Thread: Ben Nelson of NB..Senate Democrat with a BRAIN!

Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but all United States senators with a D after their names aren't as brain-dead as Harry Reid! Ben Nelson of Nebraska has posted a PR on his website stating his opposition to the amnesty. I called today and thanked his staffer for the senator's support of working American citizens. Several other Democrats refuse to drink Reid's toxic Kool Aid; among them John Tester. Every Democrat who refuses to do Dirty Harry's bidding makes Reid's job of selling out America that much tougher...it means he has to pick off another RiNO to replace that "D" vote. That's why he hasn't brought the amnesty to a floor vote yet...he simply doesn't have the votes! Last month's election returns have made the usual RiNO herd very easily spooked; Juan McAmnesty and Light-Loafered Lindsey, in particular, know they're being watched.

The most dangerous RiNO's now are the two idiots from Maine..Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins..or is it Olympia Collins and Susan Snowe...doesn't much matter as they're both bred from the same woeful stock...best ground up for dogfood as they simply can't be stomached by humans. Reid and Barry Hussein love these old bags....when they need a couple of "bi-partisan" votes Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumber are easy prey. Just dangle some rancid PORK in front of 'em, and they'll take the bait. Principled conservatives, they ain't!

Thank-you for calling Sen Ben Nelson to thank him, vivalamigra. He is my Senator. I too told his aide to tell him thank-you when I called his office Monday to confirm his NO vote. I am also very impressed that he actually posted on his site that he is against Dream or amnesty. Many of them won't advertise it that way, even if they vote against amnesty bills.

Now I don't totally trust him on this issue yet, because he is up for re-election in 2012 in a conservative state. So not yet convinced he wouldn't turn on us once the election is over, if re-elected. But I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he has learned the hard way from the reaction to his health care vote. And his grade on NumbersUSA actually hasn't been too bad, I think he has usually maintained a B or B+.

I strongly feel that after we make it through this Dream nightmare, we should contact the NO votes and thank them. We need to reward and reinforce such behavior. I'm sure elected officials usually only hear from constituents when they are angry.

When I called I was told Ben is voting NO on the dream scheme and NO for any sort of amnesty! I like Ben.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Border Security Update
By
Senator Ben Nelson

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, better known as ICE, expects to deport about 400,000 people this fiscal year, nearly 10 percent above the Bush administration's 2008 total and 25 percent more than were deported in 2007.

Nearly 50 percent of the people who have been deported this budget year have a criminal conviction, from driving without a license and DUI to major felonies. That represents an increase of more than 36,000 over the same period in 2009 when there was an increase of 22,000 over 2008.

When you consider figures like that from a recent article in the Washington Post and gang raids like the one the FBI recently conducted in Grand Island, it drives home the point that the U.S. needs to continue working to secure our borders to curb illegal immigration.

Securing the Border
I’ve been pushing for a border security fence, augmented by unmanned aerial vehicles, for several years and am pleased to report that we are making progress. As of September 10, 2010, the U.S. has completed roughly 649 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fencing along the Southwest Border. A total of 350 miles of primary pedestrian fence has been constructed, while the final total of vehicle fence was officially completed in January.

Last summer, I visited with ICE Director John Morton and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin to discuss the continued securing of our southwestern border. They say that legislation passed by Congress has allowed them to assign additional Border Patrol Agents to the Tucson Sector and to establish a 500- agent Mobile Response Team that will have the ability to rapidly respond to emergency situations without depleting Border Patrol staffing from other locations.

More Surveillance
In a letter to me, Commissioner Bersin indicated the permanent staffing should now be up and running. Legislation also made available an additional 250 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers who specialize in detecting the smuggling of illegal contraband as well as currency and weapons that are being brought over the U.S. border from Mexico.

The bill also provides $80 million for ICE to fill 225 positions to be placed in ICE’s five offices along the southwest border. It also increases the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems.

Anticipating more arrests, the administration has expanded the system to 437 jails and prisons, up from 14, and aims to extend it to "every law enforcement jurisdiction" by 2013.

During the lame duck session of Congress now underway there is talk about dealing with some immigration legislation known as the DREAM Act, which would give hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants a conditional path to legal residency.

I'm not going to support any legislation that I don't think adds to jobs, or to the military or to the economy. Consequently, I won't support any motion to proceed or any kind of cloture measure on the DREAM Act. In addition, I think that it must be part of an overall comprehensive solution to immigration once we have the border secured, and not until then.

We’re making progress but we’re not done yet.
http://bennelson.senate.gov/press/speec ... Update.cfm

A rare species........

Are there any other Democrats besides him and Mark Pryor who have made statements indicating they'll vote against cloture, or abstain from voting when the DREAM Act comes up for debate?