See you at the bill signing. Well, maybe not...
Posted on 07/01/2007 3:22:00 PM PDT by hardback
Immigration bill's demise not a reason to cheer Our view: Senate's failure to act will not make our borders any safer, or make the 12 million illegal residents go away
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.01.2007 By the end of last week, every politician who could get to a phone or a computer was eager to let the world know how disappointed he or she was over the death of the immigration bill.
Those were the people, like Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who had made a valiant but unsuccessful effort to create an immigration bill that would lure hard-liners from the far right and far left into the center. That didn't happen. Narrow-mindedness won the day. Anyone who sees this as a victory for America is living in a fantasyland.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen reflected the views of many of the critics when he declared that the defeat of the immigration bill was "a great day for Americans in general and the grassroots of the Republican Party."
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps called the death of the immigration bill "a small but significant victory . . . in the fight to secure our nation's borders."
It is questionable whether either Pullen or the militia reflects the views of most Republicans or most Americans. Certainly their views are opposite of those expressed repeatedly on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, which is arguably the most conservative mainstream newspaper in the country.
There is no question, however, that both Pullen and the militia reflect an opinion consistent with that of the John Birch Society, which says, "The problem facing the nation along the southern border with Mexico is not so much immigration as invasion."
By extension, this view holds that those here illegally are nothing more than criminals, regardless of how long they've been here or what their achievements have been or how much they have contributed to the U.S. economy. But those who cheer the death of the immigration bill in effect cheer the death of progress. The bill's defeat does nothing except maintain the status quo, which is precisely what the critics were fighting against. By a roll-call vote of 46-53, those who were unhappy with the bill basically shot themselves in the foot.
Failure to adopt a comprehensive immigration law will not result in a protective bubble over the United States, nor will it lead to a long line of buses carrying 12 million illegal residents out of the country.
On the contrary, maintaining the status quo means the estimated 12 million undocumented workers will continue playing a game of cat and mouse with immigration authorities. The rejected bill would have set up a system for bringing those people out of the shadows. Amnesty was not a gift without strings; certainly it led to citizenship, but it was a difficult and cumbersome process. It was not carte blanche.
The bill that died addressed that issue, as well as the need for beefed up border security. Voting to allow the bill to proceed by ending debate were 33 Democrats, 12 Republicans — including Kyl and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. — and independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. Voting to block the bill by allowing debate to continue were 37 Republicans, 15 Democrats and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont. One senator, Tim Johnson, D-S.D., did not vote.
Kyl's theory is that the bill's failure was part of the larger voter backlash. A significant number of Americans, he says, lack confidence in the government's ability to secure the border, issue passports and take care of emergencies like Hurricane Katrina.
"Conservative activists," Kyl said, have "a very firm view that the government is unable to get anything right." Those activists had "a huge impact" on the Senate vote, he said.
Kyl may be right, but it seems to be the most positive spin possible to explain the influence of a bunch of fear-mongering, do-nothing pontificators who have been polluting the airwaves all year.
Now they've achieved their goal, which means Congress will not revisit the immigration issue until after the 2008 presidential election. In the 12 days that ended on Wednesday, 11 bodies were found in the desert between the Mexican border and Tucson.
How many more will die before Congress musters the courage to act on an immigration bill that includes a humane process for regulating the flow of foreign workers into the United States?
We've heard all the critics who say such laws already exist, of course, but it doesn't take a genius to see that those laws are not working.
A new approach is needed that includes a guest-worker program, tighter border security and a way to legalize those who are here and have proved themselves worthy of citizenship.
Every member of Congress knows that is needed. However, it is revealing that even a bipartisan effort led by Kyl, a staunch conservative, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a staunch liberal, was unable to build a consensus.
The immigration vote was one that will cost us dearly until more reasonable voices make themselves heard.
Right, it’s our President and the Congress that won’t act. If, they won’t act; then it is up to us to make them act to do the right thing. I am sick of their little games that stop everything but what they want to do and that is graft.
The only thing that sucks more than this immigration bill is a hooker on Saturday night when the fleets in town.
These people are just deluded.
“Immigration bill’s demise not a reason to cheer Our view: Senate’s failure to act will not make our borders any safer, or make the 12 million illegal residents go away.”
The Senate has acted. It put a bill on the Presidents desk which said fence the border and the President signed it. It put a bill on the Presidents desk asking for 18000 more border guards and the President signed it.
It wasn’t the Senates failure to act. It was the Senates inability to do anything that would benefit the country instead of their own agendas.
I am so tired of this incomprehensible discrimination and bigotry, even criminals like prostitutes, bank robbers and check forgers contribute to the economy too. They just want to feed their families.
“If that doesn’t work they will try again. I am old enough to remember when Teddy Kennedy...”
It’s time we cut off the head of this poisonus viper, and TARGET Kennedy for GONE in the next election.
It’s tough, but we can do it, if we join together and focus.
A wise and prudent view of government, in my opinion.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858275/posts?page=38#38
Posted by WOSG to TChris
On News/Activism 06/29/2007 3:43:23 PM CDT · 49 of 63
Good list. Here is my list ....
“so what are you for?” asked Senator Kennedy.
We do need an answer that says here is what we are for. We need an answer that unites most Americans.
This is our immigration and illegal immigration program for the next 18 months:
Enforcement first. Legal immigration law changes later. Amnesty never.
Executive branch:
1. Build the border fence ASAP and secure the border, reduce border crossings by 90%
2. Deport criminal aliens aggressively, and significantly reduce 600,000 deportation order backlog
3. Get US visit program really implemented to track entries, exits and visa overstays
Legislation needed now:
4. Implement and establish employee verification program to enforce immigration law in the workplace
5. Eliminate sanctuary cities (i.e., the Coleman amendment)
6. Funding to implement items 1,2, and 3.
Later:
7. Replace ‘chain migration’ with a more employment-focussed and merit-based immigration
system, where we select the best from around the world.
8. End anchor babies.
9. Temporary worker program that is limited.
I think the message the people wanted to send to Senator Kyl was EARN our trust , build the wall, secure the border, then we will listen to plans for the illegals already here. I say that with respect for Senator Kyl who is a good man. There is no sense sending a message to Kennedy, he is a buffoon living on respect for dead relatives.
How many more will die before Congress musters the courage to act on an immigration bill that includes a humane process for regulating the flow of foreign workers into the United States?
How long before the Arizona Daily Star hands out free papers in Mexico telling them not to attempt to enter the US as it's against the law and it's deadly dangerous?
Yeah, I know, we will all be dead before that happens.
That’s a good list. I would strike #9 if it were up to me, but if we get all the other items, I could live with it.
I didn’t realize — read it from Mark Steyn, a legal immigrant — that the bill forced all the legal immigrants to the back of the line while the illegal ones were being absorbed. I hadn’t heard that, and I’m not gonna argue with Steyn, arguably the best columnist in America in our day.
Isn’t that odd? He was pointing out that the legals were getting punished and the illegals were getting rewarded.
I would not trust a 400+ page bill in Congress if it were authored by Billy Graham and co-signed by the Pope.
Way too many words.
So the political will of one state controls the whole country?...geez just one load after another...will it ever stop??
Liberal OBL twisted-panties hand-wringing barf alert.
Naturally the Arizona Daily Star and every other liberal Democrat toilet paper of the same ilk are bemoaning the defeat of the abominable immigration bill - - their dream of millions more taxpayer-sucking Democrat parasites being legalized just went down the drain. Boo hoo.
bump!
BWAHAHAH!! That just became my desktop picture. :)
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