Posted on 07/02/2007 9:11:16 PM PDT by jazusamo
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
With the White House, the leaders of both political parties, and the media all solidly behind the "comprehensive" immigration "reform" bill, how could it be stopped in the Senate, as it was last week?
The people stopped it. That is what democracy is all about.
When members of Congress began to be deluged with angry letters, phone calls, and e-mails from their constituents, they knew the game was over -- and that their careers could be over if they didn't pay attention to what the voters were saying.
This bill was an insult to people's intelligence from start to finish, and the elites are continuing to insult people's intelligence after being defeated.
Fraudulent arguments were followed by fraudulent procedures to rush this bill through the Senate without committee hearings, with restrictions on debate, and with the specifics of this huge bill being sprung on the Senate at the 11th hour, so that senators would be voting on something they barely had time to read.
Among the fraudulent arguments was that illegal immigrants were taking "jobs that Americans won't do." What that really meant was that they were taking low wages that Americans wouldn't take.
Another fraudulent argument was that "We can't find and deport 12 million people."
A much bigger problem than these 12 million people are the tens of millions of additional immigrants who are virtually certain to come in, legally or illegally, if amnesty is extended.
After all, there were only 3 million illegal immigrants the last time an amnesty bill was passed, back in 1986. That's how we got to 12 million.
Research at the Heritage Foundation indicates that tens of millions more people can be expected to come over the border from Mexico in the years ahead unless something is done to stop them. The "comprehensive" immigration "reform" bill offered nothing that was likely to stop them.
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III exposed how little this bill added to border security laws already on the books, in a June 7th column in the Wall Street Journal.
Now that the elitists who wanted to rush the immigration bill through Congress before anyone could examine what was in it have been defeated, they tell us, with great condescension, how foolish we were to leave the problem unsolved.
There is now a continuation of "silent amnesty" they say.
Clever, but no cigar.
There is no inadequacy in our existing laws on border security that the new bill would have remedied. But no law is adequate if it is not enforced.
Non-enforcement of existing laws by the federal government and active sabotage of these laws by state and local officials who forbid the police from reporting illegal aliens to the authorities suggest that existing laws could be effective -- if enforced.
When the new immigration bill gave the government just 24 hours to "investigate" each illegal immigrant before rubber-stamping him into legality, it is clear that there was no serious intention of investigating or enforcing the new law.
You can't get a credit card application approved in 24 hours. But Congress was prepared to fling open the borders to millions of people on the basis of 24-hour investigations.
Talk about investigating illegal immigrants was just window-dressing to fool the gullible public. When the public turned out not to be as gullible as the politicians and other elites thought, the answer has been to insult their intelligence some more.
Now the elites tell us that the protests were generated by conservative talk radio programs, and there are implications that this was due to xenophobia, if not racism.
Anyone who actually listens to conservative talk radio or reads those who opposed this immigration bill will know what a crock that is. Elitists should at least come up with some new smears, instead of repeating the same old tired insults.
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author of Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy.
I just love Tom Sowell, succinct and clear.
One of the best!
Hooray Thomas Sowell! Thanks for posting.
He’s a great thinker - what can I say?
Maybe some Americans would take such a low wage job if we eliminated the minimum wage laws and countless other governmental regulations/taxes that increases the cost of hiring American workers. At the same time, reduce the incentive to be not working via welfare reform.
ANOTHER home run... out of the ball park as usual.
The American elites have far greater wealth and power than the Soviet elites.
The American elites were far stealthier than Soviet elties. They had a media that helped them convince the American people that no such elite ruling class could possibly exist in a "free and open" society. as the US.
The Am4erican elite have the support of the global elites from all major industrialized nations, and most every other tin-pot 3rd world UN country.
The American elite have fooled the American people into believing there are 2 opposing political parties. There are not. There is only the ruling uber-party of the estblished elites, and the newbies who join either party and are quickly brought under control by corrupt laws and procedures (cmte rules of seniority for instance) or they are shoved out of office.
The US government, the representative republic, has been completely controlled now (for many years) by 2 private associations (parties) who openly conspire to control 100% the agenda and budget of this nation. They are the organized crime syndicates and must be prosecuted, impeached and the 2 current parties disbanded forever.
He has it right. Americans can’t get the jobs because there are illegals willing to take them at illegal alien pay. Besides, even at the same wages, the kind of employer who’d hire an illegal in the first place would probably prefer them to Americans because they can hold ICE over their heads. But none of that means if poeple had to go back to paying American wages they couldn’t get Americans to do the jobs.
“Talk about investigating illegal immigrants was just window-dressing to fool the gullible public.”
We were lied to once before back in the 1986 amnesty bill.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!
Build the damn fence!! NOW!!!!!!!
Agreed, there are still too many people around who haven't forgotten that and we must not forget because they'll come back to try again.
Thanks for the ping .
Last year, the Secure Fence Act, which mandated 854 miles of border fencing, passed the US Senate 80-19, passed the US House 283-138, and was signed into law by the president.
Yes and now maybe that this bill was shot down in flames they’ll build it, just maybe.
Let’s hope so.
They recently built part of the fence in Mexico; which now has to be removed...wasting time and millions of dollars.
Intentional error in location meant to waste money.
Thomas Sowell does it again...
great column
:)
President Bush and the Congress act like it’s URGENT that we pass this comprehensive bs, but it’s a lie. What’s urgent is that we enforce the laws that are on the books. Stop the flow. Establish credibility. Then we’ll talk about the 12+ million illegals.
And besides, they are NOT in the shadows — they are marching in the 1000’s and announcing on national t.v. that they deserve their rights. (What rights?)
The people stopped it. That is what democracy is all about.
Thank you!
From the start to the end the only way this could be stopped was by the American people and a lot of prayer. Nothing else was going to stop it, and I knew it. That's why I'm so more proud of this then Alito. We had far more forces working against us on this one and it literally came down to every phone call, every fax, every letter. It was awesome.
No, the border still isn't secured but we bought ourselves some time. We'll have to watch every piece of legislation like a hawk for a snuck in amendment, but barring that, we have a chance to find a President that will enforce the law. And to possibly challenge a few RINO's....for certain Hagel is a sitting duck ith a crediable alternative already in the race. Now we need one against Lindsey.
You’re correct, enforce the laws on the books and get the attention of state, county and local officials to help enforce them. No more sanctuary cities!
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