Posted on 06/27/2007 5:17:31 AM PDT by SE Mom
The Senate Tuesday voted to revive its misbegotten immigration bill, with the help of a handful of senators who claim to oppose amnesty but voted to proceed. They are now getting what they voted for, as H. L. Mencken put it, good and hard — with a 370-page “clay pigeon” amendment that is supposed to be digested and voted on by the end of the week. If the bill had been defeated yesterday, it would have been gone for at least two years and probably longer. Instead, it is a little closer to passage. But first it has to overcome another cloture vote scheduled for tomorrow. Again, the bill needs 60 votes to survive.
....It got 64 votes yesterday. If all of the senators who voted against cloture stand firm, then, five senators would have to switch to no to defeat the bill on Thursday. Those votes are available from a bipartisan group of eight senators who have profound doubts about this bill. Our reporting suggests these senators are most likely to be persuaded to vote no on Thursday and derail amnesty. They are Sens. Kit Bond (R., Mo.), Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), Richard Burr (R., N.C.), Norm Coleman (R. Minn), John Ensign (R. Nev.), Ben Nelson (D., Neb.), Mark Pryor (D., Ark.) and Jim Webb (D., Va.).
(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...
Senators opposed to amnesty tended to justify their votes for cloture Tuesday by saying that they want one last shot at improving the bill. That sounds reasonable enough. But the entire exercise in the Senate is about passing the core “Grand Bargain” — that is, immediate legal status for illegal aliens in exchange for promises of enforcement later. Any amendment that truly threatens the bargain won’t pass, although the Republican Grand Bargainers are willing to go as far as they dare in putting more enforcement around the edges of the deal. For weeks, they insisted that the bill was tough on enforcement, but suddenly it now needs all sorts of enhancements. It is transparent that their commitment to these enhancements begins and ends with the need to pick off enough Republican votes to get through the next cloture vote.
The main provision they want to add, the “touchback,” is ridiculous. The original Grand Bargain stipulated that while illegal immigrants would get legal status almost immediately, they would have to leave the country to file their applications for green cards. The improved Grand Bargain — if Sens. Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham, and Mel Martinez get their way — would also give illegal immigrants legal status, but would have them leave the country to file their applications for permanent Z visas. It is a meaningless distinction. Under either scenario, illegal aliens will have been made legal — that’s the amnesty — and then will have to make an entirely symbolic trek abroad for no purpose other than to give supporters of the Grand Bargain a tough-sounding sound bite during the next few days.
~snip~
Ping
Great cartoon!
Below is a list of Senators to call who voted for reintroduction of the immigration bill. They must be reminded that a vote for the cloture motion to end debate is a tacit vote in favor of the bill!
Senators with the most potential to change their vote:
Christopher Bond (R-MO) (202) 224-5721
Sam Brownback (R-KS) (202) 224-6521
Richard Burr (R-NC) (202) 224-3154
Larry Craig (R-ID) (202) 224-2752
John Ensign (R-NV) (202) 224-6244
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (202) 224-2541
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) (202) 224-6665
Senators who voted for cloture that still need to hear from the American people:
Robert Bennett (R-UT) (202) 224-5444
Norm Coleman (R-MN)(202) 224-5641
Susan Collins (R-ME) (202) 224-2523
Pete Domenici (R-NM) (202) 224-6621
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) (202) 224-5972
Judd Gregg (R-NH) (202) 224-3324
Chuck Hagel (R-NE) (202) 224-4224
Jon Kyl (R-AZ) (202) 224-4521
Trent Lott (R-MS) (202) 224-6253
Richard Lugar (R-IN) (202) 224-4814
Mel Martinez (R-FL) (202) 224-3041
John McCain (R-AZ) (202) 224-2235
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) (202) 224-5344
Arlen Specter (R-PA) (202) 224-4254
Ted Stevens (R-AK) (202) 224-3004
George Voinovich (R-OH) (202) 224-3353
John Warner (R-VA) (202) 224-2023
U.S. Constitution, Article 4 Section 4:
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.
-—Our reporting suggests these senators are most likely to be persuaded to vote no on Thursday and derail amnesty. They are Sens. Kit Bond (R., Mo.), Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), Richard Burr (R., N.C.), Norm Coleman (R. Minn), John Ensign (R. Nev.), Ben Nelson (D., Neb.), Mark Pryor (D., Ark.) and Jim Webb (D., Va.).-—
Normally they are just pandering lowlifes. So, we’re supposed to believe that they are braving white hot flak from their constituents now because they want to help engineer a new and improved hated bill? Or that this is some grand strategery? Come on!
Show me the money and I’ll show you the source of their “courage”!
This is a ping list promoting Immigration Enforcement and Congressional Reform.
If you wish to be added or removed from this ping list, please contact me.
