President Bush has been flying all over the place raising money for Republican political campaigns and is just too busy to meet with the Southwestern Sheriffs' Border Coalition. The coalition consists of all 26 border sheriffs from California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. They wanted to discuss the issue of national security and immigration on the border.
This is not the first time Bush has dodged facing up to the reality of the situation along the border. Republican house members in Texas flew to DC to meet with Bush on the border issue in May and he snubbed them sending his spokesmonkey Scott McClellan to try and talk them down.
It seems Bush doesn't have a problem selling out America unless he has to actually face the people that he is directly affecting by not doing his primary job of defending our nation against all enemies foreign and domestic.
In a message that was sent by his appointments manager -- and not even written by him -- the group was told that he's too busy for this "special opportunity". If you're the President of the United States and have 26 sheriffs requesting your time at one meeting the least you could do is write the message blowing them off yourself.
San Bernardino County Sun
President Bush has refused to meet with border law enforcement officials from Texas for a second time. His response to their request came in the form of a letter Monday, angering both lawmakers and sheriffs.
...
[Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas] requested the meeting for members of the Southwestern Sheriffs' Border Coalition -- a group that includes all 26 border county sheriffs from California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. The sheriffs wanted to speak to the president about the increasing dangers in their communities and along the border.
"The president is the busiest man in the world but he needs to take the time to talk to the border sheriffs and learn what's happening in the real world from them," Poe said. "We can't understand why he refuses to meet with them."
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Poe said the White House letter dated Monday showed the disconnect between the administration and the American people who want the border secured.
"The president would appreciate the opportunity to visit with border sheriffs," said the White House letter written by La Rhonda M. Houston, deputy director of the Office of Appointments and Scheduling. "Regrettably, it will not be possible for us to arrange such a meeting. I know that you understand with the tremendous demands of the president's time, he must often miss special opportunities, as is the case this time."
White House spokesman David Almacy did not directly respond to the sheriffs' comments Thursday evening, but spoke of the president's efforts to support all law enforcement agencies.
"President Bush is committed to ensuring that our nation's borders are secure," Almacy said. "This month, 6,000 National Guard members were deployed to assist the Border Patrol and other inter-agency partners. The president has also increased federal funding that will give state and local authorities the specialized training needed to help federal officers apprehend and detain illegal immigrants."
These 6,000 token National Guard troops will continue to be used as an excuse for not addressing the issue further. I predicted this after Bush's address on immigration. "See I did something now leave me alone!"
The fact he has time to go flying around collecting money and can't take one afternoon with all of the sheriff's along our southern border just shows where his priorities lie with two of the major issues facing us today, illegal immigration and terrorism.
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