Posted on 06/28/2007 10:06:48 AM PDT by joanie-f
A cloture vote on the mis-named Bill to Provide for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (a long but must read for every modern American patriot) went down to resounding defeat on the senate floor this morning. God bless those Americans who believe that representative government still takes precedence over bread and circuses (Paris Hilton is unveiling a new clothing line, don’tcha know?). Those modern American patriots who expended the time and effort to let their views be known have succeeded in derailing a bill that would have eventually spelled the death of our beloved republic, and dealt a major blow to the foundations upon which western civilization rests.
Make no mistake about it. One of the countless reasons that this bill was being pushed so feverishly (and sometimes unconstitutionally) through legislative channels is that our fearless ‘leaders’ (our own president among them) believed that the American citizens’ attention span is short – and that, a year and a half from now, when the teeth of this bill had begun to suck the life blood out of our republic, and a third of the senate is up for re-election, the voters would have by then forgotten who supported this travesty.
We cannot forget. Treason is a high crime. And betrayal leaves a deep, permanent, psychologically disfiguring scar.
The U.S. senatorial oath reads:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Below is a listing of those forty-six American senators who voted for cloture in order to shut off debate on a bill that placed the amassing of political power and the interests of business above the U.S. Constitution, and the safety and sovereignty of the United States. Those names written in bold type represent senators who will be running for re-election in 2008.
Make no mistake. Some version of this bill will be re-introduced – if not during this congressional session, then during the next. Every American voter needs to make it his priority to see to it that those senators written in bold below are no longer occupying seats in the senate when that happens.
Bennett (R-UT)
Craig (R-ID)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Akaka (D-HI)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
Recent polls revealed that as many as eighty percent of the American electorate disapproved of S.1639. November 2008 will tell us how many of those eighty percent were weak in their disapproval or have attention spans calibrated in nano-seconds. But, for the time being, today should be a day of celebration. Although the scoundrels will not rest until our republic is unraveled, they have been at least temporarily corralled.
Between now and November 2008, it has become even more imperative for every informed American to educate those in our families, neighborhoods, and workplaces who are still not aware of what this bill entailed, and its abominable far-reaching anti-liberty, anti-American, anti-representative-government ramifications for us all.
~ joanie
We're all glad this was defeated, but just to be clear, these two things are supposed to sometimes be in conflict....especially in the senate.
The Senate was developed as a 'deliberative body' intentionally isolated from direct public opinion.
If the congress is always supposed to follow public opinion, then you're in the "direct democracy" camp, not republican "representative government."
The next battle is the Fairness Doctrine. They want to shut us up and take away Freedom of Speech.
Graham is TOAST, and, hopefully, the rest as well. IMO, those that voted yes on the first vote are equally as bad. They only changed their vote because of pressure from the American people. They did not want to represent their constituents. If they could have voted yes in private, behind closed doors, they would have done so. Never forget their arrogance.
Graham here. Can someone call the phone company and report trouble over here with our network? We can't call out. Thanks.
We can still catch current illegals, fine them, collect back taxes [why can't the IRS do the illegals like it does us... you know, tell them what they owe and they must pay it?].
Design, develop and implement an employer verification system to catch the buggers so they can be fined, pay back taxes, and be sent home.
THere is no need to make illegals legal by legislation. THey must choose to become legal.
If these types of things don't happen, states will take over. States may begin taking over anyway!
THis is true - but did you notice the no votes were the majority? I don't think anyone expected that.
A fairly good day, for a change.
Amen!
“Just one problem this was a vote on cloture not on the bill its self. The bill is still alive and in hiding. Only an up or down vote on the bill would have killed it. When they think they have enough yes votes they can bring it back.”
EXACTLY!! And in the meantime, our BORDERS ARE UNSECURED, our IMMIGRATION LAWS ARE UNENFORCED, and millions of illegal aliens will continue to cross our borders, steal our jobs, steal federal benefits, commit horrific crimes, and on and on. And just like typical politicians,,,now they say we have to WAIT until 2009 election time or after to get something done about it?
Yep, time to begin work on that
I thought that, since I mentioned cloture several times in the post, I made that clear. But you make a valid point. The reason I am assuming that the bill is now dead (at least for this congressional session), is that its sponsors and major supporters stated that, if this cloture vote failed, they would table it for now.
