Jon Kyl: Looking to Get Out of Immigration Deal?
By Bluey Posted in Featured Stories | Immigration — Comments (16) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Sen. Jon Kyl, the key conservative involved in the immigration compromise, distanced himself from the agreement after the Senate agreed to an amendment yesterday limiting the number of guest workers from 600,000 to 200,000 per year. Congress Daily ($$) referred to Kyl's concerns as a "deal breaker."
The Arizona Republican has come under attack from conservatives for abandoning core principles to strike a deal with Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.) and the White House. While Kyl's comments to Congress Daily were about the guest-worker vote yesterday, conservatives I spoke to on Capitol Hill said he is paying close attention to the base. They said Kyl understands the political ramifications of supporting the bill and could use the guest-worker vote as a way to distance himself from it.
The fact that yesterday's amendment passed on 74-24 vote could doom any attempt by Kyl to add a so-called "escalator" clause -- an important provision for bringing workers to his home state of Arizona.
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Jon Kyl: Looking to Get Out of Immigration Deal? 16 Comments (0 topical, 16 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
for Kyl. First that he was for this monstrosity. Second, that he'd be willing to drop out of it because of this provision.
Romney or Fred.
Currently writing non-political stories over at first-cut-stories.blogspot.com
"What, if anything, would this White House not do to push through this legislation?"
Perhaps the line is drawn at the waterboarding of opponents?
/channeling Andrew Sullivan (sorry) ;)
calls automatically go to voice mail, which is always full.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
publc servants, Becker. I imagine, to be fair, staffers have been near meltdown over the calls. The senators will be home over the Memorial Day break (they get a week, of course). Voters need to confront them at each public event they attend and force them to justify their position if they support this (Boehner word).
If he ends up as a NO vote, that is a good thing, but I remain baffled that he put himself in the terrible spot he now occupies.
But heaven knows the pressure McCain and the White House exerted on him, or the false promises they made to be honest about this legislation.
Maybe I'm hoping, just because he's my favorite Senator, but anyway, I think he'll end up a NO vote.
Second, and much more interesting to me, will be his involvement in McCain's campaign. He's the AZ campaign coordinator (or some such thing) and I don't think there will be any lost love between my Senators by the time this mess is over.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Given that McCain now has dropped to fourth in Florida, Sen. Kyl probably wouldn't want to be too closely associated with a campaign that appears to be imploding anyhow.
No, there won't be any love lost between your senators, or Kyl and the president for that matter. I imagine this applies to most GOP senators and the White House by the time this shakes out.
I am concerned that this White House has sold out basic principles to be "nice" with the Democrats. I wish I could explain it otherwise, but right now I am at a loss. I just don't understand it.
"Wubbies World" - MSgt, U.S. Air Force (Retired): "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." -Jer 33:3-
Amnesty is totally consistent with President Bush's basic principles. It is the enforcement aspects of this bill that run counter to his principles. The Administration now takes credit for the expansion of the Border Patrol and the Real ID Act. But if you remember backwards a couple of years those things were forced down the throat of an unwilling White House by Congress.
So we are going to get 200,000 guest workers. Does that make the rest of 'em 'uninvited guest workers', 'work crashers', or just 'undocumented Democrats'?
conservatives I spoke to on Capitol Hill said he is paying close attention to the base.
That's hard to believe. If he paid close attention to the base he would not have been involved in this bill in any fashion. He opposed a less bad bill last year, while running for reelection. Maybe the only solution is to change the terms of Senators from six years to two.
I just watched part of Bush's press conference and said this is not Amnesty. That is a lie.
Anyone, I don't care who says it, who says this is not amnesty is lieing.
This is Amnesty and anyone who says its not needs to be called on it.
I know I mentioned this before but in an interview on NPR the Spanish Speaking Press/Mexican Press are referring to it as Amnesty. If they call it Amnesty is is Amnesty.
I find it hard to believe that this bill goes anywhere without serious revisions. Somewhere some conservative needs to stand up in this congress and say this is dead in the water. Heck, even Boehner called it s__t.
and for those who don't they will find anything to not like it. I called the NSRC and spoke with a really nice guy there and asked to be removed from their mailing list, he was unaware of the Lindsay Graham-LaRaza video showing him calling people bigots and that he would tell them to shut up, he was surprised. He said McCain is taking a hit on this and I told him I appreciated Romney coming out against it. He said what plan did Romney have and he also asked me what I would do to make it better, I told him I would do nothing and that the laws of this country needed to be enforced before forcing this bill down the throats of Americans. I thought it funny that he said there is enforcement 1st in this bill, I reminded him we passed a bill last year that was enforcment only and it still had not been implemented. I reminded him that George Bush will not be running in 08 and for the party to go down with him on this legislation was insane.
For the first time in a long time, NSRC fundraising is running behind the Democrats... It's a damn shame too, but I wont be giving the NSRC a dime, not when they waste our money on useless pro-amnesty campaigns that undermine conservative values.
I gave Sen Graham a piece of my mind for calling us bigots.
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http://lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contactform
Senator Graham,
I am writing to express my disgust and dismay at your name-calling of opponents of ‘immigration reform’ as bigots.
I am married to a legal immigrant and work daily with immigrants. I am not against legal immigration, even the high levels of legal immigration of over 1 million a year that exists today. I am in a multi-racial family.
However, I do know that legalizing 12 million or more illegal aliens will be a disaster for this country, and I am totally opposed to such a dangerous and wrong-headed policy. The policy will cost $2.5 trillion or more, is a huge unfunded mandate that will burden state and local governments, and is grossly UNFAIR TO LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Polls show that by 2 to 1 margins Americans oppose this kind of approach and prefer to do the right thing - secure the border and enforce the law.
How dare you insult me and millions of patriotic well-meaning citizens with such a slur, merely because we are looking out for what is best for America, instead of selling it out to La Raza and the cheap labor lobbies.
You have added a grave insult to the injury you are doing by supporting this bad bill. I am a dedicated life-long Republican. If your reply is non-existent or anything but an abject apology for your sellout and your insult, I will be doing what I can to end your career in 2008.
and concerned. From what I gather, the White House protested the reduction of guest workers yet greenlighted the provision to keep more liberal Democrats on board. So the senator was hung out to dry. All of which raises a legitimate question: what, if anything, would this White House not do to push through this legislation? Seriously. It has shown no concern about the GOP, and specific members like Kyl.