FAIR's Press Release On Amnesty Bill Defeat

I missed the vote this morning because I was having a medical procedure done, but I've been watching C-Span this morning to get some of the reactions. Sen. Cornyn's speech hit the nail on the head. Paraphrasing here, Cornyn said that this vote was an understanding of the reality of American politics today, which is that the American people feel that they are at war with their own government. The immigration debate - as big and important as it is - is still only a symptom of a larger issue. The bigger issue is that the American people simply don't believe that the American government even cares about the existence of the country anymore. There is ample evidence to support this grave assessment.

Sen. Menendez's speech was the typical whiny race-baiting we've come to expect from the pro-illegal side. And Dan Steyn addresses this in his piece for FAIR.

The open contempt that the Senate puppet-masters show towards the American people is nothing short of treasonous. Ted Kennedy is a son-of-a-bitch, plain and simple. I don't believe that that bastard really has any feelings for this country other than a sincere desire to see it destroyed from within. People like Lindsay Graham and Bob Menendez are no better, whose statements should really be scrutinized by all Americans. These fuckers need to be held accountable for their bullshit.

But anywho, here's the FAIR piece. Enjoy!

Washington DC — Today’s defeat 46-53 of a motion to invoke cloture and end debate on the Bush-Senate immigration bill reflects the unprecedented public rejection of the idea of granting amnesty to tens of millions of illegal aliens, and the unprecedented legislative tactics employed to try to force this unpopular bill through Senate. Calling the defeat of cloture a tremendous victory for law-abiding, hard-working Americans and a rebuke of the White House’s and the Senate leadership’s arrogant effort to impose their will on the American public, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) congratulated all of those who were involved in derailing a singularly irresponsible piece of legislation.

“The decision by the Senate not to move forward with a bill that would grant amnesty to countless millions of illegal aliens and undermine American workers with still more foreign guest workers is a tribute to vibrancy of our democracy,” said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. “This was nothing short of a popular revolt against an unresponsive government in Washington that is not only out of touch with the concerns of the people they represent, but openly disdainful of them.

“The defeat of the cloture motion occurred because the American public responded to the effort to ram through an illegal alien amnesty and guest worker program with an unrelenting barrage of phone calls, email and protests,” noted Stein. “They were aided in this effort by talk radio, cable news personalities, and Internet bloggers who refused to let the Bush Administration and its allies in Congress sell out the interests of the American people under the cover of secrecy.”

FAIR also expressed its appreciation to a bipartisan coalition of senators who refused to knuckle under to heavy-handed pressure and legislative tactics employed by the Senate leadership. For many of those senators, opposition to a massive amnesty and guest worker program was a matter of deeply held principle. Many more simply rejected efforts to railroad the bill through the Senate negotiating the bill behind closed doors, hand-picking amendments that could be offered, and forcing members to vote on language they were not given the opportunity to read carefully.

“What we have seen unfold in the United States Senate was not only an attempt to run roughshod over the concerns and interests of the American public, but a blatant attempt on the part of supporters of the bill to hijack the legislative process,” said Stein. “The American public simply said no to amnesty, no to a blank check for businesses seeking foreign labor, and no an unaccountable ruling class in Washington.

“It is time now for the president and Congress to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws,” continued Stein. “The American people want action, not more promises. Over the past few weeks they have made it very clear that they do not believe that the price of enforcing our immigration laws must be to first reward the people who break our laws.”