From: Theresa Harmon Date: 2006/05/29 Mon PM 12:31:25 EDT
Subject: TnRIP Alert: Alexander as big a traitor as Frist

www.TnRIP.org

YOUR SENATOR(S) AREN'T AS "ANTI-AMNESTY" AS THEY CLAIM!

If you've expressed gratitude to your senators for voting NO on S-2611, you may have missed a sneaky trick they pulled along with my Senator Jon Kyl (AZ).

Check how they voted on cloture of 2611--they voted YES to bring the bill to a Senate floor vote rather than filllibuster it and let it die. The 10 senators who voted YES on cloture and then "flip-flopped" to vote NO on S-2611 (list below) knew that the bill would pass a Senate floor vote. So if they were REALLY opposed to amnesty, why didn't they vote NO on cloture as real patriots did--Jeff Sessions, Ernest Inhofe, Byron Dorgan, Robert Byrd and the rest.

These 10 senators voted to let it go for a floor vote because they really wanted S-2611 to pass--there's just no other explanation! Then they played good cop, bad cop and tried to recover their "anti" image by voting NO on passage, well aware that their NO vote was just symbolic.

If you really oppose a bill that is expected to pass, you'll do anything possible to prevent a floor vote, and cloture would have been the obvious way.

7 of the 10 turncoats are up for re-election this November, which tells why they voted NO. These 10 were just taking a chance that most people wouldn't recognize what they really did.

Make no mistake about it, had their votes been needed for passage of the bill, any or all of these 10 would have voted YES in a heartbeat. But don't be fooled that they were "anti" the bill--they did their political balancing act hoping most voters wouldn't catch on to them.

Call your Senator's office on Tuesday and let them know you're on to the senator's game by asking "If the senator is against the bill, why did they vote for cloture rather than let it die through filibuster?"

The staff may try that "even if all 10 voted NO against cloture, there would still have been enough votes to send S-2611 for a floor vote," but that's irrelevant. Following that logic, why did these 10 vote NO on the bill that they knew would pass anyway? Because they wanted to make political hay by claiming they voted NO!

We'd be interested in the answer you get. They're not counting on many citizens sharp enough to recognize what their "flip-flop" vote achieved.

If you want to let the staffers know what you think of their boss's "flip-flop," send a message to them here and ask for a written reply.

Below is a list of those who voted No on the bill and those of them who voted YES on cloture. Those in red are just as traitorous as those like McCain, Kennedy, and Specter who voted YES for passage.

NAYs ---36
Alexander (R-TN) YES ON CLOTURE
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS) YES ON CLOTURE --up for re-election
Cornyn (R-TX) YES ON CLOTURE
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT) YES ON CLOTURE--up for re-election
Hutchison (R-TX) YES ON CLOTURE--up for re-election
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ) YES ON CLOTURE--up for re-election
Lott (R-MS) YES ON CLOTURE--up for re-election
Nelson (D-NE) YES ON CLOTURE
Roberts (R-KS)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Stabenow (D-MI) YES ON CLOTURE--up for re-election
Sununu (R-NH)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY) YES ON CLOTURE--up for re-election
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)

We've updated and added to our contact information for Tennessee members of the U.S. Congress. From our home page, look under "The Law" then select "Federal Law". We not only have the local contact information for each Senator and Representative, we now have direct email links to many of their staff! Have a bit of fun! Let their staff know exactly what you think about their bosses instead of your messages just going into some congressional black-hole!

Theresa Harmon
Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies
www.TnRIP.org