Enforcement first, declares the House.
By Paul J Cella Posted in 2006 — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The House of Representatives passed a border fence provision yesterday, and is set to pass a series of other immigration measures, most of which fall clearly under the rubric of “enforcement first.” Good for them. This is not only right; it is shrewd election strategy. A strong union of interest and principle is rare in politics; but this one is so plain not even the Stupid Party can fail to see it. To the extent that it is obscure can only be a consequence of the dramatic divide in this country between plutocracy and democracy. The people want the law enforced; the elites want its violation authenticated.
Some of the media reports (disclosing a rather touching innocence of this divide, and thus failing to perceive the true lineaments of the issue) are spinning this legislation as a Republican election ploy. Perhaps it is that: a bloody effective one. This ploy managed to drag fully a third of the Democratic caucus into its orbit, achieving a two-thirds supermajority of the House — facts that tell us a lot more about the opinions of the American people than the latest polls.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) announced that the GOP-led House would try to pass a series of bills strengthening border security by the end of September and seek to persuade the Senate to go along by including the package in a spending bill for the Homeland Security Department.
They are, alas, not likely to persuade the Senate; but if they can turn around the GOP’s election fortunes, which our forecasters tell us are bleak, their action will assuredly not go unnoticed. In the teeth of entrenched vote apathy, bordering of disgust, irritation with Republican governance, outright hostility to a Republican administration, the House GOP will have retained its majority on the strength of its firmness on immigration. According to the Chicago Tribune, “Hastert told reporters the guest-worker program should be considered only when the borders have been secured.” In other words, “enforcement first.”
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Enforcement first, declares the House. 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
And good point about Pence's good faith.
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And the Lord upon the Golden Horn is laughing in the sun.
The danger of course is that if elected to the Senate, neither of these guys would have to pretend to be a moderate for at least 4 years. They could let their true colors show, especially in the beginning. If elected to the Senate, Brown would unquestionably support the McCain/Kennedy amnesty, while the odds are probably better than even that Ford Jr would as well.
they'll pass this or shame the Dems who would block it.
I predicted shortly after the 2004 election that immigration would be THE issue in 2006 and 2008.
This is just the start.
and one assumes they have internal polling to consult, and speak to their constituents at intervals, yet the supporters of CIRA insist on telling us that what Americans really want is amnesty and more immigration. A wall isn't the most useful thing that could be done, but it's a necessary one all the same, and a place to start.
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Anyone who claims that globalization is a conservative process is either a liar or a fool. - James Kurth
And the folks who back CIRA have seen the same polls as these representatives. The one consistent demand in all polls is that the border be secured. Again, when you analyze the votes several things emerge:
*Democrats in contested elections--eveb with nominal opposition--voted for the security measures.
*Democrats who now seek senate seats in Red States voted for the security measures. From what I can tell, Sherrod Brown has done a 180 with his "aye" vote.
*Among the few Republicans to vote against the security measures was Rep. Jim Kolbe, whose chosen open borders successor went down to defeat in Tuesday's primary. Kolbe refused to endorse the nominee, Randy Graf, because of "profound differences."
It has been a gas to watch senators and other open borders supporters go into full panic mode because this time the American people didn't roll over. This doesn't mean the mass migration supporters won't eventually prevail, but this crowd would have to take heavy casualties for it this time. That marks a substantial change. And all the false claims about polls and what the people want is betrayed when a vote is forced upon the Davos gang's paid representatives.
Most are in contested elections, some even against nominal opponents. This speaks volumes about what they have seen from their internal polls and heard from their constituents. Note also the votes of Reps. Sherrod Brown and Harold Ford, Jr. Both are Senate candidates in Red States and supported the House vote (I believe this represents a reversal for Brown). Again, it speaks for itself.
Also note that Rep. Mike Pence did vote for this bill. While we may disagree with his compromise, it shows good faith on this part. He will see how deceptive the Senate is as it does everything possible to avoid this issue before the election.
I linked the roll call vote in my diary. The votes speak for themselves. The total can be found here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll446.xml
The votes belie some claims about what the American public wants. It wants what the House did and the Senate has refused to do.