Ding Dong, The Bill is Dead!
Friday, June 29th, 2007A Senate bill which proposed what amounted to amnesty for over 12 million illegal aliens already in the United States, was defeated by a slim majority today. A vote of 46 – 53 failed to end debate on the bill, effectively killing it until after the upcoming 2008 Elections.
The measure was the product of a liberal-to-conservative alliance led by Kennedy and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., that forged an immigration compromise designed to withstand challenges from the left and right.
They advocated the resulting measure as an imperfect but necessary fix to the current system, in which millions of illegal immigrants use forged documents or lapsed visas to live and work in the United States. It paired the Democratic goal of legalizing those millions with the Republican desire to fortify the border and prevent undocumented workers from getting jobs.
Ultimately, though, what came to be known as their “grand bargain” commanded only lukewarm support among key constituencies in both parties, which was no match for the vehement and vocal opposition of Republican conservatives who derided it as amnesty.
Everyone who has been paying attention to the public with regards to this bill knows that a full 50% of voters opposed it, and 49% of voters prefer no bill at all over this bill. Simply put, nobody inside the Beltway was listening to the public when it came to this bill. The Senate, along with the President, was trying to shove this version of Immigration Reform down the voters’ collective throats. Thankfully, a totally natural reaction to this occurred: The voters puked all over them.
Right on cue, the Immigration Lobby plays the victim card on behalf of the illegal aliens:
“Immigrant workers and families will continue to live in fear, die in the desert, and be subject to exploitation. Local communities will continue to be roiled by federal inaction and local ordinances. Voters will continue to ask why their elected leaders seem incapable of solving tough problems,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, one of several liberal groups that was pushing hard for passage of the measure despite misgivings about key elements of the bill.
Oh, cry me a river (the Rio Grande?)! Illegal aliens can protect both themselves and every member of their family by doing one of two simple things: either stay in Mexico or immigrate legally. It is very unlikely that anyone would die in the desert if they were not breaking the law by sneaking over the border. The reason they live in fear is because they are breaking the law; they should be afraid. Finally, the only reason they are subject to exploitation is because they are here illegally and cannot depend on law enforcement to protect them. If they were here legally, they could rightfully expect the justice system to protect them from exploitation.
Just think: if only the Senate and the President had listened to the people they represent; they would all be celebrating the passage of a historic piece of legislation. Instead, they’re wiping puke off of their $1,000 suits.
Edited to correct spelling.
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July 2nd, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Guess who doesn’t live in fear? The multi-million dollar industries that (think agriculture, think Walmart)count on hiring illegals in order to keep their prices low enough to suit American consumers. While the minutemen are poised on the border ready to shoot any brown-skinned person that happens to come into view, American businesses are busy hiring as many illegals as they can, then feigning ignorance when they are caught and getting off with a slap on the wrist. When the jobs are no longer available to illegals, they will quit coming. Just be prepared to pay the increased price for those products. And you might want to check on the meaning of “queue.”
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
First off, thanks for pointing out the error in grammar. It has since been corrected.
Contrary to you assertion, the Minutemen are not poised to “shoot any brown-skinned person who happens to come into view.” Since the Minutemen started to patrol the border (what was it, about two years ago now?) they have not fired a single shot. Obviously, if their intention was to shoot at Mexicans, they would have done so by now.
I agree about business – instead of getting that slap on the wrist, they need to be fined heavily each and every time they hire an illegal alien. Yes, this means the cost of some goods will go up, but I’m willing to pay more for lettuce and stuff if I can be reasonable sure the border is more secure.