Thread: The GOP leadership failure

The GOP leadership failure
By Robert D. Novak
Monday, September 4, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Both the Senate Republican leadership's unofficial agenda for the last pre-election session of the 109th Congress beginning this week and a privately circulated White House wish list are extraordinarily heavy. That means the planned adjournment date of Sept. 29 surely cannot be met, and even Oct. 6 may be too early. Yet, immigration is not mentioned on either expansive list.

This is remarkable because Republican members of Congress who talked to constituents during the August recess found the mood of the party's base remains as sour as it has been all year: unhappiness over too much government spending and unchecked illegal immigration under a Republican Congress and administration.

Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, a moderate conservative who is a hard-liner on immigration, was quoted last week reflecting the consensus of his colleagues. Congress will do nothing about immigration until its lame-duck session after an election in which Republicans may well have lost congressional majorities. Isakson stated these reasons for inactivity: Congressional field hearings on immigration will not be concluded until mid-September, and intraparty GOP differences on the issue remain unsettled. The failure of Republican leadership on the issue of the year is palpable.

In the House at least, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert is trying to address immigration. He plans to bring together chairmen of the House field hearings later this week to see what can be done before the election. But House GOP sources say there is no chance of the party accepting a guest worker program that is integral to any compromise reform. The resolute House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, during the recess labeled as a "staggering burden on American taxpayers" the Senate-passed bill (approved by President Bush) because it contains the guest worker program.

Immigration is the most melancholy element of a depressing Republican year. The Iraq intervention and its aftermath have hurt, and Republican inattention to runaway government spending has been deplorable. But immigration is the issue most likely to cause rank-and-file Republican voters to stay home on election day, and it may cost the party its congressional majorities.

When Republican Rep. Mike Pence went home to his east central Indiana district in August, he found constituents upset -- as they had been all year -- about spending and immigration. Chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Pence has courageously taken the position that a border security bill should not omit a guest worker program (that does not include a path to citizenship).

Pence, a rising star in the conservative movement, has faced a torrent of right-wing abuse for advocating a guest worker program that is condemned as amnesty for illegal aliens. Rep. Tom Tancredo, leader of the congressional hard-liners on immigration, has viciously branded Pence as an apostate. But Pence told me last week that Hoosier voters, when he explains it to them, will accept his three-part formula on immigration: protect the border, no amnesty for illegals and access for foreign workers needed by the U.S. economy.

Although no more than 25 House Republicans follow Tancredo's rigid line, that is enough to obstruct a coherent Republican posture. But many more conservative lawmakers write off any guest worker program as just amnesty. In trouble on Iraq and federal spending, Republicans are being lured into a nativist posture that is political fool's gold.

George W. Bush, John McCain and Mike Pence dread a Republican descent into nativism. In my half century of political reporting, I never have seen a candidate or party succeed in playing the economic nationalist card. Even worse, a divided party promises to go into the hazardous 2006 election after doing nothing about an issue its constituents think is most important.

"You get it!" Bush earlier this year told Pence after he agreed with the president that permitting new immigration is compatible with protected borders. "I not only get it, I lived it," the congressman replied, telling him of his grandfather, Mike, who emigrated from Ireland in 1923 and became a Chicago bus driver. Pence told me last week from Indiana he will try to make something happen in the September session. It is an uphill climb, but the grim alternative is a divided Republican Party going into this election campaign with a blank slate on immigration.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Robe ... ip_failure

"I not only get it, I lived it," the congressman replied, telling him of his grandfather, Mike, who emigrated from Ireland in 1923 and became a Chicago bus driver.

Gosh, that's touching Mike.

Did your grandfather break into the country illegally, steal the SS numbers of children for himself, go marching around in mobs waving the Irish flag, claim the country for "his" people, and demand that Gaelic become co-equal with English?

But Pence told me last week that Hoosier voters, when he lies to them, will accept his three-part formula on immigration: protect the border, no amnesty for illegals and access for foreign workers needed by the U.S. economy.

Although no more than 25 House Republicans follow Tancredo's rigid line, that is enough to obstruct a coherent Republican posture.

