Survey says...

On January 7, 2004, George W. Bush made it clear that he was going after the brown vote with a vengeance. He spoke from the White House about his Guest Worker Program after a two and a half year silence following 9/11. He was kicking off his Latino campaign for his bid for a second term in November, and getting winks and nods from business interests at the same time.

Within a week of that speech, the Border Patrol began a survey of people caught crossing the Southern border. That survey was discontinued on January 27, 2004 at the request of Washington.
Here’s the link:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2005/bpsurvey.pdf

For those who don’t want to read the 16 pages, here are the Cliff’s Notes on the survey:
*The Government only released half of the surveys. As bad as this information is, you wonder what they are hiding.
*Country of origin: 88% from Mexico (No big surprise. It is their border.)
*How long do you plan to stay?: More than a year- 43% Forever- 20%
*Have you heard the US is offering amnesty?: 61% said Yes
*Did the hope of amnesty influence your decision to come here?: 45% said Yes
*Will you apply for amnesty?: 81% said Yes
*Have you ever crossed illegally before?: 64% said Yes
*Do you plan to become a US Citizen?: 67% said Yes
*Do you plan to petition for other family members to come here?: 67% said Yes

Gee, I wonder why it took Judicial Watch 18 months to get Washington to release the information. You would think Bush would be proud that people in Mexico are following his programs and pronouncements. And it might have had an impact on the Presidential election.

All’s well that ends well, they say. Bush received lots of campaign cash from big business. He is also estimated to have won 40% of the Hispanic vote in November of 2004. As Henry Cate VII has said: “The problem with political jokes is they get elected.” Or as Ronald Reagan once said: “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”

Has anybody seen the latest approval ratings for the President and Congress? :)