If these fools really knew what they were doing they'd be dangerous. Sessions said people heard from their constituents....MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN LISTENING ALL ALONG - complete political calculation, but that doesn't mean "approval" is a bad thing. Sometimes the right thing happens.
Looks like a couple of the CAII folks are on top of this - see also Illegal Immigration: Senate On A Shorter Leash at CommonSenseAmerica
Cross posted from Morning Coffee:
66 Voted for it before they voted against it before they Finally approved it…
"I think people wanted to get right," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican. "People heard from their constituents after they voted to authorize the fence in May and then voted against funding it a couple of weeks ago."
The fence has become one of the flash points as Congress and President Bush try to craft a new immigration enforcement policy this year piece by piece. Mr. Bush travels to Texas today to review operations at the border, including the success of his plan to deploy the National Guard to assist the U.S. Border Patrol in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
This week, the president reached his goal of assigning 6,000 Guard troops to the border states by Aug. 1. Still, of the 6,340 troops assigned as of yesterday, only 2,675 troops, or 42 percent, were "forward deployed." The rest are at joint task force headquarters, in training or in transit.
But the Guard's presence has led to a 25 percent drop in apprehensions at the border compared with the same time last year, suggesting the troops are having success in preventing illegal aliens from trying to cross.
That good news, though, was tempered by a government report that found Department of Homeland Security employees were fooled by counterfeit driver's licenses in nine different tests by undercover investigators at U.S. border crossings. The Government Accountability Office said that hole in security "potentially allows terrorists or others involved in criminal activity to pass freely into the United States from Canada or Mexico."
Over a period of three weeks, 66 Senators changed their vote. There are two messages here that is abundantly clear. 1) That the public hearings throughout the country are having an effect. Senators are more aware that public opinion and common sense dictate that our borders must be secure. 2) Momentum has has definitely shifted away from the Senate Shamnesty Bill, and puts their Priorities in the proper perspective..
I have no Idea what the final outcome of Senate and House negotiations will be on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform". But if the negotiations for the final bill doesn't see substantial movement away from the Senate bill and towards the Border Security and expanded Law Enforcement version in the House Bill, Republicans will definately see a substantial loss of GOP Credability as well as House and Senate Seats.
Hat tip to Right Wing News
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