Posted on 06/29/2007 11:27:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The Chairman of the Republican Party on Friday lambasted Democrats and Republicans who helped kill an immigration bill in the Senate and challenged them to come up with a solution beyond "just build a fence along the border."
"The voices of negativity now have a responsibility to come up with an answer," RNC Chairman and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. said.
"How will you fix the situation to make peoples' lives better? How will you continue to grow the economy? How will we bring people out of the shadows for our national security and for the sake of being a country that is just?" he demanded.
Martinez spoke during a gathering of more than 1,000 Hispanic officials from across the country at Disney World, a day after the immigration bill's Senate supporters fell short of the 60 votes needed to limit debate and clear the way for its final passage.
Martinez promised to work with members of the U.S. House of Representatives to try to revive the legislation, a measure the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials supports.
Time for such efforts is tight before the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, Martinez told reporters, but he added, "you can't live from election to election. We have to once in a while act as responsible, elected officials and resolve the nation's problems."
A group of about half a dozen U.S. representatives planned to strategize over the weekend at the conference on how to revive the proposal.
But U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the lone Republican presidential candidate to attend the three-day conference, said such a revival was unlikely.
Hunter stood by his focus on legislation to extend a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border and said the government needs to do a better job of asking those here illegally to go home. He did not say how he would convince the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants to leave.
"Let's get the border enforced first before you get to the subsections of enforcement," he said.
Wednesday's immigration vote was 46 to 53, with three-quarters of the Senate's Republicans voting to derail the bill.
But the Republican Party was not to blame for its failure, Martinez said.
President Bush sent two cabinet members to Congress several times a week for months to work out a bipartisan compromise, he noted.
By failing to act, the Senate also tied law enforcement's hands, Martinez said.
The proposed immigration bill would have provided $4.4 billion for border security and workplace visa enforcement.
Martinez came to Florida from Cuba at 15 and spent four years separated from his parents until they were able to flee the communist island. He said he feared more families would be torn apart if the status quo remains.
He also warned local and state officials at the conference that the immigration issue will now land in their laps through local ordinances.
"We're going to have a hodgepodge of local laws. We will have cities that will declare themselves sanctuary cities. And then we will have others that will make it a felony simply to rent to illegal immigrants," he said.
But he blamed those who supported the bill for not explaining well enough to the American people the flaws of the current law and the benefits of the proposed one - and to allow opponents to define the bill as simply amnesty.
I'm all for that....get us an RNC chairman who shares our conservative views, and we will start contributing again. All my RNC mail requesting renewal or contributions have been going in the round file under my desk. From now on they're going to be sent back with a note to get rid of Martinez.
Amen and Halleluia.
How in the hell did this idiot become chair of the party?
Here we have the spectacle of the Chairman on the RNC attacking the vast majority of the members of his own Party. Not one Dime of mine will go to the RNC until their leadership and attitude is changed!
Ok Mel...(Scarface accent)
“Have a nice trip!”
Hows that for acting...
“How will you fix the situation to make peoples’ illegal aliens lives better legal?”
He's been on that bandwagon for a while.
No...Not really...;-)
My eyes are kinda crossed up for some reason...
I have had it up to HERE with this crap from elected Republicans. What gave W the brilliant idea to put this joker in as head of the RNC?
WHY do we have to bring 12-20 million people who entered our country illegally out of the shadows? ‘Splain that, Mel. And while you’re at it, this protects our national security how?
The President picked him.
Excuse me, The King annointed him. Do you think The King had an agenda here?
I would encourage everyone to answer any beg letters they get from the rnc with a mel = no money statement. Tell them to dump mel before they get a penny.
NOT A DIME!
Enjoy your remaining our and a half years. That’s all you have left in public service.
Everyone, if looking for a new place to put your money, try the Senators that killed this so they don’t have to depend on the amnesty forces for election.
I didn’t get a request for money, but I got a long, convoluted letter back that stated that he, get this, DOESN’T SUPPORT AMNESTY!
I sent him a response saying that I would actively work for his conservative opponent in the primary, and to stop being the best Senator Mexico ever had.
mel must GO!!!
LLS
The philosophy of both is that they were put here to run the universe and both hold nothing but contempt for democracy or the voice of the citizenry.
More and more it's beginning to look like that's the reason for all of the Hispanic appointments in this administration. They were used as front men for the larger agenda, which was and is the massive amnesty. In fact nearly everyone Bush backs unconditionally support it, including Chertoff, Specter, McCain, etc. It's almost as if everything was planned out from day one to make sure all the cards were in place to ram this through no matter what anyone else wanted.
I wish they would nominate Carl Rove... just to watch howeird dean’s head explode!
LLS
Round up and deport all illegal felons.
Deport all illegals on overstayed visas.
Require employees to submit a list of all non US citizens in their employ, within 30 days. Fine all non compliers heavily.
Register all illegals who wish to be migrant workers, and design an ID card for them,so they can pay taxes on earnings.
After 1 year, anyone without either a visa or migrant ID gets arrested and deported.
The first three paragraphs of Mel’s ridiculous comments contain all the democrat talking points.
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