the WH is now officially posting on freerepublic.com

Check this out:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1850240/posts

Here's the text of the thread message and the note from the WH official, Nicholas Thompson.


Spokesman for President Bush Posts on Free Republic About Immigration Bill
Thursday, June 14, 2007 | Kristinn


Posted on 06/14/2007 11:16:52 AM PDT by kristinn


A spokeman for the Bush administration sent an e-mail to Jim Robinson and myself confirming the authenticity of a post on Free Republic this afternoon regarding the immigration bill currently before the Senate as having been posted on behalf of the White House.

The spokesman, Nicholas Thompson, works for the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. The Politico reported yesterday that Thompson and Kerrie Rushton, associate directors in the Office of Strategic Initiatives who work under Karl Rove, would be engaging the blogosphere on the immigration bill.

Thompson's post is on the thread titled Penalty Mitigation in the Immigration Reform Bill, a vanity posted by philman_36. Thompson posted at comment #53.

Thompson's e-mail to Free Republic included a brief introduction and the text of his posted comment:

Hi,

I just wanted to let you know that I just posted a response to the post "Penalty Mitigation in the Immigration Reform Bill."

The White House appreciates the opportunity to respond on Free Republic.

Response:
I would like to point out that the Secretary is authorized to reduce or mitigate penalities against employers who in good faith are trying to comply with the law. Certainly, we understand that not all employers knowingly hire illegal immigrants; this will remain the case, especially before the bill’s new secure documentation requirements are fully phased in. We do not seek to wrongly penalize honest employers who unknowingly hire illegal immigrants, therefore we reserve the right to reduce or mitigate their penalties if the employer can show good faith compliance in following the law.

For those employers who do knowingly hire illegal immigrants, please know that we intend to penalize these employers strongly, and the Administration has already stepped up these penalties in the last couple of years. For example, a 2005 program, “Operation Rollback,” assessed $15,000,000 in civil fines to employers, an amount greater than the sum of administrative fines collected in the previous eight years and was the largest worksite enforcement penalty in US history. In the first quarter of FY07, criminal and civil forfeitures have totaled $26,700,000 for employers.

As a reminder of what’s in the bill, fines for hiring an illegal worker are $5,000 maximum per illegal worker for the first offense, $10,000 maximum per illegal worker for the second, $25,000 maximum per illegal worker for the third , and $75,000 maximum per illegal worker for the fourth. In addition, the bill increases the maximum criminal penalty for a pattern or practice of unlawful hiring twenty-five-fold, from $3,000 to $75,000, and would impose a prison term of up to six months. This represents a significant increase in fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Nicholas Thompson
White House Office of Strategic Initiatives

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

There's been no follow-up response. How difficult would it be to set-up an account and ID yourself as a WH spokesman and basically piss all over the base's #1 paranoia?

Reading through those responses, I learned a few things-

(1) Everyone hates immigration as their #1 thing to hate.
(2) They all read the same talking points
(3) They all claim they'll not vote Republican (they will)
(4) Nothing else matters.

I'm really thinking someone did the best troll post of all time. Something to be learned in this. :-)

that this is REALLY a White House official.

Elizabeth Edwards used to post here. And Tony Snow posted at Freeperland.

Really :)

:P Really.

any and all WH emails? Assuming that this guy is with the WH, and that he used his official email account for this you should be able to get a copy. In fact, if the FOIA were worded to include all emails to Freeperville, who knows what interesting tidbits might turn up.

They'll be blown away with these "big" numbers...$15MM in fines! $26.7MM! A drop in the bucket...and that's only what was assessed. I wonder what they actually collected?

But it does show how tenuous the Republican coalition is. They got to be keeping their big $ donors happy with cheap labor, but they can't piss off all of the bigots and racists that they need come voting time. They must be getting desperate if they are reduced to posting on FR....

Enjoy it. Embrace it. Rub it in!

although, he didn't get a whole lotta love in freeptown!

Dirtboy was one of Bush's biggest supporters for a long, long time. I see him taking potshots now. Veddy interesting.

The fact that the Freepers and most of us on this board both oppose the bill suggests that its not a liberal vs. conservative issue, but an establishment vs. grass roots issue.

Regardless of what I think of illegal aliens being allowed to stay or go...personally, it would be fine with me if they stayed, as long as they stop working on the cheap and start organizing with labor but that will never happen IMO (it will never be allowed to happen)

ANYWAY if anyone REALLY gave a damn about curtailing this whole problem they would come down heavy on these corps for employing illegals--we all know that won't happen.

This issue really grinds me and I am NOT a conservative in any way shape or form, a racist, or a red neck--I am just sick to death of watching crooked corps running amuck at the expense of the average middle class person.

I also think by falling in line with bush on this issue that the dem controlled congress is committing political suicide for 08--regardless of what the real case is, the public perceives illegal immigrants as a threat to their jobs and they are angry. I am not saying the public is right...I am just stating that is CLEARLY the perception that they have.

Just my two cents.

:toast:

http://ap.lancasteronline.com/4/white_house_list



<Nicholas Thompson, associate director Office of Strategic Initiatives>

1) Of all the things Bush** has done, lack of real border security is what the freeps think the Dems should be investigating?? (They're such dopes. Bush**'s half-assed interest in border security is a giant fucking clue to his abuse of power using the 9-11/terrorism card, but they're all too focused on the brown people to see it.)

2) A WH official posting on FR? :wtf:

Why exactly does the WH do all it can to not listen to will of the people who put the current administration in place? The blind ear turned to the core base is causing such a ruckus it behooves me to want to support any idea, person or position simply as a way of says, enough is enough.

A pair of great mixed metaphors!

As if the mixed metaphors were not enough, what the heck is he saying in the rest of that sentence?:

. . . it behooves me to want to support any idea, person or position simply as a way of says, enough is enough.

Huh??

The WH is so completely tone deaf to the GOP footsoldiers like this poster that they feel driven to support somebody, anybody rather than the current admin.

We should encourage that in them.