Thread: SENATOR TRAITORS MARCH ON WITH PRESIDENT IN TOW

White House urges Senate to keep immigration bill alive

Published: Friday June 8, 2007


The White House urged the Senate Friday to keep a sweeping immigration reform bill alive after the measure collapsed, dealing a blow to one of President George W. Bush's top domestic policy goals.

On a night of high political drama, Democratic leader Harry Reid withdrew the landmark measure Thursday after senators voted twice within nine hours not to move it towards a final vote.

Only 45 members of the 100-seat Senate backed Reid's bid to limit further debate on the measure, 15 short of the total needed for it to proceed. Fifty senators voted against.

Democrats and Republicans traded blame for the impasse on the bill, which would give 12 million illegal immigrants a path to legal status and represents perhaps Bush's best chance for a major second term domestic achievement.

"A group of Senate Republicans has irresponsibly turned its back on border security and the 12 million people who are living in the shadows of our society," Reid said.

White House counselor Dan Bartlett, who is accompanying Bush at the Group of Eight summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, said the president was "obviously disappointed by the setback."

"The president strongly believes that Senator Reid ought to allow for this bill to continue to be debated, and to, at the appropriate time, go for a vote on the substance of this bill, because he thinks it's incredibly important that comprehensive immigration will move forward," Bartlett told reporters.

Bartlett struck an optimistic note, saying there were talks among Senate leaders about reviving the bill and that there is "a good chance" it will move forward.

The immigration "grand bargain" was aimed at granting a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, establishing a merit-based points system for future immigrants and a low-wage temporary worker program.

It included a border security crackdown, punishments for employers who hire illegal immigrants and an attempt to wipe out a backlog of visa applications from those who have gone through legal immigration channels.

The bill ran into fierce assaults from conservative groups who branded it an "amnesty" for those who had broken the law to enter and stay in the United States.

Some liberal lobbies also opposed the bill, saying its guest worker program threatened US laborers. Hi-tech firms had warned new immigration rules would not let them pick the high-skilled workers they wanted.

Reid forced Thursday's vote, saying the Senate needed to pass the bill and move on to debating energy reform and the war in Iraq, after two weeks of exhaustive work on immigration, a hotly divisive issue.

The vote went ahead after a day of brinkmanship and a last-ditch rescue bid by Bush cabinet members and top senators.

Republicans complained Reid's maneuver, which would likely have led to a vote on final passage early next week, would not allow them enough time to offer amendments to the legislation.

Democrats, however, accused some Republicans of offering repeated "killer amendments" in an effort to erode the bill's crumbling support base.

Despite the setback, Reid pledged to carry on working for immigration reform, but added: "we are finished with this for the time being."

"We are very close, at some point we are going to do this."

Prospects for a future immigration deal making it through the Senate however appeared uncertain, given antipathy to the measure from conservatives, pressure of other business and partisan fighting between Republicans and Democrats.

The looming 2008 congressional and presidential elections mean that unless the measure is brought up soon, it will get caught up in a political maelstrom.

Eleven Democrats, mostly from conservative western or southern states, voted against moving forward with the legislation. Seven Republicans voted with the Democratic leadership.

As Senators traded blame for the failure of the vote, Reid warned Bush should pressure Republicans to reverse their stance, on an issue which is one of his last hopes for a major second term domestic achievement.

"Let's have President Bush work with us on this. I want to work with him. I don't say that very often," he said.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell complained: "I think we are giving up on this bill too soon."

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/White_Hous ... 82007.html

The whole deal here is that Reid is calling upon Bush to keep this thing going as he knows that will take the republicans out in 2008.

The Democrats will get their new 30 million voters and the Republicans will take the heat for this terrible amnesty bill, due to George Bush.

That's why I think we need to work to impeach that fool ASAP!!

Bush does not understand what Americans want to need. He is sick today. I sure wish I had listen to my gut about Bush and worked against him. If a democrat was in the white house, the republicans would not have lost the house.

Originally Posted by Dianne

The whole deal here is that Reid is calling upon Bush to keep this thing going as he knows that will take the republicans out in 2008.

The Democrats will get their new 30 million voters and the Republicans will take the heat for this terrible amnesty bill, due to George Bush.

That's why I think we need to work to impeach that fool ASAP!!

I agree that Bush should be impeached for this.....but who would we get? Cheney and then Pelosi. That is the order. If Cheney would stop this immigration sellout then I would be for it. But if he has the same mindset as Bush it's not worth it.

Seven Republicans voted with the Democratic leadership.

Do we have a list of the seven traitors?

Wavtek:

The information you seek is located here: (and a few other threads, I believe too - people have been anxious to post such info!):

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=67455

"A group of Senate Republicans has irresponsibly turned its back on border security and the 12 million people who are living in the shadows of our society," Reid said.

I hope, after the next election, old Harry Reid winds up "living in the shadows".....the shadows of defeat.

"A group of Senate Republicans has irresponsibly turned its back on border security and the 12 million people who are living in the shadows of our society," Reid said.

Reid is such a liar! The group os Senate Republicans he's talking about were attempting to strengthen border security through amendments. Furthermore, what about the 280 million American citizens the Democrats were attempting to turn their backs on?

I see it was the usual bunch of Republican traitors. What I really don't understand is how Richard Lugar of Indiana can get away with his voting record.

As someone who was born and raised in Indiana, I can attest to the fact, that Indiana is one of the most conservative states in the country. Why Hoosiers haven't given him the boot a long time ago, is beyond my understanding.