Table for One - The president isolates himself

National Review ^ | June 2i8, 2007 | The Editors

[gpapa]

The comprehensivists have one last argument for passing an immigration bill that even they concede is flawed: It is important for Republicans to “pass something that takes immigration off the table“ before the next election. Needless to say, they would not take their own advice if an enforcement-first bill were on the table. But they seem sincerely to believe that after this bill is passed, the party’s divisions will heal.

Dream on.

[Greg F]

It’s so rare that what’s right is also what’s popular. In those few cases where they ARE the same, government is sure to fight tooth & nail against it.

Bizarre isn't it? The reason, off the top of my head, is that because it's popular, it's good for the common man. Since the elites control the government they will go along with the wrongheaded views of the common man if they actually help the elites. But where the common man is right, and if it helps the common man versus the elites, then it's a fight. Elites give the money, print the newspapers, and throw the parties. "We the people" never even sit down with these politicians for a meal.

[Greg F]

But if we wouldn’t vote for the RINOs at all they’d have to change their calculations regarding who is electible and give us more conservative candidates.

[Pegita]

Most Merciful Father, how the clarity of Your Word is needed this day, for there are those who would have us believe that wrong is right. May the Power of the Holy Spirit so overwhelm those in authority over us, that they would be constrained to do only that which is right and good in Your sight. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we bind all demonic powers that have come upon our beloved land, whose purpose is to destroy all that is holy and good. Set aside every evil plan that comes upon our President ... let him see only what You place before him ... let him walk only where You lead.

Father, release in us the Power that is ours, for the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. Cause us to use this Power to plead our cause before the Throne of Grace, for our leaders and our defenders and our countrymen. Let this Power become vocal as we speak Your Name and Your purpose ... let this Power overwhelm the enemy as we pray for their salvation.

And may we know, O God, to the very depths of our being, that Yours is the Kingdom ... Yours is the Power ... Yours is the Glory, forever, Amen ...

[kabar]

Lou Dobbs said that the Dems and Reps are wings of the same party. It is just a matter of branding and marketing.

[dforest]

Sometimes it ain’t about who you’re votin’ for, its about who you’re votin’ against.

LOL, I know. I voted for him two times and am now very sorry, however, its hard to be given a choice of bugs, sewage, or vomit, and having to pick the one that is the lesser evil.

Problem is, Bush is pushing and promoting this issue.He is the driving force behind it.

We can get rid of the Congress critters, but after this bill passes no on from the GOP or any conservative will have a prayer of winning anyway.

I don't know if getting legal status gives them a right to vote, but I am sure Congress will see to it that this will also come to pass.

Who knows, maybe its buried in that 1000+ paged behemoth of the immigration bill.

[Rummyfan]

Every day that passes with this debate raging on a bill that is on its face a farce and dangerous to the nation leads me to that same cynical conclusion.

[Greg F]

Amen

[Regulator]

the party’s divisions will heal

There won't BE a Republican Party if 20 million Third Worlders get amnestied overnight.

The U.S. will be plunged into Brazil-like madness, with dimwits voting for every Hugo Chavez wannabe demagogue that the Dim party puts up for election.

The Republican party will come to be regarded as a quaint little group of mostly silent and ignored palefaces who are a relic of a more ordered past, which the reptiles will only vaguely comprehend as the reason they came into this country in the first place.

[caphillbabe]

Here is a list of the key staff contacts of the "Amnesty 8" Senators (plus Domenici and Cochran) that are most likely to be persuaded to vote no on Thursday and derail amnesty. Many offices are putting calls straight to voicemail and they can just trash faxes (and letters take weeks to get through due to security). Hit Hill staff where they are so codependent - their Blackberries! Send email directly to staff - not just the generic Senate office mailbox. Contact their Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, and Press Secretary. Make your voice heard!!

For the Democrats, I would strongly suggest taking a pro-union/anti-illegal alien stance (i.e. "they are taking our jobs") rather than using the conservative national security angle.

Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Chief of Staff
tim_becker@bennelson.senate.gov

Legislative Director
christiana_gallagher@bennelson.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
david_dimartino@bennelson.senate.gov

Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Chief of Staff
bob_russell@pryor.senate.gov

Legislative Director
andy_york@pryor.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
michael_teague@pryor.senate.gov
lisa_ackerman@pryor.senate.gov

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA)
Chief of Staff
paul_reagan@webb.senate.gov

Legislative Director
mike_sozan@webb.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
jessica_smith@webb.senate.gov

Senator Kit Bond (R-MO)
Chief of Staff
brian_klippenstein@bond.senate.gov

Legislative Director
kara_smith@bond.senate.gov

Communications Director
shana_marchio@bond.senate.gov

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Chief of Staff
glen_chambers@brownback.senate.gov

Domestic Policy Advisor
brian_robertson@brownback.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
john_rankin@brownback.senate.gov
brian_hart@brownback.senate.gov

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)
Chief of Staff
alicia_peterson-clark@burr.senate.gov
alicia_peterson-petersonclark@burr.senate.gov

Legislative Director
natasha_hickman@burr.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
laura_caudell@burr.senate.gov
mark_williams@burr.senate.gov

Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Chief of Staff
jenny_manley@cochran.senate.gov

Legislative Director
ta_hawks@cochran.senate.gov

Press Secretary
margaret_wicker@cochran.senate.gov
Margaret_mcphillips@cochran.senate.gov

Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Chief of Staff
jennifer_lowe@coleman.senate.gov

Deputy Chief of Staff
lucia_lebens@coleman.senate.gov

Legislative Director
lorianne_moss@coleman.senate.gov

Communications Director
tom_steward@coleman.senate.gov
tom_stewart@coleman.senate.gov

Press Secretary
leroy_coleman@coleman.senate.gov

Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Chief of Staff
steve_bell@domenici.senate.gov

Legislative Director
edward_hild@domenici.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
chris_gallegos@domenici.senate.gov

Immigration LA
tara_shaw@domenici.senate.gov

Senator John Ensign (R-NV)
Chief of Staff
john_lopez@ensign.senate.gov

Legislative Director
pam_thiessen@ensign.senate.gov

Press Secretary/Communications Director
tory_mazzola@ensign.senate.gov
jack_finn@ensign.senate.gov
don_tatro@ensign.senate.gov

[Regulator]

We can get rid of the Congress critters, but after this bill passes no on from the GOP or any conservative will have a prayer of winning anyway

Nope. The Dims are on the Victory Lap to pass the Death of the GOP bill.

What's amazing is that the Senate Minority Leader voted against his own party for it.

Elaine must really need that job.

[ravingnutter]

Funny you should mention that...I saw this posted on here a few days ago...

“For a while now, and really, since shortly after the 2004 election, I have gotten emails from folks who say, “Bush forgot that you have to dance with the one that brung you.” They’ve been sending me that message for so long, on so many different issues, that I suspect Bush feels a little like a girl who is invited to a fancy ball - and proves to be excellent company for most of the night, despite being hated by many of the guests – but manages to fall out of step, at which point she is abandoned on the dance floor and told to find her own way home.

Betrayal is such a strong word; did he betray you, really?

