With 12 days to go until the election, today was the wrong time for Sarah Palin to shoot herself in the foot and alienate her base. But that's what she has done, in style, on Univision.

Interviewer: To clarify, so you support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?

Palin: I do because I understand why people would want to be in America. To seek the safety and prosperity, the opportunities, the health that is here. It is so important that yes, people follow the rules so that people can be treated equally and fairly in this country.

Needless to say, the wingnuts, those few mentioning it so far, are not at all happy.

The Corner leads the charge:

What Palin's response shows is that, first, she's completely open to whatever kool-aid they want her to drink — i.e., she has no innate resistance to amnesty for illegals that would cause her to look for less-unappealing ways of saying what the campaign wants her to say. And second, it shows what the campaign is telling her about McCain's views on the issue — if McCain's talk of "border security first" were anything but boob bait for Bubba, his operatives would have made it clear that Palin was supposed to include that in her discussion of immigration, but she didn't even make a passing reference to it.

Daniel Larison:

I have given up trying to understand what Palinites see in their favorite candidate. If this does not drive home how malleable and unacquainted with the relevant policy options she is, I’m not sure what would.

Michelle Malikin simply says "We're Screwed, '08!"

With twelve days to go, this is going to hurt the McCain/Palin camp even worse than the $150k blown on Sarah's make-over. Immigrants are the "barbarians at the gate" that folk like Neo-Roman elitist Andy McCarthy are so afraid of

Originally posted in a different form at Newshoggers

Conservative radio talkie, Laura Ingraham was discussing Bush's immigration plan and the attacks he's making on conservative vocal critics of it with John Roberts of CNN, when she weakly tried to play the CNN is liberal elite card on Roberts. John Roberts was like, "say, what?" Her proof? She was characterized as being "outspoken."

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INGRAHAM: ...But to insult his base, I mean, I hope he thinks he's going to be saved by the liberal elites at CNN, John, because if he is, then I'll be wrong about this. But I think it's kind of silly.

ROBERTS: Excuse me, what was that last comment?

INGRAHAM: By the way, John, how did you introduce me for this segment before the break. The outspoken Laura Ingraham. Do you guys introduce liberal commentators that way? I'm going to check.

ROBERTS: Yeah, we do actually.

That's a pretty tough depiction of her, wouldn't you agree. I guess I'd be bummed if I was called an outspoken blogger...The Nitpicker has more. "This post is dedicated to the memory of the Myth of the Liberal Media, born April 6, 1954, died October 24, 2006."

Then, this morning, Laura Ingraham made snide comments about the supposed liberal slant of CNN to American Morning host John Roberts. She even had proof from that very interview, in fact: John Roberts had called her outspoken. Never mind that Al Franken was called an "outspoken comedian and liberal" by CNN. Or that Hugo Chavez is an "outspoken leftist". Or that Cynthia McKinney, Michael Moore and Nancy Pelosi were all referred to as "outspoken liberal(s)." None of those things matter. In the minds of the Republican hothouse flowers, any word used to describe them--other than heroic or beloved--can be seen as an attack by the dastardly liberal media...read on

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Int'l Herald Tribune:

Nearly 40 illegal immigrants hired by contractors working on three military bases in Georgia, Virginia and Nevada were arrested over the last three days by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the agency said Friday.

In the largest arrest, 21 illegal immigrant workers were charged with identity theft and immigration violations for attempting to enter Fort Benning, Georgia, said agency spokesman Richard Rocha. They were among 24 workers arrested Wednesday while trying to enter the base to do construction work on soldiers' barracks. The three workers who are not facing criminal charges will be placed in immigration removal proceedings.

Similar raids at military installations in Nevada and Virginia on Thursday also netted 18 other arrests, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Marc Raimondi said.

One of those arrested, a Nicaraguan man employed by a company doing construction at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, was a member of MS-13, which the government considers one of the most dangerous gangs in the U.S., Raimondi said. None of the others arrested posed a direct security threat, Raimondi said, though he added that it is critical that authorities have real identifications for those entering military bases.

