Posted on 06/06/2007 10:12:52 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan immigration bill narrowly survived a potentially fatal challenge on Wednesday when the Senate turned back a Republican bid to limit the illegal immigrants who could gain lawful status.
The close vote on a proposal by Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, to bar felons including those court-ordered to be deported from legalization reflected the delicate position of the contentious immigration bill, which remains under threat from the right and the left.
The vote was 51-46 against the amendment. Democrats succeeded in sucking support from Cornyn's proposal by winning adoption of a rival version that would bar a more limited set of criminals, including certain gang members and sex offenders, from gaining legalization. The Senate backed that amendment 66-32.
Cornyn had painted his effort as a key vote for any presidential candidate a sign of the degree to which the contentious debate is bleeding over into the GOP campaign fray.
The amendment "is a defining issue for those who seek the highest office in the land to demonstrate their respect for the rule of law and to demonstrate their desire to return law and order to our immigration system," Cornyn said.
Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., alone among his party's presidential aspirants in backing the immigration measure, opposed Cornyn's bid and backed the Democratic alternative offered by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., called Cornyn's measure "a stealth, Trojan horse amendment to kill the bill."
Kennedy, an architect of the bill, said it "would exclude hundreds of thousands from the benefits in this bill and undermine the bipartisan compromise that (senators) worked so long and so hard to produce."
ping
46 for the amendment. Think we can count on them to support a filibuster?
They seem to have an exceptionally strong core of supporters for this stupid bill.
Time to phone Congress and the GOP HQ yet again...
That is great news for Michael Delatorre err...Ricardo Contreras.
They're not really selling it to Mexico. It's only those 18 Mexican families with all the power and $, plus our elites and Canada's who will be the recipients of their benevolence.
Is the roll call up yet? I really want to know who those 46 Senators who voted against Cornyn are.
Ted Kennedy and Co. is enabling millions of Americans to know how Mary Jo’s family must have felt.
They will kill it in the House, Rose, if it doesn’t die a deserved death in the Senate. God Bless Texas!
It is heartbreaking to witness the likely destruction of our Republic at the hands of utterly vile and corrupt politicians. All the calls have been made, there is nothing we can do it seems.
Thursday when Reid tries for cloture we will see what happens. He needs 60 votes to cut off debate. The amendment defeated would have denied amnesty to the 600,000 illegals who have already gone through our legal system, and have been ordered deported. The amendment passed cuts that down to only sex offenders and gang bangers. The thiefs, armed robbers, and violent muggers would still get amnesty under this bill.
Fred Barnes is a conservative?
Oh, the sheer drama of it all! I'm on pins and needles, just trying to figure out how it will all end! < /s >
YEAs -—46
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lott (R-MS)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (R-VA)
NAYs -—51
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Craig (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
Not Voting - 2
Coburn (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
Who on here doesn’t believe this shamnesty isn’t another step toward the NAU?
Unless you're in your late 70's or suffering from some form of terminal disease, better start worrying for yourself first.
Bush sure must hate America. He is so guilty. I cant imagine how a person that is our President is allowed to destruct America.
What is wrong with the American citizens?
I pray you are right. I believe powerful evil forces are working to push this bill through. I can't see how we survive the passage of this bill. We know exactly what the Founders would do when faced with this outright assault on our Constitution and way of life. We will fail our descendants. If this bill passes and is signed it will be the darkest day in the history of our Republic. Nothing will be able to stem the invasion of illegals.
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