Demonstrators Swarm Around Rove's Home ...bill high school illegals to become citizen

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Mar28.html

Demonstrators Swarm Around Rove's Home

By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 29, 2004; Page B01


Several hundred people stormed the small yard of President Bush's chief political strategist, Karl Rove, yesterday afternoon, pounding on his windows, shoving signs at others and challenging Rove to talk to them about a bill that deals with educational opportunities for immigrants.



Protesters poured out of one school bus after another, piercing an otherwise quiet, peaceful Sunday in Rove's Palisades neighborhood in Northwest, chanting, "Karl, Karl, come on out! See what the DREAM Act is all about!"

Rove obliged their first request and opened his door long enough to say, "Get off my property."

"Seems like he doesn't want to invite us in for tea," Emira Palacios quipped to the crowd.

Others chanted, "Karl Rove ain't got no soul."

The crowd then grew more aggressive, fanning around the three accessible sides of Rove's house, tracking him through the many windows, waving signs that read "Say Yes to DREAM" and pounding on the glass. At one point, Rove rushed to a window, pointed a finger and yelled something inaudible.

Shortly thereafter, sirens shot through the neighborhood and Secret Service agents and D.C. police joined the crowd on the lawn. Rove opened his door long enough to talk to an officer, and the crowd serenaded them with a stanza of "America the Beautiful."

The protest was organized by National People's Action, a coalition of neighborhood advocacy groups based in Chicago.

Leaders said they want Bush to advocate for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, a bill that would permit immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years to apply for legal resident status once they graduate from high school. The measure would eliminate provisions of current federal law that discourage states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented student immigrants.

Immigrant activists say that 50,000 to 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high school each year and that many students can afford college only at the reduced, in-state rates given to legal residents.

The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in the fall but has not been brought before the full Senate for a vote.

Asked for Bush's position on the bill, spokesman Jim Morrell said, "The president has laid out the principles he believes should guide immigration discussion, and he is willing to work with Congress."

When pressed to state Bush's specific position on the DREAM legislation, Morrell repeated his statement.

The coalition's leaders, who converge on Washington each year to advocate for various issues, said they targeted Rove because they could not get as close to the White House as they could to his house. Rove also is one of Bush's main advisers, and he did not reply to their requests for a meeting, leaders said.

"We want the DREAM Act, and Karl Rove is sitting on it," said Brenda LaBlanc, a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.

Coalition leaders said the demonstrators were to protest other policies at the houses of two Cabinet secretaries, Elaine L. Chao of Labor and Ann M. Veneman of Agriculture.

But what the group really wanted was a conversation with Rove, who declined to comment to a reporter through a Secret Service agent.

And after about 30 minutes of goading by protesters in English and Spanish, Rove agreed to meet with two members of the coalition on the condition that the rest of the protesters board their buses and leave his street. The group obliged.

Rove opened his garage door and allowed Palacios and Inez Killingsworth to enter. The meeting lasted two minutes and ended with Rove closing the garage door on Palacios while she was still talking.

Palacios said that Rove was "very upset" and was "yelling in our faces" and that Rove told them "he hoped we were proud to make his 14-year-old and 10-year-old cry."

A White House spokesman said one of the children was a neighbor.

Palacios, trembling and in tears herself, said, "He is very offended because we dared to come here. We dared to come here because he dared to ignore us. I'm sorry we disturbed his children, but our children are disturbed every day.

"He also said, 'Don't ever dare to come back,' " Palacios said. "We will, if he continues to ignore us."

[SuperScout]

Ho-Hum. Another hokied-up incident designed to embarrass the President. What should have been reported, if anything needed to be reported, was the incredible restraint tha Karl Rove demonstrated in the face of such obnoxious and illegal "visitors." Had this same episode occurred at my house, there would probably be several dead demostrators for the county coroner to haul off. The utter arrogance and stupidity of these demonstrators deserves nothing less than the back of our collective hands.

[Packo]

I wouldn't have cared if it was Clinton, Kerry, whatever. That was rude, crude, and didn't mean a damn thing, as you say. Just more underground embarrass the Pres stuff. They'd still be policeing up limbs, joints, and other unidentified body matter if that happened at my house. How friggin' ignorant.

Packo

[BLUEHAWK]

Somebody gonna hate this... but if'n it were my choice alone, I'd deprive Rove of his right, title and interest in ANY home.

He is a cancer upon the presidency of a fine fine man.

Do NOT say no warning has been duly given...

[reconeil]

Not much I can add to The American nonsense prevailing of forcing The American Taxpayer to pay for the schooling of Criminally Illegal Aliens' children,...other than now wanting Americans to also pay for "Their" ADVANCED Education is just more cruel and unusual (strange also) punishment forced on The American Taxpayer.

Still, and since the actual count of Criminally Illegal Aliens (drastically and daily ever increasing) now in America is anybody's guess,...how-the-hell did the: "Activists"/protestors come-up with the; "50,000 to 65,000" figure, since no one could possibly know how many parents have actually sneaked into America,...to start with?

Besides, doesn't Education in America pretty-much treat youngsters similarly as The U.S. Military? In essence: "Don't ask, don't tell". Regardless, and in fairness to The Military, at least The Military doesn't make a-big-deal about their youngsters uttering the word: "God", in this; "Nation Founded under God". Isn't that something? The American Military is actually much wiser than American Education.

Neil

[SuperScout]

Roger on the "criminally illegal aliens" comment. The sooner we start dealing forcefully and effectively with them, and purifying our borders, the happier I'll be. They deserve only an armed escort out of our country.

Sir Mike: you, kind sir, are so far off base about Karl Rove that you're not even in the infield. I fail to understand this dang-near pathological abhorence of the man. He is not the evil Svengali you assume, but instead is a decent. honorable and very intelligent man.

Packo: yup, and then I'd re-load!!

[phuloi]

The whole lot of them should have been arrested and carted off to jail.It was an illegal (and un-called for) demonstration.A sign,I fear,of things to come further on in this election year,as the opposition will pull out all stops to promote arnachy.

[BLUEHAWK]

Still, I don't like the idea of people interfering with the man's serenity and family life by getting in his personal space, he cannot help himself.

In fact, I'm sick of people doing that. Let 'em picket his office... that seems to be fair game, in fact if I thought he was all THAT important I'd probably drive out there and join the march 24/7. I probably would not have the self-control he is demonstrating if anything I was responsible for had any effect of that kind whatsoever on my family.

The President likes the guy, and has found him useful. Fair enough. If it helps keep the whitehouse functioning, then good. I just happen to dislike the man intensely... even if I were to set out a bunch of verifiable reasons for this view (which I could do), it wouldn't matter.

I'm tryin' to remain civil.

[MORTARDUDE]

Where is the outrage in this country leading up to the next election as we quickly turn this into a nation of folks who have no stake in it, and have been given anything that they want.... According to Pat Buchanan the white race will be a minority in the USA as of 2050. I think it will be much sooner than that.....I suspect the illegal alien amnesty will result in 25,000,000 instant citizens. This is criminal, plain and simple.

Larry

[SuperScout]

Who's proposing amnesty? Are you confusing Bush's plan to get them registered, if they have a job, let them work here for 3 years, then send them home with an amnesty plan? Bush's plan might just work, if for no other reason than it first identifies those to be targeted for deportation later, protects the employers from a sudden vacuum in the workforce, and prevents a severe hiccup in our economic recovery by postponing the illegals return.

If the police, and other state/federal agencies would have been doing their jobs, I wager that 3/4 of all the whining protestors would have qualified for a one-way ticket deportation order.