his low approval ratings against Democrats. We will see how it works in the years to come.