Posted on 07/10/2007 5:18:13 PM PDT by Baladas
IN evident pain and remorse, a Republican senator confessed to a Hispanic group from Maryland that his vote to kill immigration reform was "a profile in political cowardice."
It was exactly that - and not only for him, but for many senators who were terrorized by the political firestorm set loose by mainly right-wing radio and television talk-show loudmouths.
The collapse of immigration reform on Thursday casts deep doubt on whether America's current political leaders can solve any large problem, especially when demagogues can stir up passion against it.
The instant case is immigration, but, in 2005, President Bush tried to start a discussion about Social Security reform - and it was torpedoed by reactionary liberal demagogues, who scared current seniors into thinking they'd lose benefits.
Bush certainly deserves a large measure of blame for the failure of bipartisan problem-solving. He has reached out to opponents only on rare occasions. Most of the time, he has inspired hyper-partisanship both on his side and within the Democratic opposition.
In the case of immigration reform, where his heart is in the right place, he should have used his influence years ago to win over the Republican base, including the talk-show clique.
He also should have made border enforcement a key priority of his administration far earlier in order to defuse criticism that promises to restrict illegal immigration were empty.
By the time the Bush administration pushed for comprehensive immigration reform, the president's political capital was so depleted that he could persuade no one.
This year's heavy lifting on behalf of reform was done by a previous opponent - Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., whose state is ground zero in the immigration struggle and who came to realize this was a problem to be solved, not left to fester.
Kyl worked out a compromise measure with liberal Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that was considerably to the right of the one that passed the Senate in 2006 by a vote of 62-36.
The measure guaranteed extra money for building fencing between the United States and Canada, a requirement (onerous, in my mind) that guest workers return home for a year after two-year stints in the United States, plus fines and fees for illegal immigrants to be used to help communities bear the costs of the federal government's past failure to make the border secure.
These and other gains were not enough, however, for radio and TV shouters such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Pat Buchanan and Lou Dobbs, who convinced masses of citizens that the Kyl-Kennedy bill still amounted to "amnesty" for 12 million illegal immigrants.
Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not, the talkers have stirred up anti-Hispanic racism and certainly anti-immigrant nativism. They also have indulged in what I'd call "Javert-ism," after Jean Valjean's nemesis in "Les Miserables," the attitude that any leniency toward lawbreakers will upset all order in the universe.
In 2006, a much more liberal bill got 26 Republican votes. On Thursday, only 12 Republicans voted to keep reform alive.
What can only be called the "cowardice caucus" - those who voted "yes" in 2006 and "no" this year - includes Republican Sens. Sam Brownback (Kansas), who actually voted "yes" on Thursday, then changed his vote, Norm Coleman (Minnesota), Susan Collins (Maine), Pete Domenici (New Mexico), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Gordon Smith (Oregon), George Voinovich (Ohio) and John Warner (Virginia.).
It also includes Democratic Sens. Max Baucus (Montana), Evan Bayh (Indiana), Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) and Mark Pryor (Arkansas). Those not scared off by restrictionists did the bidding of the AFL-CIO, which was hostile to the guest-worker program.
There was a "courage caucus" as well, led by Kyl and including GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), John McCain (Arizona), Trent Lott (Mississippi), Bob Bennett (Utah), Larry Craig (Idaho) and Judd Gregg (New Hampshire), whose immediate political fortunes can't be helped by their support for reform.
The most lasting and deserved political fallout from the failure of reform surely will be the Republican Party's loss of support among Hispanic voters.
Bush won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, but Republican Congressional candidates received only 29 percent in 2006, according to exit polls. A recent Gallup Poll showed that only 11 percent of Hispanics now identify as Republicans.
But there are other foul consequences. The Democratic Congress has failed to solve one of the country's biggest problems. There was a fair chance for bipartisan success, but it couldn't be brought to pass.
It was the result, in part, of public dissatisfaction with Congress and lack of trust in it. Polls consistently showed that the public supported the elements of comprehensive immigration reform - including earned legalization - but opposed the Senate bill.
The failure to solve this problem will only deepen dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile, the big winners in this fight are demagogues with microphones and their political allies. What they will demand next, presumably, is a campaign to drive illegal immigrants out of the country. You can expect to see some ugly scenes of families being torn apart and U.S. citizens of Hispanic origin being victimized. That's the price of cowardice.
Well .. Mort’s opinion of me is one of the reasons I never watch his program on TV.
Secondly, I’m part of the “Loud and Proud” bunch so Mort can whine all he wants .. but it won’t change a thing.
"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
what is a porch monkey?
Exactly!!
Just one of the Beltway Barfs doing what they do best.
That says it all. “Trust but verify.” Bush failed that test, as nobody believed his lies about the border security components of this bill.
And it's not like we haven't been telling Bush to "secure the borders first" for years, but he just wouldn't listen.
