Bush, Senators to Meet on Immigration - President Making Rare Trip to Hill

Washington Post ^ | June 12, 2007 | Jonathan Weisman and Mike Abramowitz

[Shermy]

For the first time in five years, President Bush will attend the Senate Republicans' weekly policy lunch today as he pushes to revive his moribund overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.

But even before he set foot in the Capitol, several Republican senators issued a terse warning yesterday: Don't expect much.

In the days after the sweeping compromise on immigration collapsed on Thursday, opposition, if anything, appears to have hardened among some senators who had once been willing to consider the deal. The bill's vociferous critics have also had a long weekend to throw dirt on its grave.

....

Republicans who have been somewhat more supportive say Bush's renewed effort is not likely to change any positions.

"We're pleased to have the president up here, but it's no secret to us that he would like the bill to pass," cautioned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). "Most senators have pretty well made up their minds."

"We respect the president, and I will listen carefully to him," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.). "But we all have our own minds on this subject."

The rescue mission that Bush is embarking on may well be too little, too late. Reid said yesterday that he is willing to bring the immigration bill back to the Senate floor after passage of a major energy bill, probably late next week. But he wants an agreement to limit the amendments to be considered and the time for debate, which would take unanimous consent. A single senator could thwart that demand, and Sessions suggested that opponents of the bill are not about to agree to those conditions, no matter how hard Bush pushes.

...

[Shermy]

Good article, had to be excerpted, on tomorrow’s meeting. Lots of actual quotes from named people, no snark.

[xcamel]

"What has become dead, should stay dead."

[eeevil conservative]

I attended a Madison Forum Luncheon meeting today where Heath Garret- Johnny Isakson’s chief of staff- was our guest speaker.

Keep in mind, please, that Heath is also a fellow member of Madison Forum, along with D A King- Dustin Inman Society.

Make no bones about it folks- they are hellbent and determined to get this bill through. They still want to afgue the definition of Amnesty, and try and tell us that the Dems are in control— if we don’t pass this bil— then we will end up with something WORSE. GRRRRRRRRRR!

They claim we will have “status quo”— what they don’t understand is that even status quo is better than just making these folks legal residents- they WILL bankrupt our states with social services, etc....they WILL!

Anyway- not to remember— after Heath’s 30 minute spin on La Bill— D A King was the first to address him. D A King got an OVERWHELMING applause- Heath did NOT!

ALso—VERY IMPORTANT NOTE— Heath actually discussed the SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America- aka the North American Union.)

I asked him if Johnny Isakson supported the SPP plan, and if not- what did he plan to do, to STOP it.

SPECIAL NOTE HERE!

When I did so, someone in the crowd said, “huh?”

Heath looked up and responded- “North American Union.”
He said that Johnny supported “some parts” of “SPP”....

NOTE- THIS IS NOT A CONSPIRACY! IT IS REALITY FOLKS!

I told him his best bet was to NOT support the SPP — and if there was anything he liked about the plan and wanted to implement— then he should go about implementing it in an open and honest way- SEPERATE from the SPP plan.

He answered that this was a good point.

Anyway— Just wanted to give you all the heads up— I will be writing about this whole thing later this week.....

[A CA Guy]

Hope a nice hurricane or something prevents any such meeting which could revive that mess of a bill.

[Prince Charles]

The rescue mission that Bush is embarking on may well be too little, too late

Thank God.

[bmwcyle]

Continue to call!!!

[sgtbono2002]

Mr. Bush has for almost 7 years now let the Congress run all over him.. They have called him names and he didnt respond. He let the Social Security bill go down the tubes. he let CFR pass, he hasnt been to the Hill. Now all of a sudden he is trying to get the United States to commit suicide with an amnesty bill that sucks right to the bone and he goes up to the Hill to make an ass of himself.

[Shermy]

“”They claim we will have “status quo”—””

This line has been spreading, I think it originated with McCain. “Status quo” bad, “change” is good, any change. A false dilemma, if you want the laws enforced, support this bill.