—Did he protect us from the reach & province of the International Criminal Court? Yes.
—Did he keep us from the Kyoto mess that is currently tying up Europe? Yes.
—Did he create a workable alternative to Kyoto that other countries have embraced? Yes. Bet you didn’t know that!
—Have US Carbon Emissions decreased on his watch, without Kyoto? Yes.
—Did he submit a comprehensive energy plan that got killed by a weak congress? Yes.
—Has he lowered the deficit ahead of schedule in time of war? Yes. Even the NYTimes admits it!
—Did he cut taxes? Twice? Yes. And yes.
—Did he try to get the cuts made permanent? Yes. Congress dropped that ball.
—Did he stop government funding of EMBRYONIC stem cell research? Yes.
—Has he kept the promises he made as he held a dead cop’s shield before the Joint Houses? Yes.
—Did he go after the Taliban and AlQaeda in Afghanistan barely a month after 9/11? Yes.
—Has he been unflagging in his efforts to subdue terrorism, worldwide? Yes.
—Has be been the consistent voice for human liberty around the globe? Yes.
—After some serious missteps, is the surge working? Yes.
—Has he been a staunch friend to Israel, the only stable democracy in a frantic region? Yes.
—Did he end the farce of world-wide Arafat admiration? Yes
—Did he remove Saddam Hussein, whose state supported terrorists, from power? Yes.
—Did he invade Iraq at a time when the whole world believed Saddam had and “would use” WMD? Yes.
—Did he bring a much-maligned coalition with him? Yes. Some are still there.
—Did he liberate 50,000 people in keeping with the ideals of the 1998 Iraqi Liberation Act? Yes.
—Has he inspired the Iraqi people to finally believe enough in freedom to fight AlQaeda with us? YES!
—Has he figured out that a free and engaged Middle East makes America safer? Yes.
—Has he kept you safe since 9/11? So safe that you’ve almost forgotten to fear? Yes.
—Did he remove “the wall” between the CIA and the FBI? Yes.
—Did he go to the UN before invading Iraq? Yes.
—Did he tell the UN that the US would never ask permission to defend herself? Yes.
—Didd he inspire Libya to surrender it’s WMD without firing a shot? Yes.
—Did he appoint excellent SCOTUS and Federal Judges to the bench? Yes.
—Did he implement the NSA terrorist eavesdropping program? Yes.
—Did he immediately move to freeze assets and make terror funding more difficult? Yes.
—Did he reform Medicare? Yes.
—Did he reform Social Security to give you more power over your money? He tried. See Congress.
—Did he manage an economy thru recession, terror attack & war w/ consistent gains for over ten quarters? Yes.
—Has he kept unemployment between 5.5% and 4.4% for an impressive period? Yes.
—Does he say what he means and mean what he says? Yes.
—Did he try to address immigration last year, when the houses in his party? Yes.
—Does he support the second amendment? Yes.
—Does he support school vouchers and school choice? Yes.
—Did he sign the ban on Partial Birth Abortion? Yes. It went to court, but he signed it.
—Did he reverse Clinton’s intent to kill Reagan’s pro-life Mexico policy? Yes.
—Did he support the Defense of Marriage Act? Yes. That used to be vitally important to you.
—Did he expand the roles of faith-based organizations in social programs? Yes.
—Did he prosecute the white-collar criminals like Ken Lay who ran riot through the ‘90’s? Yes.
—Has he handled himself with enormous courage, dignity and grace in the face of world/media/hate? YES
—Is he a man with a creed before he’s anything else? Yes.
—Did he establish Health Savings accounts? Yes.
—Did he have the Border Patrol installing monitoring devices along the borders? Yes.
—Has he made mistakes? Yes. Some undeniable beauts.
—Has he been an imperfect president? Yes.
—Has he spent too much? Probably.
—Has he given you most of what you’ve wanted? Actually, looking at the list…yes!
—Has he dared to disagree with anyone to keep his principles, even you? Yes.

Has he really been your Judas? Has he really betrayed you?

Did he ever question your patriotism, or tell you you were a bad person? No, actually, he didn’t. Go read his remarks in context, instead of looking at one sentence blared at you by the very media you distrust. Be intellectually honest enough to admit that in this immigration controversy there are (sadly) some who are using fear to move their agenda, and there are some (only some, but they hurt us all) who reveal bigotry in their rants. You needn’t be offended if you can remember that there are those “somes” in every group; conservatives have no corner of perfection. You actually do have a choice as to how you receive what you hear, see and read, just as you have a choice as to how you receive a good, that is, with “open” or “closed” heart.

http://theanchoressonline.com/page/2/

[dangus]

>> Sorry guys, I will never vote GOP again. <<

That is just plain insanity. By all means, don’t vote straight ticket, but to thank the hard work of people like Jeff Sessions, Duncan Hunter, Jim DeMint by saying you’d never vote for them? That’s beyond words...

[dangus]

The writer didn’t say only a minority are opponents, but that only a minority are passionate opponents. 90% of Americans never bothered to contact any of their elected officials even once.

[dforest]

I will revise that to say I will only vote for a Conservative Republican. I will never hold my nose and vote for a RINO or a person I should have known better than to vote for. I will be selective.

Now we need to keep better track of what these people are up to. I was angry at the moment,

Am I forgiven?

[goldstategop]

The Open Borders Crowd believed amnesty would settle the issue. In truth, it would just kick the issue 20 years down the road when if anything, the political pressure to pass another amnesty would be even greater. Their insistence on passing it has opened a wide chasm between the Washington elite and the American people that will be not be closed any time soon.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[zendari]

Correct.

Think Bush is a bad President? Wait until Clinton 2.0, this time with a more liberal Democratic Congress.