Posted on 06/29/2007 6:26:32 AM PDT by blam
Sessions gets his way as immigration bill fails
Senator's stand popular among Alabama GOP
Friday, June 29, 2007
By SEAN REILLYWashington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- As U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions cheered on the defeat of a bipartisan immigration bill Thursday, he could be confident that Alabama Republicans were also applauding. Calls from constituents were lopsidedly against the measure, according to a tally provided by his office, and a top official with the state GOP said he believed that rank-and-file Republicans overwhelmingly opposed it as well.
Elsewhere, the reaction may be more muted.
Earlier this week, several party activists in Western states said the hard-line stance of Sessions and other lawmakers on immigration issues was undercutting efforts to woo the fast-growing Hispanic population.
"I think it hurts us tremendously," said Gilberto Cisneros, chairman of the Colorado chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, a Washington, D.C.-based outreach organization. In the course of the last two election cycles, Republicans have lost control of the Colorado governor's office and both houses of the General Assembly, defeats that Cisneros attributed in part to Hispanic voters veering Democratic.
Not everyone agrees, and Sessions, R-Mobile, said in a Tuesday interview that "we have to do what's right for America."
Risk for GOP?
But the tension underscores what some see as a growing divide between the demands of today's Republican voters and the demographic realities surrounding the party's long-range future. Although the consequences could take years to play out, the risk to the GOP is "huge," said Rodolfo Espino, a political scientist at Arizona State University.
(Excerpt) Read more at al.com ...
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And what is senor Espino's agenda in all this? I'd remind him that the risk is relatively minor should all those who the politicians wanted to give amnesty were returned to their native countries. No foul, no harm.
Three cheers for Senator Sessions!!!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I saw Sessions last night on Hannity-Colmes - very impressive guy
Sessions for majority leader.
Anyone else notice how it’s only those with hispanic surnames telling us this could cost the GOP in the future?
Put me down in the unconcerned column.
Very true. Conservatism wins every time it's tried.
Mind you, there are some Senators who truly believe in American sovereignty, Jeff Sessions is a prime example, but I think most of what happened yesterday in the Senate was more akin to "we'd better appease the folks who are going to vote in the next election and not worry about the potential voters we want to woo 10 years from now right now...."
What about Hispanics who played by the rules and are either here legally as aliens or who have become American citizens?
Are they big supporters of trespassers who broke the law while they obeyed it?
Frankly, this country doesn't need lawbreakers of any race or nationality. We end up becoming just another third-world crap hole if we play that game.
No party should pander to, or seek the backing of, scofflaws of any race or color.
We have existing laws allowing foreigners of any color to enter this country legally.
Jeff Sessions For President (Roll Tide)
I’ll vote against the Democrats on the immigration issue alone. Hillary supported the Immigration Bill, Obama supported the Immigration Bill. It appears that a Republican candidate, with a stronger stance on immigration, might profit from this backlash.
So much BS and such a small shovel.
Agreed. People who support lawbreakers merely because many of them share an ancestry and/or language were never going to vote conservative anyway.
There is no risk to the GOP as long as we build the fence and punish employers that hire illegals. The illegal ‘hispanic’ voters will have to self-deport.
“Jeff Sessions For President”
Well, that’s one thing we agree on . . . War Eagle!
>The illegal hispanic voters will have to self-deport.<
What happens in the next generation or 2?
We have GOT to get this insidious anchor baby rule rescinded!
I will second that — Sessions for Majority Leader! Boy would that send shivers through the WH. Time for people with spines to take over leadership and stand up for the American people not the WH!
Well, it would take a couple miracles (ahem, deaths) for the Repubs to gain the majority while Bush is still in office . . . but I’m with you.
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