[Marxism] Yo Quiero Taco Bell- The Battle For Votes Abroad

[Tony Abdo]

Bush's Nephew Rips Armed Border Guards
Sat Aug 21
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY - President Bush's nephew, campaigning for overseas votes in 
Mexico on Saturday, called the federal policy of arming U.S. Border Patrol 
agents with plastic pellet guns "reprehensible."

Speaking in a mix of English and sometimes-halting Spanish, George P. Bush 
said his uncle was not to blame for the gun policy, which has angered 
Mexicans. He instead blamed it on "some local INS (Immigration and 
Naturalization Service) guy who's trying to be tough, act macho."

"If there has been American approval for this policy, that is 
reprehensible," Bush said of the guns, essentially paintball projectiles 
filled with chile powder. "It's kind of barbarous."

The pellet guns, which were approved at the federal level, have been used on 
a trial basis since 2001 in California and Arizona. The U.S. Border Patrol 
fired the pepper-balls in 81 instances in 2002-03 and reported no deaths or 
severe injuries.

Mexican and U.S. diplomats held high-level meetings on Aug. 13 over the use 
of so-called "pepper-ball" guns after an apparent linguistic confusion over 
the projectiles helped fuel tensions with Mexico.

The Mexican government has faced severe criticism from local media and 
rights groups for not opposing more strongly the use of the pellet guns 
against undocumented migrants.

President Bush's Hispanic nephew — he's the grandson of migrant worker Jose 
Maria Garnica — is in Mexico on a week-long visit to drum up support for his 
uncle among the estimated 1 million Americans living there.

The younger Bush, whose father is Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and mother, Columba, 
is originally from Mexico, acknowledged at a news conference that the war in 
Iraq (news - web sites) is not popular in Mexico but defended the military 
action, saying "we're almost done with it."

He also acknowledged that "there are some people in our (Republican) party 
who don't see the benefits of immigration," but promised that President Bush 
was a proponent of immigration reform.

He called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "a dictator" and cast doubt on 
his victory last week in a recall referendum, saying Chavez had "a long 
history of fraud." Outside observers, including former President Jimmy 
Carter, have endorsed the Venezuelan vote counts.

Christopher Fussner, global chairman of Republicans Abroad, which funded 
Bush's trip, called Mexico "the most important country" for getting overseas 
votes.

Fussner said Republicans are advertising in overseas English-language 
newspapers around the world in hopes of capturing expatriate votes.

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's campaign also has enlisted 
family members to woo voters in Mexico. His sister, Diana Kerry, chairwoman 
of Americans Overseas for Kerry, visited Mexico City in July.

Kerry supporters also held a voter-registration and ballot-request drive in 
Guadalajara on Thursday.

On the Net:
Republicans Abroad: http://www.republicansabroad.org
Democrats Abroad: http://www.democratsabroad.org

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