Not that statements from the senate leadership can be taken to the bank, mind you.
Before the Seventeenth Amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.
The Seventeenth did more damage to true federalism/republicanism/self-government than just about anything else.
Agreed. And we need to caution other conservatives to avoid enlisting in the Trent Lott brigade.
We can take a break and really enjoy the Fourth of July but must stay vigilant against these yo-yo’s who hold so much power. We must be ready to rise up at a moments notice and whack them in the head when they need it!...You are running this country for us through the vote we gave you!...Don’t you dare take this Republic down any road to ruin as you were headed with this stinking crappola amnesty bill!.....Do you bozo’s get it?
The Senate didn’t choose the President. The Electoral College does that. The Leftists are trying to do away with the Electoral College, too.
Yes, that was it! The House represented the people and the Senate, the states. Thanks (knew I had it wrong)!
Correct. Someone else already set me straight.
Indeed.
But, it is critical that our people view this victory as a beginning, not as an end unto itself. It was one tiny battle in a much larger war. And, as always, we must remember that the true threat to our republic is internal, not external.
"Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." - Abraham Lincoln (January 27, 1838)
I will bet money on her war room getting this bill up for a vote as a means to an end. Dirty harry is a useful idiot as well as grahamnesty, et al.
That shut off any debate of this bill?
BTW..it's a good idea to keep calling the senators who voted against cloture to thank them..
The reason the number of illegals have so dramatically increased is because of the encouragement they were receiving from all levels of government, beginning with the president's first SOU address. Today' news is the FIRST bad news the illegals have received since 2001. Maybe a good number of them will now think twice before coming (or staying).
One can hope.
Richard Lugar, what has happened to you over these years?
An excellent point -- except for the fact that, when our brand of representative government was established, it was assumed that those 'representatives' for whom we were voting would spell out, frankly and without equivocation, exactly what they would be 'representing'.
Nowadays, as opposed to two centuries ago, integrity is fast becoming an endangered character trait, and we voters are becoming increasingly familiar with the say-one-thing-during-the-campaign-and-then-do-something-entirely-different-once-in-office phenomenon -- which completely skews the true nature of representative government.
Our elected representatives are elected because they claim to represent our views, but, more often than not, they no longer do. They parrot our views, and then vote based on promises of power or the realization of their own (often hidden) political agenda.
That isn't to say that representative government should revert to democracy (democracies don't work). I'm simply saying that the 'conflict' (between popular opinion and the votes of our representatives) to which you refer has been exacerbated (to the detriment of true 'representation') by their disingenuousness when running for office.
~ joanie
The Republic lives to fight another day !!!
Agreed, sadly.
Now is the time to jot down the vote list from Tuesday.
They are the traitors, the ones who brought it back to the floor for debate. They are the Quislings I think should be hung out to dry when their re-election comes around.
~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed
Rino YEAs
Bennett (R-UT)
Craig (R-ID)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
The above deserve to be voted out of office.
Blue Dog Dems NO
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Harkin (D-IA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Webb (D-VA)
The above voted their conscience not their party line.
So true. And not the kind of thing most of us tend to do. We're quick to complain (yours truly included), and slow to show gratitude for doing the right thing. I intend to do just that today. Thanks for the reminder.
~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed
1. Enforce our immigration laws and secure the border
2. Begin finding and deporting illegal aliens already here
3. Fire the RINOs that pushed the amnesty travesty
Now lets get to work, Freepers...
Needs constant drumbeat repetition.
~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed
BTTT
It was either this or impeaching bush. He may have avoided impeachment.
No matter how you feel about immigration, this kind of rhetoric is disgusting.
Uh, yeah.
The senate is a deliberative body that has to get 60% of the members to agree that they've debated it enough and that it's time to vote on the bill.
Cloture failed, so they can keep debating now. Very deliberative, yes!
,,,now they say we have to WAIT until 2009 election time or after to get something done about it?
I’d support getting rid of the Senate.
Blue Dog Dems NO
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Harkin (D-IA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Webb (D-VA)
Webb? interesting
Stabenow? unbelieveable
What, exactly, would it take for you to at least whisper 'impeachment'? Selling out the sovereignty of the country you were elected to defend, and the ultimate safety of its people, because of a deference to 'business interests', doesn't quite cut it?