It’s illogical, but effective on some I think.

[Swordfished]

“North American Union.”

President Bush's schizophrenic behavior would sure be explained clearly by this NAU and SPP.
Would someone please abide by and defend the G.d. Constitution?

[Tarpon]

It is nice Bush decided to drop in, party building and maintaining the momentum I guess.

[clintonh8r]

Next he’ll be talking to the portraits at 4AM....

[Gvl_M3]

Thanks for the update.

You might want to start a vanity thread with this.

[no-to-illegals]

President Bush, I could understand if you were going to the congress to ask for funding to secure our nation’s border, but to ask the congress to allow the looking away as the invasion of this nation continues......is becoming more of an annoyance, especially since we the people have been told there are forces not only inside but outside of our nation desiring to do Americans and their children, and their children’s children harm. And for our own president, to throw wide the doors of the nation and invite the vermin in to do their evil deeds, makes my blood boil, for you sir, are not obeying your oath to the people, and have trashed your oath to America and America’s citizens. To behave in the interest of another people other than this nation’s citizens is treasonous, at the very least. America’s people are saying secure our border, and then we should debate the illegal masses inside the nation, as to their ultimate determination of status. Please sir, our nation’s survival / demise is contained in the action you take.

Should your action be to speak and represent those illegally in my nation for a legalization of their acts, I shall have to use my voice and actions to oppose you.

Americans deserve better sir, than a misrepresentation of an oath, and a shredding of our Constitution. Do the right thing Mr. President and represent the people of the United States not a foreign power or a foreign people with no held citizenship. There is after-all a War on Terror to win.

[Tarpon]

We will only have “Status quo” If the US government chooses to not enforce the laws as currently written. I wonder what part of that they still don’t get.

I assume when Bush signed the 2006 fence bill he just told himself he doesn’t mean it or crossed his figures or something. Is so, he shouldn’t have done it in public before so many witnesses.

[LFOD777]

[Cacique]

This is not over yet. Bush refuses to give up this easily. It's his stuborn character. He will try to resurect it and call it something else. We have to keep our guard up. We need to keep the pressure up.

STAGE TWO is to go after the people who hire illegals. Start giving them fines and arresting them. Just catch ten or 100 of them on the nightly news. The magnet will dry up and most of the 12 million will go home by themselves.

As an adendum, we should anonymously call the IRS, people working "off the books" means taxes ain't being paid. Make anonymous fliers and hang them around the neighborhood, name names. It's time to embarras these bustards, whether they give to the GOP or Rats, we don't need them.

STOP AMNESTY NOW!! WE CAN DO IT!!

CALL! CALL! CALL! CALL! AND KEEP CALLING TILL THE LINES FRY!

WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! TILL YOU RUN OUT OF INK IN YOUR PEN!

Bombard the Democrats as well, especially the ones that ran on an anti illegal immigration plank and the ones in marginal districts who could be vulnerable. keep pounding on them. This is a bipartisan issue not a Conservative or Liberal issue BUT AN AMERICAN issue.

[LFOD777]

[Enchante]

In addition to my disgust at WH fervent support for the ludicrous shamnesty bill, I find it appalling that THIS is what brings President Bush to lobby personally on the hill for the first time in 5 years — not a crucial issue in the WOT and Iraq, etc., not securing our BORDERS, not re-confirming the great patriot and Marine General Pace, not any number of other pressing conservative priorities. No, it is appalling that GW wants to keep pressing for the shamnesty bill. Let it die, no bill is better than this bill, by far! Build the fence properly, fund and build it across the entire southern border, act to truly secure the border and then we can debate how to deal (without AMNESTY) with the countless millions of illegals already here.

[quantim]

I often ponder how life would be if the Constitution were more perfect in that the Senate was not included in the ‘Great Compromise’ and how much greater our nation would be be without this 100 person tumor, the notion is not congruent with a representative republic.