If Bush would get serious and busy, I believe that he still has enough time to call up the national guard, to of all things, guard the nations borders. After securing the border for the entire world to see for a year, I think that most folks would agree with, and Congress would gladly pass a guest worker plan of some kind and maybe a little more.
But that would disappoint Bush's best buddy, Teddy Kennedy, and the rest of the liberals, so I guess that's out of the question.
With this column Mort proves that he is a demagogue with a computer and/or TV camera.
I hope that clears it up for you. BTW Ben, you gotta stop flying that kite in bad weather Dude.
You mean like these guestworker programs?
Guestworker Programs
Hiring Foreign Workers
Foreign Labor Certification Overview
The Department of Labor issues labor certifications for permanent and temporary employment under the following programs:
Permanent Labor Certification
H-1C Nurses in Disadvantaged Areas
H-2A Temporary Labor Certification (Seasonal Agricultural)
H-2B Temporary Labor Certification (Non-agricultural)
D-1 Crewmembers Certification
Foreign labor certification programs permit U.S. employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary or permanent basis to fill jobs essential to the U.S. economy. Certification may be obtained in cases where it can be demonstrated that there are insufficient qualified U.S. workers available and willing to perform the work at wages that meet or exceed the prevailing wage paid for that occupation in the area of intended employment.
Foreign labor certification programs are designed to assure that the admission of foreign workers into the United States on a permanent or temporary basis will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages, and working conditions of U.S. workers.
Employment based immigration is a complex process that may involve a number of government agencies within the Federal Department of Labor, the State Department of Labor, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) and the Department of State. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) regulates the admission of foreign workers into the United States. The INA designates the Attorney General and the Secretary of State as the principal administrators of its provisions.
About the Foreign Labor Certification Process
Program Regulations & FAQs
20 CFR 655.0 - .99
FAQs
Compensation of Foreign Workers
Regulations require that the wages attested to on foreign labor certification applications must be the average wage paid to all other workers in the requested occupation in the area of intended employment. This average wage is referred to as the prevailing wage. See Prevailing Wages for more information.
The employer is not precluded from paying nonimmigrant(s) more than the prevailing wage.
Employer Compliance
The employer should be aware that in filing for a foreign labor certification, the employer is obligated to comply with all employment related laws and regulations. In the case of H-1B Specialty (Professional) Workers and "H-2A": http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/h-2a.asp Temporary Seasonal Agricultural workers, additional obligations also apply. The details on these obligations may be found in the sections detailing H-1B and H-2A. Failure to comply with the established laws and regulations may potentially result in penalties and possible legal action.
The Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) at the Department of Labor is responsible for investigating and determining an employer's misrepresentation in or failure to comply with the H-1B and H-2A program requirements and with employment laws, principally the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Non-DOL Employment Visas
For information regarding other employment based visas which do not require Department of Labor certification, see the U.S. Department of State's website or the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service's website.
http://www.doleta.gov/business/gw/guestwkr/
There are a large number of individuals at FR who share your views.
It was simply clear to even a scant observer of news that the senate democrats shoved through a bill that would make people vote either for illegal aliens or American Citizens.
This is after illegal aliens came out of the shadows waving Mexican flags a few times - and more than a few wearing ski masks.
So American Citizens came out of the shadows and disabled the Capitol phone system; which has never happened before. That's what happens when 80% of America is against the senate amnesty bill.
It's that simple. And it isn't ethnic. If you put a Mexican, a Guatemalan, a Brasillian and a Salvadoran in a ring, it would be a four-way brawl. They don't like each other. I can like them individually. Just finish the brawl elsewhere.
Don’t mess with Texas. (:^D)
“Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not, the talkers have stirred up anti-Hispanic racism and certainly anti-immigrant nativism.”
The only “talkers” that made this a racist issue were the supporters of the bill. As Brit Hume so aptly put it on Fox News Sunday last week (paraphrased), “....I didn’t see the words Hispanic, latino etc., on the radio and websites. The word I saw most was ILLEGAL.”
The feeble attempt to make this some sort of “latinophobe” issue was a red herring that liberals use to put their opponents on the defensive when the libs have no argument.
I have no problem with Mort Kondracke’s ‘work’ and never have. He and Fred Barnes make a good team. That said, his take on immigration reform’s defeat is churlish. The only real standup guy for it was Charles Krauthammer....who may not be able to stand up at all.
But I won’t hold it against any of Brit’s team.
“Mort’s seemed more cheerful lately...”
I notice he’s remarried after his wife passed away not that long ago. Maybe that’s caused a change in demeanor.
That was what those idiots tried to do. Everybody knows someone with some dialect of Spanish or Portuguese that is a naturalized citizen. Those are the people that got really worked up the most. Trust me on this point.
They have watched this kind of shit in the countries they left and have a low tolerance for it in their adopted country. Venceremos will not happen here. They will place the mines on the border if necessary.
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