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Home Front: Politix

Senate Puts Off Action on Immigration

2007-05-22

Senate leaders agreed Monday that they would wait until ~~their constituents go back to sleep and stop calling already~~ June to take final action on a bipartisan plan to give millions of unlawful immigrants legal status. The measure, which also tightens border security and workplace enforcement measures, unites a group of influential liberals, centrists and conservatives and has White House backing, but it has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. In a nod to that opposition, Senate leaders won't seek to complete it before a hoped-for Memorial Day deadline.

"It would be to the best interests of the Senate ... that we not try to finish this bill this week," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., as the chamber began debate on the volatile issue. "I think we could, but I'm afraid the conclusion wouldn't be anything that anyone wanted."

The bipartisan compromise cleared its first hurdle Monday with a bipartisan Senate vote to begin debate on a separate immigration measure. Still, it faces significant obstacles as lawmakers seek dozens of modifications to its key elements. Republicans want to make the bill tougher on the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. Democrats want to change a new temporary worker program and reorder priorities in a merit-based system for future immigration that weights employability over family ties.

The White House has begun an active lobbying effort to drum up support for the measure, especially among Republicans who voted against an immigration overhaul last year.President Bush is still hoping to sign the bill by summer's end, said Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman.

"This is a very high priority for the president," Fratto told reporters in Crawford, Texas. "We know that this is an emotional issue for members on both sides of political parties and both sides of the ideological spectrum, but we hope that we can find common ground."

Nice weasel, Mr. President.

Posted by:Pappy

#23 3rd times a charm heh

All good comments. Just makes me very angry at how true they are.

Posted by: Jan 2007-05-22 22:27

#22 'Stop the Madness' has the Mac 3 Echo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

btw, the immigration thingy if accepted and codified in its current form will loosen the bond between each American citizen and the United States America.

It will devalue and change the high status of each US citizen in its relation to our American Government..
and by extension will diminish the value of America also, for they are quite inseparable and without the exalted value of each they both will fall.

Posted by: RD 2007-05-22 21:20

#21 Not 100% sure, but I think that's a record for duplicate comments.

Posted by: Dave D. 2007-05-22 17:50

#20 I only push the button once, I promise

Posted by: Stop the Madness 2007-05-22 17:45

#19 Amen to all the above. Eloquence and passion are the hallmarks of the sincere and committed patriot. Washington is a place where people make decisons based on calculating what they can get for what they trade. Sometimes that involves high ideals, but increasingly, it is just a market selling our national wealth and priviledge to some special interest group. And always, at the heart of it, is disregard for what is best for America.

We need a better way to punish those who get elected and fail us. They escape culpability abd derive pensions for poor service. We need to stop that somehow. I recommend an annual job appraisal process, where we have the ability to affect salary and pension benefits, so after we elect them we can moderate their behavior while in office. Perhaps a citizen review board like that which oversees major police departments. Can't remove them from office but can inflict pain for crappy performance.

Posted by: Stop the Madness 2007-05-22 17:44

#18 Amen to all the above. Eloquence and passion are the hallmarks of the sincere and committed patriot. Washington is a place where people make decisons based on calculating what they can get for what they trade. Sometimes that involves high ideals, but increasingly, it is just a market selling our national wealth and priviledge to some special interest group. And always, at the heart of it, is disregard for what is best for America.

We need a better way to punish those who get elected and fail us. They escape culpability abd derive pensions for poor service. We need to stop that somehow. I recommend an annual job appraisal process, where we have the ability to affect salary and pension benefits, so after we elect them we can moderate their behavior while in office. Perhaps a citizen review board like that which oversees major police departments. Can't remove them from office but can inflict pain for crappy performance.

Posted by: Stop the Madness 2007-05-22 17:43

#17 Amen to all the above. Eloquence and passion are the hallmarks of the sincere and committed patriot. Washington is a place where people make decisons based on calculating what they can get for what they trade. Sometimes that involves high ideals, but increasingly, it is just a market selling our national wealth and priviledge to some special interest group. And always, at the heart of it, is disregard for what is best for America.