Yes I am giddy with excitement that democracy won out.
What happened today is what separates us from the rest of the failed governments in the world.
disgusting.
is what President Bush tried to do against America with this bill.
Actually disgusting is a nice way of putting it.
—Did he protect us from the reach & province of the International Criminal Court? Yes.
—Did he keep us from the Kyoto mess that is currently tying up Europe? Yes.
—Did he create a workable alternative to Kyoto that other countries have embraced? Yes. Bet you didn’t know that!
—Have US Carbon Emissions decreased on his watch, without Kyoto? Yes.
—Did he submit a comprehensive energy plan that got killed by a weak congress? Yes.
—Has he lowered the deficit ahead of schedule in time of war? Yes. Even the NYTimes admits it!
—Did he cut taxes? Twice? Yes. And yes.
—Did he try to get the cuts made permanent? Yes. Congress dropped that ball.
—Did he stop government funding of EMBRYONIC stem cell research? YES.
—Has he kept the promises he made as he held a dead cop’s shield before the Joint Houses? Yes.
—Did he go after the Taliban and AlQaeda in Afghanistan barely a month after 9/11? Yes.
—Has he been unflagging in his efforts to subdue terrorism, worldwide? Yes.
—Has be been the consistent voice for human liberty around the globe? Yes.
—After some serious missteps, is the surge working? Yes.
—Has he been a staunch friend to Israel, the only stable democracy in a frantic region? Yes.
—Did he end the farce of world-wide Arafat admiration? Yes
—Did he remove Saddam Hussein, whose state supported terrorists, from power? Yes.
—Did he invade Iraq at a time when the whole world believed Saddam had and “would use” WMD? Yes.
—Did he bring a much-maligned coalition with him? Yes. Some are still there.
—Did he liberate 50,000 people in keeping with the ideals of the 1998 Iraqi Liberation Act? Yes.
—Has he inspired the Iraqi people to finally believe enough in freedom to fight AlQaeda with us? YES!
—Has he figured out that a free and engaged Middle East makes America safer? Yes.
—Has he kept you safe since 9/11? So safe that you’ve almost forgotten to fear? Yes.
—Did he remove “the wall” between the CIA and the FBI? Yes. —Did he go to the UN before invading Iraq? Yes.
—Did he tell the UN that the US would never ask permission to defend herself? Yes.
—Didd he inspire Libya to surrender it’s WMD without firing a shot? Yes.
—Did he appoint excellent SCOTUS and Federal Judges to the bench? Yes.
—Did he implement the NSA terrorist eavesdropping program? Yes.
—Did he immediately move to freeze assets and make terror funding more difficult? Yes.
——Did he reform Social Security to give you more power over your money? He tried. See Congress.
—Did he manage an economy thru recession, terror attack & war w/ consistent gains for over ten quarters? Yes.
—Has he kept unemployment between 5.5% and 4.4% for an impressive period? Yes.
—Does he say what he means and mean what he says? Yes.
—Did he try to address immigration last year, when the houses in his party? Yes.
—Does he support the second amendment? Yes.
—Does he support school vouchers and school choice? Yes.
—Did he sign the ban on Partial Birth Abortion? Yes. It went to court, but he signed it.
—Did he reverse Clinton’s intent to kill Reagan’s pro-life Mexico policy? Yes.
—Did he support the Defense of Marriage Act? Yes. That used to be vitally important to you.
—Did he expand the roles of faith-based organizations in social programs? Yes.
—Did he prosecute the white-collar criminals like Ken Lay who ran riot through the ‘90’s? Yes.
—Has he handled himself with enormous courage, dignity and grace in the face of world/media/hate? YES
—Is he a man with a creed before he’s anything else? Yes.
—Did he establish Health Savings accounts? Yes.
—Did he have the Border Patrol installing monitoring devices along the borders? Yes.
—Has he made mistakes? Yes. Some undeniable beauts.
—Has he been an imperfect president? Yes.
—Has he spent too much? Probably.
—Has he given you most of what you’ve wanted? Actually, looking at the list…yes!
—Has he dared to disagree with anyone to keep his principles, even you? Yes.
Also, talk of impeaching Pres. Bush is disgusting.
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