"Dad .... You .... Me .... Hillary .... Jeb ...... Chelsea ..... Juanita ....."
Posted on 06/11/2007 1:38:54 PM PDT by 300magnum
WASHINGTON - President Bush is putting his influence within his own party to the test Tuesday as he pleads personally with skeptical Senate Republicans to resurrect his immigration bill.
Despite his confident tone Monday about the measure's fate, Bush is facing a hostile audience that has shown little appetite for following his lead on the contentious issue.
Bush left no room for the possibility that his bid to legalize up to 12 million unlawful immigrants while tightening border security might die. "I'll see you at the bill signing," he said while traveling in Bulgaria.
Still, weakened by his sagging poll numbers and a sense within GOP ranks that the president has lost touch with his core supporters on immigration, Bush may well lack the clout he would need to persuade Republicans to back the measure, say lawmakers and strategists.
"Each time this debate comes up, the president's approval ratings go down, and that's not a positive in terms of (lawmakers') willingness to listen to him on the issue," said independent pollster Scott Rasmussen.
"What happens when the immigration debate becomes dominant in the news is that the Republican base begins to have doubts, and the president's support among them drops as well," he added.
Bush, who helped shape the bipartisan immigration compromise that collapsed in the Senate last week, will huddle with Republicans on Tuesday at a luncheon in the Capitol aimed at persuading them to give the measure another chance.
The bill exposes deep divisions among both parties, but it was solid GOP opposition that stalled it when all but seven Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to put it on a fast track to passage.
Senate Democratic leaders wrote Bush on Tuesday saying it was up to him to lean on Republicans to back the measure.
"It will take stronger leadership by you to ensure the opponents of the bill do not block the path to final passage," said Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev.
Reid said he would be willing to bring immigration back to the Senate floor in coming weeks if he could be assured enough Republicans would support the bill.
So far, however, the president's efforts to give the bill a personal boost — most visibly in his recent harsh criticism of its opponents in speeches during Congress' Memorial Day break — appear to have had the opposite effect.
Some Republican supporters of the bill said those remarks — when Bush accused those who dismiss the measure as "amnesty" of trying to frighten the public — cost the president sway among Republicans.
With the measure facing a critical test last week, Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., joked that Bush should stay out of the debate and instead focus on the annual G-8 meeting of industrialized nations he was attending in Germany. "His comments last week were not helpful," Lott said.
On the other side of the Capitol, some Republicans say that on immigration, Bush lacks the strong influence that helped him muscle through other signature initiatives that divided the GOP, such as the No Child Left Behind education law and the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
"President Bush is a force of nature on Capitol Hill," said Rep. Mike Pence (news, bio, voting record), R-Ind. "But on this issue, the president has certainly been downgraded to a tropical storm. He doesn't have the gale-force winds of previous years of his administration."
That's true because Bush is out of step with Americans — not just Republicans — on the issue, added Pence, a conservative who is pushing for immigration changes but opposes the Senate bill.
Still, even with his stature diminished, supporters of the measure say a strong nudge from Bush could give Republicans the political protection they need to back the contentious bill.
"It makes a difference to members of Congress that the president is pushing all-out for it, not because they want to do him a favor, but because it gives them cover," said Tamar Jacoby of the Manhattan Institute.
Jacoby said the immigration measure is "dangerously close" to being killed by a small but vocal conservative minority that is incensed at Bush for his position and fighting to keep Republican lawmakers from following him.
"The president is trying to tip the balance the other way," Jacoby said.
___
The bill is S 1348.
What influence? He no influence, respect, or credibility left.
A new calling plan, “Call All”
It is time to call beyond the published phone numbers. Example; 202-224-3121 is the published number for the Senate Switchboard. If you dial 202-224-2887 you get the Senate Commerce Committee answer line. 202-224-3445 end up with the Senate Building Health Unit The idea is to work through the last four digits in sequence who answers give them the message. Some of you geeks, I say that with admiration; can probably develop a list of all the combinations which will keep us busy from the calling end. Are you with me?
Well there you have it.
In case you haven’t seen this.
Mexican Amnesty Activists’ Have A Direct Line to OUR Senators!
Vanity
Posted on 05/24/2007 11:44:47 AM EDT by Scarpetta
For those of you having difficulty getting thru to your senator, here is the 800 # paid for by the Mexican Amnesty Activists:
800-882-2005
This will get you directly to your senator unlike the #’s available to the US Citizen.
Press 1 when you hear a Spanish message, then Press 1 again to be transferred to your senior senator’s office
OR
Press 2 when you hear a Spanish message, and you’ll be transferred to your junior senator’s office.
You get through immediately and the call is paid for by the enemy!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1839080/posts?page=1,50
(Just a reminder - The Illegals HAVE ACCESS to (who are supposedly) our Senators.
Use their money to talk to a live person directly on the first call, not a busy phone message center or an (all too often ignored) fax machine..
"Dad .... You .... Me .... Hillary .... Jeb ...... Chelsea ..... Juanita ....."
(With proper attribution, of course.)
Grrrrrr.
There is another number by illegal activists and that is 800-417-7666. This will get you in touch with your senators. Please use all the toll free activist numbers you can, we will beat them using their money for phone calls!
Bush has very little influence now - pubbie Senators opposed to this bill know that he never will run for re-election again. But they do have to face the voters eventually.
If Bush tries too hard, and suffers another defeat, his remaining months would be better served on a golf course, as he wouln’t even be able to get a Congressional raise approved.
Men like him are needed....
So is water circling the drain.
This bill failed in the first go-round due to lack of support for anything similar to an amnesty. They go out of their way to say it’s not amnesty, but allowing those here illegally to stay under some circumstances sure looks like an amnesty.
And why is there such a need for this bill in the 1st place? Illegals are a big problem, but, considering that it’s already illegal to sneak into this country and work here, and already illegal for employers to hire illegal workers, that enforcement of existing laws would do more to solve the problem than just adding another layer of laws to our immigration problem.
Test Clout?
What a joke. This isn’t about “absolute power”. It’s about the sovernity of our nation.
Bump to find...again!
Still, even with his stature diminished, supporters of the measure say a strong nudge from Bush could give Republicans the political protection they need to back the contentious bill.
Any Republican up there that thinks that is sorely misguided.
Poor Bush. He doesn’t realize he has already lost all clout with conservatives.
“Jacoby said the immigration measure is “dangerously close” to being killed by a small but vocal conservative minority...”
Amen! Bush needs to use his wealth of political capital to force this through, surely it surpasses a small minority of senators! He has not shown the mettle and leadership he did last year when a bill passed the Senate. Bush needs to get on the road, take the bull by the horns, and usurp McCain’s “straight talk express.” Like last year he needs to tell the people that religious and family values do not stop at the Rio Grande, that opponents are vigilantes, that we are not “welcoming” if we don’t support his bill, and gosh dern it, opponents are un-American.
Also he needs to meet with Calderon more, and release more P.R. about how he talks with Calderon daily by phone about how the Senate bill is in the best interests of Mexico.
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