RUSH: You know, this headline: ‘Crackdown on Illegal Workers Appears Imminent.’ Today the Bush administration unveiled new work place regulations. Chertoff went out there, and the Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, had a press conference on border security and immigration administrative reforms. This is a huge crackdown and it’s being focused on the employers. Of course, we talked about it all week. The employers are a little upset about this. ‘Food prices are going to go up, and that price will go up, and this price will go up.’ And that is what they always say to us. But do you know what’s interesting about this to me? Go back into mid-June, not that long ago, mid-June, and in the dark of night, behind closed doors, a group of Republican and Democrat senators accompanied by representatives of the group La Raza crafted the Comprehensive Destroy the Republican Party Act of 2007, called comprehensive immigration reform and control, whatever. They hoped to ram that bill through with no amendments. They hoped to ram it through with no hearings. McCain said we have to take the usual politics out of this, meaning debate. They were doing everything they could to sneak that bill by us. We all know what happened. It bombed. It went down in flames. Their attempt to sneak this thing by us blew up right in their faces. Republicans and Democrats alike.
Now all of a sudden we are getting serious on border security. We’re getting serious on cracking down on the illegals, where they work. This is a 180, a 180, folks, from where our political leaders were back in June and July. Remember, they wanted to get it done before the July 4th recess. This may be bigger than 180. Back then they wanted to ram it through, and they heard you. What else can explain from the administration on down? Getting tough, cracking down. This appears to have some real substance to it. I’ll tell you what it is, and it’s actually something that you should feel pretty good about. It’s election season. They knew they were trying to ram something down our throats that we had no stomach for and no desire for. If they could have, they would have; they tried it. It didn’t work. They heard you, and now look what’s happening going into the election, now that it’s time to get your votes. Not just presidential, but the Senate and House elections too. Those are just over a year away now. They know.
When they want your votes they will listen to you. When they want your votes they’ll do what they think it is you want done. But that time expires shortly after elections. That’s why they have to be kept honest. But I think they got the message on this. I remember after the election or after the bill went down, the initial reaction of all these people was: ‘You’re going to rue this day. You’re going to rue this day. This is the biggest mistake.’ Now look it. If what they wanted to do was so great and so important and so good for the country, why have they caved on something that important to them? Why did they cave?