Posted on 05/30/2006 9:42:08 PM PDT by LdSentinal
As far as the powerful chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is concerned, the controversial Senate bill on immigration reform is as dead as a duck.
Appearing Tuesday on "Lou Dobbs Tonight," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told Dobbs that he couldn’t imagine how the Senate bill "could ever be considered in the House of Representatives [when] the overwhelming majority of Republicans are against it.” This, he said "is amnesty. The more the senators deny it, Democrat and Republican, the more they deny it, the more the president denies it, it's amnesty. And the American people don't want it. I've never seen a disconnect between the will of the people and the actions of elected officials as we've seen in the Senate.
"And this is just a total disconnect, and as a Republican, our base is totally against it. But it goes beyond it; these are Reagan Republicans, and Democrats, independents, moderates -- across the board people are opposed. They want border security first.”
Commenting on Dobbs’ remark that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had described the Senate bill as the will of the Senate, King snapped: "The will of the Senate was not the will of the people. What really offends me about this is they say it has to be comprehensive, which means, on the one hand we have to protect the rights of the American people by having border security.
"On the other hand we have to protect the rights of illegal immigrants. So they are suggesting there's an equivalency between the rights of legal Americans and the rights of illegal immigrants, and you can't do both at the same time. So they are trying to balance the two, and when you do that, you're never going to get border security. After 20 years of promises, we don't have border security. There's no reason to think we're going to get it now unless we focus all our at attention on that.”
When Dobbs asked if it is possible four and a half years after 9/11 "for this White House to comprehend, for that Senate to comprehend, there are about 280 million Americans out here who deserve protection at their ports and at their borders and that the people are sick and tired. They've had a belly full of the nonsense. They want the borders secured. They want the ports secured, and really don't want to hear any more about free trade and impediments to commerce.”
Said King: "You're right, it's almost now, almost five years since Sept. 11. And border security is homeland security. Our world changed on Sept. 11. If there was ever the luxury of looking the other way on illegal immigration, it ended on Sept. 11. We have to secure the border, not just for economic and cultural and social reasons, we have to secure it to preserve our security, our homeland security.”
Once they get it, it'll be.."I was against border security before I was for it"..
Wow someone gets it.
For a "moderate" who's sometimes referred to as a "RINO" in these parts, Peter King has definitely hung tough in this matter.
I've never seen a disconnect between the will of the people and the actions of elected officials as we've seen in the Senate.
Couldn't say it better myself.
I totally agree.
Time will tell if his assertations are correct. Anything can happen and the dynamics can change rather quickly in Washington. That is why the pressure must be maintained on the House.
Let's hope that "disconnect" results in seeing every last one of those who voted for this abomination get booted out of office (when their terms are up).
The Senate bill is so far left it should be dead.
Well the House is sure looking to pass for themselves an "amnesty" granting immunity for Justice Department and Judicial search warrants.
This sure was a shocker for me. He does "get it."
Its a little too early to celebrate. I urge caution but maintain the course to continue pressuring the House. We will celebrate when they announce CIRA is dead.
That why its better to vote for a RINO than a rat any day. At least sometimes the RINO will vote with you.
I'll have a beer when CIRA is dead and champagne when the borders are secure. I currently have cold beer but I won't bother to buy champagne for at least a few years.
Hooray! Peter King "gets it".
I will join you with a cold glass of Guiness, but not until the House leadership declares CIRA officially dead and buried. This sounds like he is "playing dead" just for Lou Dobbs and the readers.
"I've never seen a disconnect between the will of the people and the actions of elected officials as we've seen in the Senate."
Tonight on "The O'Reilly Factor" Bill O. showed polls that say 75% of Americans support the Senate-type bill and only 25% don't. Most Americans when asked: Should Illegal Immigrants, who are currently in the U.S., be given a chance to earn citizenship? They will say "yes"
The Senate might not be as disconnected from the average American as we'd like to think. But, that's the uninformed American electorate for you.
Wrong.
It's RINO's like McCain, Hagel, Lindsey, and Specter that have declared their agenda is to destroy conservatives and they'll do so by advocating a measure that imports liberalism and destroys our borders and devastates the legal poor and middle class of this country.
They are my enemy and will not be supported any longer by conservatives. It is suicidal to support someone that wants to destroy you.
All Peter King has proved here is that he has the sense to recognize his power as a legislator is lost if he doesn't listen to his constituents and prevent this from occuring.
Perhaps, as well, he believes in it. he certainly speaks as one who "gets it". If so? Then he didn't deserve the RINO classification. For most people, RINO is a substitute for "liberal". There is no piece of legislation that better advances the tenets of modern liberalism then this. If a strong believer against, then he is rejecting the foundation of modern liberalism and is owed an apology for past insult. That or he learned from his mistakes in past.
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