Thread: Specter: 'Amnesty' was killer

Posted on Fri, Jun. 29, 2007
Specter: 'Amnesty' was killer

He rejected the bill's characterization but said foes were able to define it on their terms.
By Steve Goldstein
Inquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Opponents killed the immigration bill by successfully branding it as "amnesty" for 12 million undocumented residents, Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) said yesterday.
Despite stiff penalties for illegal immigrants seeking citizenship, the senator said, opponents of the legislation had won the battle to define it.

"The best way to defeat the bill was to give it that label - and to keep pounding at it," Specter said. "I don't think it was amnesty, but I can see how somebody else would press the argument.

"I think it's wrong to call it amnesty," he said, "because it did not forgive a violation of the law - it extracted penalties for violation of the law. Amnesty is forgiveness for a law violation."

One of the 12 lawmakers who negotiated the bill, Specter said it was "an accommodation and a compromise" but nonetheless a "decisive improvement" over the existing situation.

Specter endorsed the view of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who said that the 12 million illegal immigrants were going to remain, "so now it's silent amnesty if you do nothing."

"So maybe you either have amnesty or anarchy," Specter said.

Asked who among his colleagues could claim the kill, Specter declined to point his finger.

"It would just make bigger senators out of them, and I'm not going to do that," he explained, asserting that the public "is not going to find out from me."

As to how big a setback this was for President Bush, who lobbied in person and from his bully pulpit for the bill, Specter said: "It is a huge setback for America."

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/natio ... 40632.html

Why is it so difficult for those idiots to comprehend that if they simply enforced EXISTING law, it would not be silent amnesty as he called it. We don't need new laws, we need to enforce our borders and laws now.

"So maybe you either have amnesty or anarchy," Specter said.

Or more precisely we would have had BOTH! We should we have to compromise or accomodate? Dumbass statement!

Specter endorsed the view of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who said that the 12 million illegal immigrants were going to remain, "so now it's silent amnesty if you do nothing."

Hmmm.........and this is the guy Bush appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security! Telling us "the 12 million illegal immigrants were going to remain" doesn't exactly give us a lot of confidence in his abilities to maintain homeland security.

This fruit doesn't have the right attitude for the job he's been tasked with!

The stupid thinking behind this -- some enemies invade the US, with the
help of US traitors -- for the executive branch to act, the congress
must normalize the status of the successful enemy invaders & traitors
before dealing with the ongoing invasion? How stupid does Spector
think people are?

At least this time Specter didn't decide to fall back on Scottish law to make his case.

the last weeks/months listening to these elected pinheads has been an eye opening experience. it is scary to think king jorge and 46 senators can not understand the concept of enforcing the law. there needs to be an overhaul of these individuals.

Originally Posted by Lone_Patriot

the last weeks/months listening to these elected pinheads has been an eye opening experience. it is scary to think king jorge and 46 senators can not understand the concept of enforcing the law. there needs to be an overhaul of these individuals.

Yeah, here we were electing them thinking they'll know what to do once they get there. See that's what happens when we assume.