[antimedia] antimedia: Today the immigration bill....

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Posted by antimedia:
Today the immigration bill....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1183082381.shtml


   ....[1]went down in flames, the result of a national conflagration
   that got so hot that 18 Senators who voted for cloture just two days
   ago voted against it today, effectively killing the bill until after
   the next President is elected.

     A defiant group of senators refused to continue down the path of a
     widely unpopular immigration reform bill Thursday, putting up a
     roadblock on a procedural debate and squeezing out any time left to
     work on one of President Bush's top domestic priorities.
     On the cloture vote â the test to end debate and move to passage â
     the Senate voted 46-53 not to carry the motion. Sixty votes were
     needed for forward progress.
     The tally is a turnaround of 18 votes from two days earlier. For
     varying reasons, six Democrats and 12 Republicans changed their
     votes to 'no' from a Tuesday vote that allowed the Senate to take
     up amendments on the bill. No one changed their votes to 'yes.'
     Democrats who changed their votes were: Sens. Jeff Bingaman of New
     Mexico, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Ben Nelson of
     Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Jim Webb of Virginia.
     Republicans who changed their votes were: Minority Leader Mitch
     McConnell of Kentucky, and Sens. Kit Bond of Missouri, Sam
     Brownback of Kansas, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Norm Coleman
     of Minnesota, Susan Collins of Maine, Pete Domenici of New Mexico,
     John Ensign of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens of Alaska,
     George Voinovich of Ohio and John Warner of Virginia.

   I'm going to be kind and say that the Senators who changed their votes
   were [2]convinced by the failure to pass certain amendments in the
   previous 48 hours.

     Bush's allies passed a similar test Tuesday, but several senators
     said they simply were agreeing to let debate continue for a couple
     of days, and they made no promises to support the legislation on
     Thursday or beyond.

   A more realistic interpretation is that these eighteen saw which way
   the wind was blowing and decided not to risk their futures on an
   unpopular bill.
   There is much to learn from this debacle. Our Senators have revealed
   an amazing arrogance and lack of concern for what the people want.
   Hopefully that will translate into the defeat of a number of Senators
   in the primaries, but who knows. The American people are funny,
   sometimes returning obvious crooks to office. On the other hand,
   there's a great deal of passion behind this issue, something the
   Senators have reluctantly had to admit.

     Opponents of the bill â Republican Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama,
     who had been a frequent guest on the radio circuit, and Jim DeMint
     of South Carolina â remarked on the Senate floor that the
     sergeant-at-arms' office told them that the volume of calls leading
     up to the immigration vote was so high it had crashed the phone
     system, and no one was able to get through during morning debate.

   The defeat should also be a clarion call to the American people --
   your voice is important. Stting out the debate cedes victory to the
   other side, something patriots should never do.
   Finally, the internet may just have returned power to the people and
   none too soon.
   Some Senators have blamed the defeat on talk radio, claiming that
   racist comments stirred up emotions against the bill. I'm not sure
   calling 80% of the American people racist is a good re-election
   strategy, but time will tell.
   The fact is that Americans don't trust Congress and the President to
   enforce the law -- they haven't since the amnesty bill passed under
   Reagan. Actions speak louder than words, and our government's actions
   are proof that their promises are empty and meaningless.
   It's time to elect new leadership -- leadership that listens to the
   people and respects our opinions -- leadership that does what's right
   for America rather than cowtowing to special interest pleaders. It's
   time to take back our country.
   Tags: [3]immigration [4]Senators [5]racist [6]defeat

References

   1. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287143,00.html
   2. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19475868/
   3. http://technorati.com/tag/immigration
   4. http://technorati.com/tag/Senators
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/racist
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/defeat