Confined Space

The story of immigration officers impersonating OSHA officials, has now gone national with a front page article in the NY Times by Steven Greenhouse, who first read the story in Confined Space earlier this week.

The 48 immigrants thought they were attending mandatory safety training by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But it was not until they showed up to the meeting in Goldsboro, N.C., last week that they discovered they had been summoned for an altogether different reason.

Federal immigration officials had posted fliers telling immigrant workers for several subcontractors at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro that they had to attend a safety meeting. There was no meeting, however; instead there was a sting operation in which immigration officials arrested 48 people on charges that they were illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Ukraine.

The action had one branch of the federal government speaking out against another. The United States Labor Department as well as North Carolina's Labor Department on Friday criticized the sting, suggesting that it would make immigrant workers distrust safety officials just when safety agencies across the nation are stepping up efforts to reduce the disproportionately high injury rate among Hispanic workers.

The federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is defending the "ruse" tactic in general, seems to finally have gotten the message, although it's unclear whether they will cease and desist impersonating OSHA officials.

Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which carried out the sting, said it was part of a stepped-up effort to crack down on illegal immigrants working at chemical plants, nuclear plants and other sensitive facilities.

***

"We certainly understand OSHA's concerns about the use of their name," Mr. Boyd said. "We're putting in place procedures to ensure appropriate coordination." fliers telling immigrant workers for several subcontractors at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro that they had to attend a safety meeting. There was no meeting, however; instead there was a sting operation in which immigration officials arrested 48 people on charges that they were illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Ukraine.

The action had one branch of the federal government speaking out against another. The United States Labor Department as well as North Carolina's Labor Department on Friday criticized the sting, suggesting that it would make immigrant workers distrust safety officials just when safety agencies across the nation are stepping up efforts to reduce the disproportionately high injury rate among Hispanic workers.

The federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is defending the "ruse" tactic in general, seems to finally have gotten the message, although it's unclear whether they will cease and desist impersonating OSHA officials.

Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which carried out the sting, said it was part of a stepped-up effort to crack down on illegal immigrants working at chemical plants, nuclear plants and other sensitive facilities.

***

"We certainly understand OSHA's concerns about the use of their name," Mr. Boyd said. "We're putting in place procedures to ensure appropriate coordination."
I'm not exactly sure what "appropriate coordination" means, but I'm hoping it's bureaucrat-speak for "We screwed up, and we're trying to save face.

The ruse used by ICE has been roundly condemned by the AFL-CIO, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the National Council of La Raza...Read on...

Restitution                  Suburban Guerrilla

Whatever happened to the wingnuts’ “responsibility” meme? I guess responsibility is only for those people poor enough not to have great lawyers:

I'm not exactly sure what "appropriate coordination" means, but I'm hoping it's bureaucrat-speak for "We screwed up, and we're trying to save face.

The ruse used by ICE has been roundly condemned by the AFL-CIO, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and the National Council of La Raza...Read on...

Why is Osama still at large again? I watched this and noticed the same thing Greg Sargent did: Bush To Reporters: Terrorists "Are A Threat To Your Children." Every time Bush talks up a "new" strategy taken by his administration on the war---he predicts the violence will escalate. Really? When hasn't the violence been brutal? When there's an area known as "The Triangle of death," I think that's an indication he can't control the situation, wouldn't you agree? Bush also said we'll leave if the Iraqi government asks us to go. Mmmkay...

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Q Mr. President, moments ago you said that al Qaeda attacked us before we were in Iraq. Since then Iraq has become much less stable; al Qaeda has used it as a recruiting tool, apparently with some success. So what would you say to those who would argue that what we've done in Iraq has simply enhanced al Qaeda and made the situation worse?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, so, in other words, the option would have been just let Saddam Hussein stay there? Your question is, should we not have left Saddam Hussein in power? And the answer is, absolutely not.

Full transcript below the fold:

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