Thread: ALIPAC's Response to Senator Frist's VOLPAC

WavTech wrote:

Just in case you haven't heard, Senator Boxer is trying to add the AgJobs bill as an amendment to the House's fence bill. Senator Durbin is considering adding DREAM as an ammendment. We can't let them butcher the House's bill with all these illegal alien-friendly ammendments.

Supposedly, Sen. Frist is not going to let that happen. He wants the bill to stand-alone. We'll see.

I understand what some of you guys/gals are saying, but I do believe it is possible for a person to change their position on issues. Heck, I've changed my mind on specific issues over the years. I'm not saying Sen. Frist has changed his mind on anything, because I don't actually believe he has, but we should keep an open mind in regards to some other elected politicians. If we didn't think their minds could be changed - why do we pound them daily with letters, emails, phone calls, etc.? Just something to think about.

It is possible for an elected representative to change his/her mind. This holds more true with Rep's, because their term in the House is much shorter than their counterparts in the Senate. These folks should be following the will of the people they represent or they could find themselves looking for new jobs after the elections. Some can be brought around if enough people in their district force them to see the light.

I sent my own email to Frist to remind him that Americans are aware of the overall shenanigans going on about all of this and we are watching things closely.

I also emailed my own senators and said basically the same, letting them know that an overwhelming percentage of Oregonians want enforcement and prevention, not handing over a reward to those who have already broken the laws.

William:

I have to give you credit. Your alot more patient with these pricks then I am. Granted I don't throw around tons of cuss words in my letters, but you can tell in my letters that I'm fed up and want to rip them apart. Keep up the good work. I enjoy reading your letters.

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I think we should weigh these members of Congress in the elections on what they have done before now, not what they do last minute to try and save themselves.

W

Exactly.

Bill Frist's VOLPAC is a complete joke, illustrated by his ridiculous weblog.

I can't speak for anyone else, but Frist is one notch below Juan McLame in the GOP presidential sweepstakes.

The only bright spot about that pathetic invertebrate running for POTUS is that it will provide us with some comic relief.

William, I'd like to congratulate you and thank you for the letter you sent to Senator "Shamnesty" Frist.The letter was right on the head.Americans are tired of being taken for granted and ignored.

The senate might fool us once but it's hard to fool us twice.

I think that there is a need to be a bit more judicious. The carrot and stick approach does not work if the beast of burden eventually moves in the direction you want him to go and you hit him with the stick and deny him the carrot. How many politicians will change their votes if they think that there will be no reward for doing so? The old "vote the bastard out" approach doesn't work either unless we can replace the old dog with a new dog that doesn't also bite the hand that feeds it. From what I have seen in my many years of political activism, that's something that is far easier said than done.

Originally Posted by CrocketsGhost

I think that there is a need to be a bit more judicious. The carrot and stick approach does not work if the beast of burden eventually moves in the direction you want him to go and you hit him with the stick and deny him the carrot. How many politicians will change their votes if they think that there will be no reward for doing so? The old "vote the bastard out" approach doesn't work either unless we can replace the old dog with a new dog that doesn't also bite the hand that feeds it. From what I have seen in my many years of political activism, that's something that is far easier said than done.

I don't know.

The utility of pressuring someone like Frist is arguable.

He has less than a two-maybe three-weeks left as Senate Majority Leader before the elections, and possibly a bit during a lame-duck session.

He doesn't have a shot in hell of being nominated by the GOP, and he's probably even less likely to be named as the eventual nominee's runningmate.

I understand pressuring him while he still has some (minimal) authority that he hasn't conceeded to the Dems already, but I don't see why we should pussyfoot around the issue with someone who is obviously not our ally on this subject.

Originally Posted by Shapka

Originally Posted by CrocketsGhost

I think that there is a need to be a bit more judicious. The carrot and stick approach does not work if the beast of burden eventually moves in the direction you want him to go and you hit him with the stick and deny him the carrot. How many politicians will change their votes if they think that there will be no reward for doing so? The old "vote the bastard out" approach doesn't work either unless we can replace the old dog with a new dog that doesn't also bite the hand that feeds it. From what I have seen in my many years of political activism, that's something that is far easier said than done.

I don't know.

The utility of pressuring someone like Frist is arguable.

He has less than a two-maybe three-weeks left as Senate Majority Leader before the elections, and possibly a bit during a lame-duck session.

He doesn't have a shot in hell of being nominated by the GOP, and he's probably even less likely to be named as the eventual nominee's runningmate.

I understand pressuring him while he still has some (minimal) authority that he hasn't conceeded to the Dems already, but I don't see why we should pussyfoot around the issue with someone who is obviously not our ally on this subject.

Well think about it with an eye to what I said above. It's not so much what our response to him with regard to his movement on the issue is, but rather how that response will be taken by others with conflicting interests (which is pretty much every politician in Washington!). If they see Frist actually moving on the issue under pressure from groups, then see those same groups rewarding his movement with even more derision, what do you think those others will believe their chances of regaining those votes will be?

Again, it's like beating a dog for crapping on the floor, then beating him for the last time that he crapped on the floor when he goes outside to do his business next time. Politicians are very much like untrained pets. If you hope to get anything from them, you must punish their mistakes and reward their compliance.

I understand the frustration with guys like Frist, but our actions toward Frist are being watched by many more politicians than simply the Frist camp.