We need a better way to punish those who get elected and fail us. They escape culpability abd derive pensions for poor service. We need to stop that somehow. I recommend an annual job appraisal process, where we have the ability to affect salary and pension benefits, so after we elect them we can moderate their behavior while in office. Perhaps a citizen review board like that which oversees major police departments. Can't remove them from office but can inflict pain for crappy performance.

Posted by: Stop the Madness 2007-05-22 17:43

#16 This breaks the compact between the people and the government. It can not be a nation of laws when the laws are ignored for the convenience for more ballot stuffing and unlimited labor for business. When you sell America as a sovereign entity and then turn around and sell it to the highest contributor, you have no integrity. When you demand of those who swear allegiance to a concept predicated upon obedience to law, making positive contribution for the common good, and duly paying ones taxes, and then gut that very notion for political expediency, you are just running another confidence game in history. To these scoundrels the Constitution is merely an icon upon which they justify their power. They are oblivious to the underlying meaning of power derived from the consent of the governed that the Constitution embodies.

Word, P2K. At the final moment, may Jefferson's word ring in their ears.

we are being ruled by a priviledged authoritarian bureaucracy whose members don't give a shit what we think or want.

Uh ... yup. Which goes to show that elitism is not the sole province of (however coveted by), democrats. This bill has ripped the mask off of our bought-and-sold politicians for all time. Pretty much the whole damn crew has to go. If a few babies get thrown out while we empty this ~~swimming pool~~ tub of ~~horseshit~~ bathwater, then so be it. Washington D.C. needs a thorough housecleaning.

Our government is no longer on speaking terms with the truth.

Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-22 13:29

#15 Hadn't thought of it that way, DaveD, but I believe you are right. The trust that is an essential component of our Republic has been eviscerated by a Government bureaucracy that chooses to ignore its own laws and people.

Posted by: RWV 2007-05-22 12:56

#14 Crib all ya want, Bobby; it's there for the taking.

I have a sense that a lot of the fury over this issue is due to a sneaking suspicion among the people that we are no longer governing ourselves via our elected representatives-- rather we are being ruled by a priviledged authoritarian bureaucracy whose members don't give a shit what we think or want.

Posted by: Dave D. 2007-05-22 11:56

#13 One good sign is that Sen. McCain seems to be losing his temper more often. He dropped an F-bomb on fellow Sen. Cronyn during a Senate hearing on this bill. Then he accused Mitt Romney of flip-flopping and made some caustic remarks about how Romney might want to use his varmint gun on the Guatamaulans on his front lawn. The polls seem to be showing Romney gaining ground. McCain, it seems, has painted himself into a very uncomfortable corner. Not that I trust Romney but it's amusing to watch McCain melt down. Keep them cards and letters coming, folks.

Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-05-22 11:51

#12 The Senators are getting too much heat from their constituents. The message has been toss the screwed up bill. Get control of the borders. I don't live in a border state, but from what I can glean, illegals are an unholy mess in these states. If we don't get control of our borders as JSU astutely observes, we will lose our country.

Posted by: JohnQC 2007-05-22 10:26

#11 This breaks the compact between the people and the government. It can not be a nation of laws when the laws are ignored for the convenience for more ballot stuffing and unlimited labor for business. When you sell America as a sovereign entity and then turn around and sell it to the highest contributor, you have no integrity. When you demand of those who swear allegiance to a concept predicated upon obedience to law, making positive contribution for the common good, and duly paying ones taxes, and then gut that very notion for political expediency, you are just running another confidence game in history. To these scoundrels the Constitution is merely an icon upon which they justify their power. They are oblivious to the underlying meaning of power derived from the consent of the governed that the Constitution embodies.