And here most of them are:

Members of the House Immigration Reform Caucas:

Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL)

Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO)
Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK)

Congressman Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
Congressman William L. Jenkins (R-TN)

Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX)

Congressman Richard Baker (R-LA)
Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC)

Congressman J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
Congressman Ric Keller (R-FL)

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)
Congressman Steve King (R-IA)

Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX)
Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA)

Congressman Charlie Bass (R-NH)
Congressman John Kline (R-MN)

Congressman Bob Beauprez (R-CO)
Congressman John R. “Randy” Kuhl (R-NY)

Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL)
Congressman Donald Manzullo (R-IL)

Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA)
Congressman Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Congressman Michael T. McCaul (R-TX)

Congressman John Boozman (R-AR)
Congressman Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC)

Congressman Allen Boyd (D-FL)
Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC)

Congressman Jeb Bradley (R-NH)
Congresswoman Candice S. Miller (R-MI)

Congressman Henry Brown (R-SC)
Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA)

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)
Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL)

Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX)
Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)

Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN)
Congresswoman Sue Wilkins Myrick (R-NC)

Congressman John Campbell (R-CA)
Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-GA)

Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Congressman Butch Otter (R-ID)

Congressman John Carter (R-TX)
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)

Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC)
Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN)

Congresswoman Barbara Cubin (R-WY)
Congressman Chip Pickering (R-MS)

Congressman John Culberson (R-TX)
Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX)

Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY)
Congressman Tom Price (R-GA)

Congresswoman JoAnn Davis (R-VA)
Congressman Jim Ramstad (R-MN)

Congressman Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
Congressman Rick Renzi (R-AZ)

Congressman Nathan Deal (R-GA)
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)

Congressman Charles Dent (R-PA)
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL)

Congressman John Doolittle (R-CA)
Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA)

Congresswoman Thelma Drake (R-VA)
Congressman Jim Ryun (R-KS)

Congressman John Duncan (R-TN)
Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX)

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ)

Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA)

Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Congressman Michael Simpson (R-ID)

Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX)

Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL)

Congressman Virgil Goode (R-VA)
Congressman John Sullivan (R-OK)

Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Congressman John E. Sweeney (R-NY)

Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO)
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO)

Congressman Al Green (D-TX)
Congressman Charles Taylor (R-NC)

Congressman Gil Gutknecht (R-MN)
Congressman Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)

Congressman Ralph Hall (R-TX)
Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI)

Congressman Robin Hayes (R-NC)
Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR)

Congressman J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)
Congressman Zach Wamp (R-TN)

Congressman Joel Hefley (R-CO)
Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL)

Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA)
Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)

Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)
Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY)

Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Congressman Roger F. Wicker (R-MS)

If your Congressman is not on the list, you may want to encourage him to join the next time you contact him via phone, email, letter, etc.

Note: There are even three Democrats on the list.

Originally Posted by CountFloyd

The GOP leadership failure
By Robert D. Novak
Monday, September 4, 2006

WASHINGTON -- ...

Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, a moderate conservative who is a hard-liner on immigration, was quoted last week reflecting the consensus of his colleagues.

Interesting wording.

...
The failure of Republican leadership on the issue of the year is palpable.

Novak, according to one source, is a registered Democrat.

"Robert Novak."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Novak

...

But House GOP sources say there is no chance of the party accepting a guest worker program that is integral to any compromise reform.

The Senate won't accept a compromise immigration or border security plan that has no amnesty program?

...
Immigration is the most melancholy element of a depressing Republican year.

Interesting wording.

...

But immigration is the issue most likely to cause rank-and-file Republican voters to stay home on election day, and it may cost the party its congressional majorities.

Republican voter turnout might be lower if the House approves a guest worker amnesty program.

...

Pence, a rising star in the conservative movement, has faced a torrent of right-wing abuse for advocating a guest worker program that is condemned as amnesty for illegal aliens.

Is Novak a member of the right-wing?

...

Rep. Tom Tancredo, leader of the congressional hard-liners on immigration, has viciously branded Pence as an apostate.

Viciously?

...

Although no more than 25 House Republicans follow Tancredo's rigid line, that is enough to obstruct a coherent Republican posture.

Rigid line? More than twenty-five!

...

In trouble on Iraq and federal spending, Republicans are being lured into a nativist posture that is political fool's gold...

George W. Bush, John McCain and Mike Pence dread a Republican descent into nativism.

"Nativist" and "nativism". Interesting choice of words.

...

Even worse, a divided party promises to go into the hazardous 2006 election after doing nothing about an issue its constituents think is most important.

Republicans who oppose amnesty should change their positions?

...
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Robe ... ip_failure

AFAIK, there is only one Mexican American Republican US representative. All the other Mexican American US representatives are Democrats.

How many Democrats are hard liners against illegal immigration immigration? Could someone please post their names.

Not being a repub, someone will have to 'splain the elephant talk
to me. Is Novak saying vigorously insisting on enforcing our laws
is a nativist/nationalist position? Is he saying that GWB was
correct to push the Senate bill?

It's hard for me to get a read on Novak. He pandered to the
communist-under-every-rock crowd in the 60s & opposed the
civil rights movement. Seems he is now just a mouthpiece for
GWB. I must admit I don't like him very much.