Bush/GOP Scrambling for Base, Independents?

In the near term, Bush and GOP congressional leaders seem focused on quelling the uprising among conservatives. "The common theme is, 'We have to get back to the base,' " said one prominent lobbyist who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was involved in strategy discussions with Capitol Hill Republicans and the White House.

Read the whole article here.

It goes on to talk about how GW needs to focus on reigning in that bad spending habit Republicans have developed, and on improving his inexplicably Democrat-friendly approach to solving our border/immigration woes.

And then, out of nowhere, the article takes a zany turn toward comedy.

Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, said that stabilizing the president's base was more important for the GOP over the next year than wooing independents disaffected from the administration.

Yeah, that's right. Matthew Dowd, who just a couple of months ago wrote the following in an op-ed piece for The New York Times (I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it, since you have to pay for EVERYTHING at the NYT these days):

But chances are that there will be a substantial decrease in illegal immigration from Mexico in the next 20 years...

and this:

If the trend continues, it could be that we've already seen the high-water mark of illegal Mexican immigration -- put simply, the issue may be resolving itself.

But chances are? If the trend continues? Could be that we've already seen? The issue may be resolving itself? Please! I can't handle all the certainty!

Dowd quoted statistic after statistic in the piece (called The Mexican Evolution), but, even with all the numbers that were supposedly quoted to back him up, the best he could do was finish the article by flinging turds of possibility at us regarding fixing our immigration problems.

All I can say is that there are lots of us out here who are very seriously concerned with the border/illegal immigration problems that America faces right now. And, whether we're part of "the base," independent, or WHATEVER, Bush and the GOP are going to have no choice but to address this issue fully, because chances are that if they don't, it could be that our votes may be going to someone else.