Posted on 06/20/2007 10:42:04 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
Three centrists whose razor-thin election victories in November tipped control of the Senate to the Democrats now hold potentially decisive swing votes on the immigration measure the chamber will try to revive later this week.
All three Democratic freshman senators — Jim Webb (Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) — voted against efforts by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to shut down debate over the measure earlier this month. The freshmen each have controversial amendments in the package that will be considered once the Senate moves to resume debate later this week. And no member is decided on how he or she will vote on the underlying bill...
The freshman Democrats’ votes not only will have major repercussions on the fate of the bill, but also for their own local political standing. Hard-line illegal immigration foes from the new members’ respective states are bombarding their offices with telephone calls to oppose proceeding to the bill, while left-leaning groups, which were critical in bolstering support for each of their candidacies in states President Bush carried in 2004, are using similar tactics.
Webb, who may be facing the greatest backlash of the three moderates, is proposing an amendment that has been denounced by members of Virginia’s immigrant communities. The amendment would add criteria for 12 million illegal immigrants trying to qualify for “Z visas” by requiring the visas be made available to those in the country for longer than four years and those who have “strong roots” in their communities. In a bid to appease immigrant-rights groups, it would strike a “touchback” provision in the bill that would require that immigrants return to their home countries while their visa applications are being processed.
Webb sees the amendment as an attempt to bridge the debate, and says he would vote against the bill if his amendment is not adopted...
Critics say the measure would carve out the core element of the bill, and some pro-immigration groups are threatening to withdraw support for the bill if it is adopted...
Immigrant groups say their work for Webb was crucial in 2006, when they campaigned vigorously to bring out the hundreds of thousands of immigrant voters to defeat former Sen. George Allen (R), who famously dubbed an Indian-American volunteer of the Webb campaign “macaca.”...
Also, he apparently is beholden to both the Hispanics and the Muslims. makes me want to puke: "Immigrant groups say their work for Webb was crucial in 2006, when they campaigned vigorously to bring out the hundreds of thousands of immigrant voters to defeat former Sen. George Allen..." And then Kennedy disses him!
If Congress does not enforce the existing laws concerning immigration, the people should sue the government for not enforcing current law. If they pass the existing Bill, everyone that voted for the Bill should be recalled. Also, if they pass the Bill, does it negate existing law?
“Webb sees the amendment as an attempt to bridge the debate, and says he would vote against the bill if his amendment is not adopted...”
If Webb thinks that amendment is going to protect him at the polls in the next election after he votes for amnesty, then he’s dreaming. This bill will be his own personal poison pill.
My dad is a legal immigrant, we live in Northern Virginia, and he hates this bill.
We must work as if Jim Webb, Jon Tester and Claire McCaskill will vote against us because in all likelyhood, they will.
If I’m wrong on any of the three; terrific. We must keep the (R’s) united against amnesty.
If this is true, it means a number of Republicans are going to vote for cloture-traitors. Keep up the pressure and keep calling.
He apparently doesn’t need our votes, he’s got the hispanics and the Muslims, as indicated in this story. I just called his office and Warner’s office again and got through on the first try to both. Kids who answered the phones said they weren’t all that busy.
Oh, that’s right. I forgot that Webb was the Muslim candidate.
I would not be surprised if they vote, considering that Virginia is a Motor Voter state.
Richmond ping.
Feel free to contact Lt. Dan about your position on the immigration shamnesty bill.
It is to the discredit of those properly opposing illegal immigration that they have allowed such Newspeak as the correct phrase “supporters of criminal aliens” to be replaced with “immigrants’ rights supporters.” I watched with fascination and horror as Fox showed film of criminal aliens on the Mexican border stoning border guards and setting fire to border watch towers. That Presiednt Bush will not allow such threatened agents to respond with deadly force is a permanent stain upon him as a man and as President.
Perhaps the Democrat Senators listen better to the voters... we’ll give a try !
“Centrist”, my butt. All three are liberals.
If it is true that these three senators are all that is needed in order to obtain cloture, it would mean that a number of Republicans have caved. I have no idea about voting in Northern Virginia or what you are talking about actually.
The whole thing is sickening.
Actually Claire McCaskill has been more on our side on this than many repubs.
“
If we want to stop illegal immigration in this country, we have to get serious about the magnet that is drawing these people to our country, instead of looking the other way when people hire illegal immigrants. Until we stop looking the other way, ignoring those businesses that are not playing by the rules, we will never effectively deal with immigration in this country.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. Enforce the law. It is a mistake to toy and allow bureaucrats to decide who has broken the law, like one amendment I opposed. Rather, when someone breaks the law they should be brought in front of our criminal justice system and be accountable to the courts.
But frankly, we don’t even need this legislation to be effective. If this Administration would only enforce current law, it would make a tremendous difference.
In fact, I voted against the Senate immigration bill for a number of reasons, but there were two that really stuck out at me. I could not support the expansion of a broken guest worker program and I did not think the employer sanctions were tough enough.
Despite the fact that the immigration bill failed, we can still be effective at curbing the illegal immigration problem we have in this country if we are serious about cracking down on employers.
And if this President is serious about illegal immigration in this country, I suggest he call his Attorney General and tell him that he wants employers who are knowingly hiring thousands of illegal immigrants to be prosecuted under the law and to spend some time in jail. That would get to the bottom of the problem.”[snip]
http://mccaskill.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=275718&;
“It’s premature to say that the community has given up on Jim Webb, but there are a lot of questions on what is it he is trying to achieve and [whether] our trust [was] well founded,” said Mukit Hossain, president of the Virginia Muslim Political Action Committee, which campaigned for Webb last election....
Webb, who lost to Allen in Virginia’s conservative southwestern districts, also is facing a groundswell of pressure from the right. The anti-illegal immigration group NumbersUSA says its membership has grown exponentially since last month...Almost 2,500 new Virginia members have joined since last month, bringing the total to nearly 10,300, according to the group."
“My dad is a legal immigrant, we live in Northern Virginia, and he hates this bill.”
My wife is a naturalized citizen and we’re also in NOVA and we BOTH despise the bill.
I guess I am a racist.
No doubt, he's thinking that by 2012, the sheeple will have forgotten this whole thing.
anyone know a good attorney? Writ of Mandamus against Chertoff and President Bush for not doing their jobs. Wonder if we could do a class action suit?
writ of mandamus
an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official’s discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail
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