Lead RATS discover prayer soon after their crushing defeat.
FR always has Dingy Harry scratching something...
Posted on 06/29/2007 3:27:15 PM PDT by Libloather
Web groups claim victory in bill defeat
By AMY LORENTZEN
Associated Press Writer
Posted on Fri, Jun. 29, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa --Online groups took credit Friday for leading the grass-roots opposition against an immigration reform bill, saying they persuaded Americans to flood Congress with hundreds of thousands of phone calls, faxes and e-mails.
"We think it was a rising tide of citizen response that forced the senators to stop and consider what the American people were saying, and what the American people were saying was they didn't like this bill," said Steve Elliott, president of Grassfire.org, headquartered in tiny Maxwell, Iowa.
The proposal, backed by President Bush, would have created a path to legal residency for illegal immigrants.
The conservative Grassfire group's Web site has more than a million contacts nationwide that led to more than 300,000 "citizen contacts" with senators offices over the past few days, Elliott said.
The contacts included phone calls, visits to lawmakers' offices and faxes marked with a giant letter "A" - which the group dubbed the "scarlet letter of amnesty." More than 725,000 people signed a Grassfire online petition, sent to President Bush and congressional members, against what they were calling the Bush-Kennedy Amnesty Bill, organizers said. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was his party's lead negotiator on the bill.
Another group, Eagle Forum, led a coalition of about a dozen groups including NumbersUSA, Let Freedom Ring and Concerned Women for America, said Jessica Echard, Eagle Forum's executive director. They combined Internet activism with bloggers and others in Washington who alerted group members if a lawmaker appeared to be wavering on his or her vote.
Echard, whose group dates to the early 1970s, said it was regular citizens, not lobbyists, who grabbed senators' attention.
"The fast-paced ability to generate calls; I think that was very key in this defeat," she said. "This was a new day with the average citizen."
Brian Darling, a congressional analyst for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, credited groups for using the Internet to oppose the legislation.
Grassfire.org in particular "did an excellent job using new media outlets in getting the word out as to how terrible this Senate amnesty bill was," he said.
Elliott formed Grassfire.org in the late 1990s to address issues ranging from abortion and traditional marriage to tax reform and border security. He lives in Virginia, but a brother-in-law in central Iowa tipped him off to Web developers in Maxwell, population 793, and it became home to the movement.
The group targeted 17 senators of both parties, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell voted against the bill, and in a floor speech he noted that "thousands of smart, well-informed people called my offices to talk about this bill."
So many calls came into the office of Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin that the Democrat's phone system crashed. He also decided to oppose the measure, although a spokeswoman credited the actions of "ordinary Iowans," rather than campaigns by groups such as Grassfire.
Such vocal groups "always want to claim responsibility" when legislation goes their way, said David Redlawsk, a University of Iowa political science professor. But they probably did play a role because they drowned out other Americans who weren't speaking up, he said.
Redlawsk noted that 11 senators who are up for election in 2008 switched their votes on immigration reform. The issue unnverved many lawmakers because they couldn't clearly see where public opinion stood, he said.
"Politicians don't like uncertainty, and this particular issue is about as uncertain as they come right now," Redlawsk said.
Lead RATS discover prayer soon after their crushing defeat.
FR always has Dingy Harry scratching something...
Demand a border fence! Build it NOW!! Beef up the border patrol and close our borders!
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Toll free to the US Senate:
1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)
Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
The two most important websites were NationalReview.com and MichelleMalkin.com because they provided INFORMATION on what was happening behind the scenes.
Good intelligence wins the battle.
This can’t be right, I heard that the CBS poll said that only 35% of Americans would were against the bill, with 50% “i dunno” because they didn’t have enough facts./s
The point..is that WE worked together. We, the people.
Grassfire has been awesome, but so has FR!
I’ve been real happy with NumbersUSA.
Bump for later.
"We're Cosa Nostra. We don't exist." -Sammy Gravano to John Gotti
This is only the beginning ... tt’s time for all conservatives to unite.
Here is a person that even more than that we now have to be dealing with, swift and effectively!! Link
By-by Mel!!!
OMG I didn’t know we are family connected ROFL
My wrath was displayed, with a black Sharpie, on my annual RNC donation form (check excluded, mailed at their expense). They still aren't off my excrement list...
You might want to check out the background and links to NumbersUSA before you cut them a check...
Now that the bill has been defeated I highly recommend that all FReepers do a little digging and get to know some of these groups. Many will be unpleasantly surprised...
Mike: You must kidding us as being real naïve. I would like to put my name on this e-card to wish the President “Happy Birthday”!
Using this opportunity as a fundraiser is extremely offensive to us.
After what the President and his spineless GOP Senators put us through this week, the amnesty bill, you are in for a huge surprise when you are going to tally the sum of money to the RNC.
As a participant in the bloggers-sphere on the internet, we are many who will withhold our donation to RINO’s whom you need to have a serious talk with if you ever want to regain our trust.
NO MORE MONEY TO RNC!
You Need to see this chilling video, so that you can understand where we comes from: Roy Beck's Link
Best regards,
P...... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robert M. (Mike) Duncan, RNC Chairman [mailto:ecampaign@gop.com] Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 12:21 PM To: danamco@bellsouth.net Subject: Birthday Just A Few Days Away
Dear P......, In a few short days, President Bush will celebrate his 61st Birthday. Don't miss out on this opportunity to wish the President a Happy Birthday by signing the RNC's eCard today.
To make this an extra special birthday on July 6, Mrs. Bush will be presenting our President with this birthday wish from supporters like you. To be included in this unique celebration, please click here.
And if you can, I hope you will consider celebrating President Bush's birthday with a gift our entire Party can share. Your secure online donation of $61 (or whatever you can afford) will help keep the RNC's preparations for electing more Republicans in the 2007-2008 election cycle on track.
Sincerely ,
Robert M. "Mike" Duncan Chairman, Republican National Committee
P.S. This is your last chance to join the First Lady in making this an extra special birthday celebration for our President - please take a moment to sign the Birthday eCard today.
To Forward This Email To Your Friends And Family, Please Click Here
Contributions or gifts to the Republican National Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
Republican National Committee | 310 First Street, SE | Washington, D.C. 20003 p: 202.863.8500 | f: 202.863.8820 | e: info@gop.com Paid for by the Republican National Committee. 310 First Street, SE - Washington, D.C. 20003 - (202) 863-8500 www.gop.com Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Unsubscribe Copyright 2007 Republican National Committee
Ewww. You must've given them an email address. I don't care who they are, they will NEVER get mine.
What hell I doing to poor Joe Pesci here ROFL
I don’t know...ROFL!
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