I had this article linked for a later ping (I don't want to overload anyone). Since it's already posted in a thread, I'll include other links I've located:
I expect George Bush to have another little “get together” with Republican Senators before tomorrows vote !!!
~ "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" ~ ~ So-Called "Guest Worker Program" ~
My Outrageous Scheme Isn't Amnesty!
Translation: It's Really AMNESTY
Maybe I'm confussed, or just not very awake yet this morning, does this mean they need to vote against cloture this round?
Is it because of the way the bill is presented this time or what?
STOP GIVING TO THE GOP, CHANGE YOUR REGISTRATION FROM PUBBIE TO INDEPENDENT. SCREW THE BA$T@%DS!!
Thanks for this list.
After what I read yesterday about Norm Coleman and his constituents getting donation emails, and then him voting to keep this thing alive is bewildering in the least. If he votes for cloture on this Amenesty legislation, he might as well pack his bags right now!!
And really that goes for any Senator who votes for this POS bill. Infact Bush has basically lost all credibility with his base, and regardless of the vote totals on this bill, he should run out on a rail by his former supporters.
Moderates and Rinos "need not apply" in 2008!!
They need to hear from us alright -- every last one of them needs to be run out of DC on a rail, with a particular focus on the most offensive/arrogant of the bunch: Graham, McCain, Specter, Hagel, and Lott.
How does one register as an independent?
I have voted in republican primaries, yet never considered myself a registered republican.
They always stamp my voters reg. card republican when I vote in the primary.
I am on their mailing list however. I just love sending letters back telling them how I feel in place of checks.
That's BS! Vote conservative in the primaries and FIGHT to return control from the moderate/rino's back to the conservatives!
Although, I wouldn't give the GOP a dime right now until this treasonist Amnesty bill is dead complete with giving it the stake thru the heart, silver bullet treatment!
PDF of the 373-page Clay Pigeon Amendment
http://hotair.cachefly.net/mm/clay-pigeon-amendment.pdf
Caller to Bennett this a.m. pointed out specifics we should look at and brought up Bush at a 2005 speech on immigration (2006 bill leadup), where he said he’s been working on this trade-wise for FIVE years.
Items to check out in the bill re: trade
133
413
412
425
503
Sen. Bunning (R-KY): Amnesty backers ‘smoking something illegal’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1856939/posts
If you haven’t read this... you really need to, explains more. They lying their asses off.
Borderline Insanity
Will the Senate allow the U.N. to control U.S. immigration law?
S.1639 states on pages 388 -389:
(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
(i) supersede obligations under any treaty or other international agreement to which the United States is a party, including –
(I) the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at The Hague, October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670);
(II) the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, adopted at Vienna, June 25, 1993; and
(III) the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, adopted at New York, November 20, 1959; or
(ii) limit any right or remedy under such international agreements.
The United States is “a party” to a good many international agreements. These agreements are all too often “wish lists” unconstrained by economic reality or fallen human nature.
Examples:
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees “continuous improvement of living conditions” as well as “the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women includes a demand for “complete disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
Congress can transform any treaty into American law
Some people, Thomas Geoghegan of the American Prospect among them, actually think we should junk our Constitution’s treaty-ratification process:
Let’s just ignore the Treaty Clause (Article II, section 2, clause 2) of the U.S. Constitution. … [W]e just pass a simple law. “Yes we will comply with Kyoto.” Or: “We’re in the ICC.” It’s a straight up or down vote in the House. Then it’s 50 votes plus the veep in the Senate, if we get rid of the filibuster under special fast-track-type rules.
I asked Matthew Spalding, director of the Heritage Foundation’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, about the legal impact of the Senate passing any legislation which includes references to unratified treaties. Spalding said:
The Senate can’t ratify treaties that have not been presented to them by the executive. They can only provide advice and consent after the president exercises the power “to make” the treaty.
Nevertheless, they can incorporate the provisions of the treaty as law, and commit us as law (but not international treaty commitment). There have been other cases in which we agree to abide by something not ratified.
WE ARE THE WORLD
Both the Vienna Declaration of 1993 and the Declaration on the Rights of the Child of 1959 have dreadful implications for any American concerned about mandatory multilingualism, a reasonable border control policy or abuse of public benefits by immigrants.
The 1993 Vienna Declaration and Program of Action guarantees the right of linguistic minorities to “use their own language in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination” and insists upon “the elimination of all forms of discrimination against” migrant workers as well as “the rights of everyone to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being, including food and medical care, housing and the necessary social services.”
Note that there are no distinctions made between legal and illegal residents of a nation. All are to receive “necessary social services” and have those services provided in their own language.
The Declaration on the Rights of the Child (1959) cited by the Senate immigration bill is a U.N. resolution. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is a formal international agreement signed in 1995 by the Clinton administration, but never ratified by the United States Senate.
