Thread: CSpan2: Senate Convenes 7:35am Pacific

Menendez has floor..

S1194 renumbered to S1150

Speaking... on ability to petition for family members to be re-unified with families (inUS). if bill approved, will set up 2 different stds. in process.

1. Law-abiding citizens - people can petition for reunity - but are treated worse than IAs

2. The other group, undocumented

Under Hagel Amendment, equals differences between 2 groups. Does so by examining different date used to differentiate [IAs vs. citizens, perm residents] Jan 1 2007.

Complicated... explanation:

Family backlog have applied for legal PR - waiting outside US, bring father/mother/child/etc.

This leg. currently does away with rights of US citizens to make claim - if they have not filed app. before May 1 2005. That's nearly 2 yrs before cut-off.

To US Citizen: you have an inferior right (compared to IAs)

We seek to clear backlog of apps. - to ensure US citizens won't be treated worse.

Effect: a lot of families cut-off.

...(more examplanation...)

This change will retain underlying framework, but just changes this one aspect to ensure fairness...

Current leg. as written is unfair to those who apply for visa. Some lose place in line. Those who follow the rules will have to wait an additional 8yrs in order to apply...

Unfair to make people apply under different system, etc.
Subject to a completely different std. - like changing rules of game 1/2 way through.

This is fundamentally unfair.

Shows poster of Marine - Jose Antonio Gutierrez (1st casualty in Iraq).

Shows another poster - "First Called to Duty, then Citizenship"
(photo of armed services personnel)

[More sob here...]

[Transcriber break 10:32am - resume at (?)]

Sorry folks, I can't stick with this all day. After keeping close tabs on this over the last few days, a couple of trends are starting to surface.

After reviewing both the speeches done on the floor of the Senate, combined with some recent voting on proposed amendments (some good, some not so good), I will offer a short list of known (solidly) 'good guys' and 'bad guys'.

I offer the list simply as a helper or guide in your communications with senate offices and staffers. This might help give some guide in the intensity and types of communications which are appropriate for each senator.

This is not complete, it is not inflexible, etc. and is only the humble opinion of this observer - largely representing our general point of view:


Here you go:

Solid Good Guys:

Dem:

Dorgan,
Tester,
Byrd,

Rep:

Ensign,
Vitter,
Corker,
Sessions,
Grassley,
Coburn,
Bunning,
Shelby,

Ind:
Sanders* (qualified by strong support for US workers, but record is
not fully proven nor understood)


Solid Bad Guys:

Dem:

Akaka,
Cantwell,
Menendez,
Kennedy,
Salazar,
Lincoln,
Durbin,
Harkin,
Nelson (FL)

Rep:

Specter,
Martinez,
Gregg,
Graham,
Warner,
Smith,
Kyl,
Hatch,
Voinovich,
Domenici,

I apologize to anyone that thinks I left someone out, or mischaracterized the situation - I've honestly done the best I can, based on my views on the subject and with the information available thus far.

The remaining 70 or so senators remain to be filtered out in the future.
Hopefully, future votes and speeches will do a great deal to help the process along. I'll try to update and / or re-compose this list as deliberations go along...

PhE

GO Vitter!!! He is doing good!

Hi April - yep, that's why I put him in the 'good guy' short list above

HE certainly deserved it PHREDE!!!

I am LIVID watching the votes today!

I can NOT wait to see these people booted out of office on their butts and forced to live out in the community they have created.

I am going to get an ULCER watching these morons today!

Also, more analysis:

So far, based on 2 of the more important (more controversial) amendment votes, those 2 failed on 48 (Yeas) - 49 (Neas) votes.

We do need to work intensely on a handful of Republican senators that are voting with the 'bad guys' to pressure them to start voting with our side. (While keeping up overall pressure on everyone else of course)

A couple I'd suggest:

Sens. Smith (OR), Gregg (NH), Voinovich (OH), etc - guys like these.
Ones that might be 'swayable', from not heavily polarized states.
UPDATE: I'm still thinking about this - these examples are probably not the best ones. I'll think of some that are better...

Plus, continuing to encourage support from some of the 'friendlier' Dems would help to. For example, so far Sen Nelson (D-NE) has pretty good record of voting with us this time around (2007). There are a few others as well.

Just IMHO here, of course... Something to consider

A couple I'd suggest:
Sens. Smith (OR), Gregg (NH), Voinovich (OH), etc - guys like these.
Ones that might be 'swayable', from not heavily polarized states.
UPDATE: I'm still thinking about this - these examples are probably not the best ones. I'll think of some that are better...

Plus, continuing to encourage support from some of the 'friendlier' Dems would help to. For example, so far Sen Nelson (D-NE) has pretty good record of voting with us this time around (2007). There are a few others as well.

Thanks PHREDE, will do!

Originally Posted by April

A couple I'd suggest:
Sens. Smith (OR), Gregg (NH), Voinovich (OH), etc - guys like these.
Ones that might be 'swayable', from not heavily polarized states.
UPDATE: I'm still thinking about this - these examples are probably not the best ones. I'll think of some that are better...

Plus, continuing to encourage support from some of the 'friendlier' Dems would help to. For example, so far Sen Nelson (D-NE) has pretty good record of voting with us this time around (2007). There are a few others as well.

Thanks PHREDE, will do!

ME TWO!! I have not had time to keep up with what happening so if you can give us some more name we desperatly need to work on we will do it!!

April wrote:

GO Vitter!!! He is doing good!

You're darn right he is. He's got a HUGE amendment up right now. He is attempting to get the Z-Visa provision removed from the bill! In other words, he is in the process of attempting to remove one of the several amnesties in the bill. Unless the amendment is tabled, we'll get a chance to see where everyone stands on amnesty. This amendment is huge because it'll put those supporting amnesty ON RECORD!