http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 86096.html

Garbage in, garbage out: Pushing for amnesty ...



Saturday, December 30, 2006

They're calling it a "bipartisan" effort to give illegal aliens "a simpler path to citizenship." Let's call it what it is -- garbage.

It's amnesty, first and foremost, but also weakness, capitulation and a mistaken sense of "compromise" that will cause irreparable damage to this country.

Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., no champion of common sense, and John McCain, R-Ariz., no guardian of political speech rights, are leading the amnesty effort. They're joined by Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who doesn't know better, and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who should.

Key to the deal-making appears to be the elimination of a requirement in a Senate-passed bill forcing millions of illegals to leave the United States before even being considered for citizenship. There's even talk of denying money to build a 700-mile fence along our border with Mexico.


Mr. Flake tells The New York Times that the November elections disabused many Republicans of the notion that opposing amnesty would win widespread support. "That illusion is gone," he said.

So, our federal leaders are about to repeat the mistake of 20 years ago that fueled a greater run on this country's underfortified borders? That's not "compromise." That's not "bipartisanship." It's a gross dereliction of duty that yet again proves "immigration reform" and "lip service" indeed are synonymous.