The 1989 Convention, not the 1959 Declaration, was cited by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s controversial Supreme Court ruling in Roper v. Simmons in 2005.
Because of the Kennedy opinion, the 1989 Convention is “radioactive” in a way that the 1959 Declaration is not. Still, the rights granted by the 1959 Declaration are spectacularly sweeping:
Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour [sic], sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family. … The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services. … [A] child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother.
Given the creativity of immigration lawyers and the willingness of federal judges to rewrite legislation according to their personal beliefs, chances are good that these endorsements of U.N. resolutions will be strictly enforced.
The Senate has a choice: (A) pass a 21stt-century version of the Bricker amendment making our Constitution superior to any and all international agreements or (B) continue to oppose limiting debate (cloture) on the immigration bill. Given this is but one of many problems with the legislation, “B” seems like the right vote.
— Jim Boulet Jr. is the executive director of English First.
(Damn Clinton)
Links at site:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWNjM2M1YjYzNzIyNjM3NDkwY2YxMjNhN2U0ZDI0NWU=
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION VOTE & UPDATE
We have approximately 36 hours until the do or die second cloture vote on Thursday. That is the last chance we have to the kill the bill in the Senate.
1. Cloture motion passed 64-35. Senators Alexander and Corker kept their word and voted NO! (Full vote below).
2. The Senate has released the text of the “clay pigeon**” (See Division list below). On Wednesday the Senate convenes at 10:00 am. They will immediately begin consideration of the bill, which will be divided into 27 divisions and expect votes on divisions of Reid amendment #1934 to occur throughout the day. This procedure (called the “clay pigeon”) has only been used 2 times in the history of the Senate. It intent is to limit consideration to only the hand-picked amendments approved by Reid, McConnell, the White House, and the “Masters of the Universe.”
3. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) just required the entire bill – all 373 pages — (S. 1639) be read on the Senate floor (this is great! It forces Reid to take up time).
4. 2nd cloture motion will take place Thursday
ACTIONS:
* Calls to Senators and the White House; also calls into the Senate Campaign Headquarters (Chairman Sen. John Ensign voted YES on cloture today—inexcusable! We have heard they are losing hundreds of donors today—let them know if one is you!)
o Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-1213
o National Republican Senatorial Committee: 202-675-6000
o White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111
* Thank Senators Alexander and Corker for voting NO and tell them we are depending on them to vote NO again on Thursday.
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senatep Vote Summary Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider S.1639 ) Vote Number: 228 Vote Date: June 26, 2007, 12:16 PM Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Agreed to
Measure Number: S. 1639
Measure Title: A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes. Vote Counts: YEAs 64
NAYs 35
Not Voting 1
Grouped By Vote Position YEAs -—64
Akaka (D-HI)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ensign (R-NV)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
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)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs -—35
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bunning (R-KY)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Not Voting - 1
DIVISIONS OF REID AMENDMENT #1934
DIVISION SENATOR TOPIC PAGE #
I Hutchison Early touchback 1-115
II Webb Community ties/2003 cutoff for Z Visas 116-120
III Bond No green cards for Z holders 121
IV Dodd More Green Cards for Parents 122-128
V Republican Side By Side for Dodd 129
VI Menendez Additional Family Points 130
VII Baucus Strike Real ID 131
VIII Grassley Title III Substitute 132-199
IX Domenici Additional Federal Judges 200-205
X Chambliss SS Totalization 206-212
XI Graham Enhanced Enforcement/High Tech Improvements 213-246
XII McCaskill/Durbin Illegal hire penalties/H1B Reforms 247-261
XIII Cantwell High Tech Improvements 262-271
XIV Coleman Sanctuary Cities 272-273
XV Byrd Additional $500 Fee 274-275
XVI Thune No probationary status until triggers met 276
XVII Sanders H-1B Restrictions 277
XVIII Alexander Oath of Allegiance at Naturalization 278-290
XIX Brown Job posting requirement/duration 291-293
XX Levin Religious minorities 294-95
XXI Isakson Preemption 296-297
XXII Schumer Tamper proof SS Card 298-303
XXIII Ensign Social Security Benefits 304-306
XXIV Leahy Refugee Scholars/EB 5 307-309
XV Graham Mandatory Minimums 310-322
XVI Boxer Reduce # Y Visas by # of overstays
XVII Managers Assorted 324-373
via Gail A
Also via Malkin:
http://michellemalkin.com/
Searchable and linkable version by NZ of Truth Laid Bear
(I must hit the tip jar)
http://truthlaidbear.com/immigrationbill_amend.php?page=1
Ed Morrissey is wading through the amendment package. Here are a few of the quick points he has already raised:
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/010358.php
POINT 1: Page 21, lines 12-16, apparently reinstated the 24-hour limit on probationary background checks. Remember when they promised to fix that so that no one would get a probationary card without passing the full background check? I guess they broke that promise.
