Bush Tells His Party To Be ‘Open-Minded’ — President Pushes Immigration Reform

By Perry Bacon Jr.

President Bush called for a “compassionate” Republican Party and warned against the GOP becoming “anti-immigrant” in one of his last interviews as president, defending his vision of the party, which has become unpopular among some Republicans.

“It’s very important for our party not to narrow its focus, not to become so inward-looking that we drive people away from a philosophy that is compassionate and decent,” the president said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that was aired yesterday. “We shouldn’t have litmus tests as to whether or not you can be a Republican. And we should be open-minded about big issues like immigration reform, because if we’re viewed as anti-somebody — in other words, if the party is viewed as anti-immigrant — then another fellow may say, ‘Well, if they’re against the immigrant, they may be against me.’ ”

   Nativist Republican Goons

Bush, when asked about how the GOP could avoid the kind of losses it suffered in the 2008 election — it lost the presidency and several seats in the House and Senate — said, “I think that we shouldn’t change our philosophy.” But he added: “We may want to change our message. . . . We need a new group of leaders.” — [ READ MORE ]

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