Deaf they are. Deaf as Lord North and his ministers as they sat in London. It is now coming to the time when the rights of Americans are now in great jeopardy at the hands of those who seek to destroy the historic definition of what constitutes a sovereign nation. Soon each of us may have to make that horrible decision as the founding fathers made over two hundred years ago. It is not the act, but the mental adjustment that will be required from each of us to choose the path that is all too quickly coming upon us. They do not and apparently can not read Jefferson. However, his admonition is a pertinent today as it was on that July 4th.

Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-22 10:02

#10 Thank you, Senator Allard (R-CO) for voting against this piece of crap.

Posted by: DarthVader 2007-05-22 09:54

#9 Are there any debates scheduled during this time frame ?
It would be fun to boo the shit outta McCain and Brownbeck over this fiasco. Like Ron Paul before them, they are toast. Now there are 7.

Posted by: wxjames 2007-05-22 09:38

Maybe I'm young and over-reacting, but I will see this as the beggining of the end for our great country if it passes.

It'll be the end of the end for the Republican party, first.

Which is why they won't let it pass... will they?

Posted by: JSU 2007-05-22 08:23

#7 Dave D. - I believe I'm going to crib heavily from your post and e-mail my two senators and one representative with the push of a single button.

No, I'm not asking your permission, but you should be flattered!

Posted by: Bobby 2007-05-22 07:18

#6 "This is a very high priority for the president," Fratto told reporters in Crawford, Texas. "We know that this is an emotional issue for members on both sides of political parties and both sides of the ideological spectrum, but we hope that we can find common ground."

No, it's not an "emotional issue". It's an issue of central importance to this nation's ability to defend itself against outside aggressors seeking to infiltrate our society and mount an attack from within.

What should be a high priority for the Administration is not passage of this horseshit bill, but to start listening to what the American people are telling it: GET CONTROL OF OUR BORDERS. GET CONTROL OVER WHO COMES INTO THIS COUNTRY AND WHEN.

And our so-called "representatives" should start representing the people, not Archer Daniels Midland and other agri-megabusinesses.

Posted by: Dave D. 2007-05-22 06:58

#5 It sounds like our elected representatives have been getting feedback from their constituents, and are responding appropriately. Separately, it seems they are sending President Bush a military appropriations bill without a deadline or egregious pork. Perhaps things aren't completely going to hell in a handbasket, yet.

Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-22 06:13

#4 I'm actually scared of what this bill means for the future of the US if it does pass. Maybe I'm young and over-reacting, but I will see this as the beggining of the end for our great country if it passes.

Posted by: Charles 2007-05-22 04:23

#3 Absolutely this bill is DOA. The status quo is much better.

Posted by: Shipman 2007-05-22 02:22

#2 "It would be to the best interests of the Senate ~~if it wants to avoid getting lynched~~ ... that we not try to finish this bill this week," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., as the chamber began debate on the volatile issue. "I think we could, but I'm afraid the conclusion wouldn't be anything that anyone wanted ~~to experience and remain breathing afterward~~."

That spattering sound in the background is excrement hitting the twirling blades. Anyone who votes for this needs to be voted out of office in the next election. THIS BILL REWARDS CHEATING. What better way to discourage newcomers from trying to intergrate and assimilate than by giving short shrift to those who were honest enough to follow the rules. None of this even addresses the vicious stab in the back that this bill represents to native born Americans.

Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-22 01:50

#1 Good news. This large turd can't survive if there's time for any discussion at all. The more time everyone has to read through it and ferret out all the bullshit, it will die a long and mournful death. Once these asshole Senators return home over the Memorial Day weekend, they are going to be attacked and prodded and pushed far and wide to kill this turkey before it escapes the coop. I would like to see someone duplicate the tactics of the Taiwan Assembly the next time that putrifying Linsey (faggot) Graham stands up in session and continues spewing his idiot speak. Just cluster attack him and beat him in the head with cowboy boots with the spurs still attached.

Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-05-22 01:20

00:00