POINT 2: Page 29, lines 12-end: The Z-visa has unlimited 4-year terms. I don’t think this is a change, but shouldn’t the immigrant at some point actually immigrate?
POINT 3: Page 33, lines 19-25: Z-visa non-immigrants over the age of 65 are not expected to maintain employment in order to remain eligible to be in the US. Again, why would they be here if they’re not working and not applying for a regular immigration status?
POINT 7: Page 69, line 20: The DREAM Act, providing scholarships for the children of illegal immigrants, still exists in the bill.
POINT 8: Page 89-90, lines 22-04: The 24-hour limit on background checks still holds within the Ag Workers section (the temporary guest worker program). If it takes longer than 24 hours, they get their credentials. (h/t: commenter Redherkey)
POINT 9: Page 92, lines 14-15: Do I read this correctly? The new limit on guest-worker visas is now 1,500,000 — not counting dependent Z-A visas? Wasn’t this originally 400,000 and reduced by half later?
POINT 10: Pages 169-170: The employer fines seem rather daunting. The first tier fine for employing an illegal will be $5,000 per occurence. If an employer has been fined in the past for employing an illegal alien, it escalates to $10,000, and on up to $75,000 per occurence. If the ICE decides to enforce the law on employers — still a rather open point — it could get very expensive. I wonder if that applies to corporations as a whole, or each location separately.
POINT 11: Pages 227-8: The temporary worker program gets fleshed out more specifically here, and it appears to have a limit of 180,000 for “Y-visa nonimmigrants.” If so, what are the Z-A visas, and why do they have a cap of 1,500,000?
POINT 12: Page 276: This is an amendment that forces any probationary status to wait until after the security triggers have been met. It seems to me that this is another example of the many cross purposes of this bill, and it will serve to confuse both backers and opponents of this bill.
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) said Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid bears responsibility for the immigration bill after Reid used his powers to guarantee votes on a few amendments while blocking all others. According to the Senate historian, this has never been done before in U.S. history.
“Senator Reid has been trying to portray this immigration nightmare as solely the responsibility of President Bush, but today we saw just how bad Reid wants it. He used his power as Majority Leader to manipulate and abuse the rules of the Senate to ram this bill down our throats. He has set up a process that guarantees votes on a few amendments while blocking all others. This has never been done before, and it’s the most heavy-handed and rigged thing I have ever seen. This bill may have Ted Kennedy’s name on it but it belongs to Harry Reid now.”
After the Senate voted to cut off debate on the question of whether to resurrect the Senate immigration bill, Senator Reid set up unique debate process that guarantees votes several hand-picked amendments but blocks consideration of all others. Senator Reid used a parliamentary tool called a “clay pigeon” to divide a giant amendment into multiple amendments and then moved to block all others. No other member of the Senate besides Reid could have accomplished all of this without being stopped by another Senator. No other Majority Leader in history has done this.
“Republicans need to take a step back and realize what happened today. Senator Reid turned the Senate into the House and fundamentally undermined minority rights,” said Senator DeMint. “I was always told the Senate was the saucer that cooled the pot, but Senator Reid is forcing us to drink straight from the spout. Republicans better wake up soon or they can expect Senator Reid to use this tactic in the future to raise taxes, increase spending, and weaken our national security.”
And from Kurtz... no less, this:
Something about this immigration battle doesn’t sit well. For all the bitterness of our political battles, there’s at least the sense that the government responds to the drift of public opinion. The Republicans in Congress turned into big spenders and the war in Iraq went poorly. As a result the Democrats prospered in 2006, if narrowly. That’s how democracy works. Our politics are often angry and ugly (and that’s a problem), but this is because the public is deeply divided on issues of great importance. Deep down, we understand that our political problems reflect our own divisions.
Somehow this immigration battle feels different. The bill is wildly unpopular, yet it’s close to passing. The contrast with the high-school textbook version of democracy is not only glaring and maddening, it’s downright embarrassing. Usually, even when we’re at each others’ throats, there’s still an underlying pride in the democratic process. This immigration battle strips us of even that pride.
I’m still stuck on the way this bill was going to be pushed through without a public airing of crucial provisions, in the two or three days before Memorial Day recess. But I should be stuck even further back–on the way this bill was cooked up in a backroom deal that bypassed the ordinary process of public hearings. We take them for granted, but those civics textbook fundamentals are there for a reason. We’re going to pay a steep price for setting the fundamentals aside.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZmVmNjUzNDM4ZmFhMDM2ZTA1ZTFiMDEzZWM2ODRmNTU=
Of the 8 senators you listed with the most potential to switch, only Bond, Burr, and Ensign voted against the even worse 2006 amnesty bill. All of the others listed in addition to the 8 voted for last year’s bill. The votes are there to pass the bill. The only roadblock really remaining is the cloture vote on Thursday.
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