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2006.06.11 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup
See previous: 2006.06.09-10 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup; It ain't over till the fat lady goes back to Mexico.
Too good to excerpt:
Immigration: The New Third Rail
Rep Chris Cannon (R-Utah)
The consummate republican constitutionalist, James Madison, said, "A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both." What took place in the Senate last week was both. It was a farce in that the "world's greatest deliberative body" ground to a halt with amendments and parliamentary posturing instead of debating substantive measures. The tragedy involved the way this farce was conceived. Backroom dealing, closed door meetings, and self congratulatory press conferences are not the way to make policy.
There are, however, silver linings to this. Elected officials of both parties and of all ideologies got a wake up call that the American people will not blindly follow a political pied piper. More importantly, the Congress and the White House should recognize this as a demand for greater openness to outside ideas and transparency in the process. Never again should anyone underestimate the will of individual Americans to preserve our nation, secure our borders, and do justice under law. In order to achieve legislative success, we must achieve participatory success. Put another way, unless the American people have a seat at the negotiating table, any future legislation is also doomed. ...
Below the fold:
- New Vent: The First Annual Open Borders Oscar Awards
- A reader email I hope you'll read
- Should Reform Be For Immigrants Or the National Interest?
See also:
New Vent: The First Annual
Open Borders Oscar Awards
Bryan Preston (H/T: MM)
Michelle recognizes the worst and the best performers during this year’s epic struggle to pass the worse than useless immigration “reform.”
Reader Francis Byrne emails: Like millions of other Americans (U.S.), I served my country, worked damn hard, paid my taxes and took a lot of crap during my lifetime earning the financial security and health care that I now enjoy. I resent having to share this security with anyone who hasn't paid a dime in taxes or lifted a finger in defense of this nation.
This is about the illegal aliens in this country and the failure of the government to do anything about it. This is about an immigration policy that eventually will end the security we worked so hard for. This is about an immigration policy that is unfortunately nothing more than a whim of politicians in Washington, in state houses across the land and in local communities who collectively are willing to sell this country for a vote. And do so while hiding under another great issue (Iraq) facing this nation.
Where are all the resources coming from to support the millions of illegal immigrants that by an act of congress will be citizens and entitled to the benefits thereof. And let’s not forget the millions upon millions of relatives these new citizens will bring along. What ever happened to that line that your parents or perhaps you waited on to get a green card or become a citizen of this country? How ironic it'll be when you visit an emergency health facility and be told there is no room for you, come back tomorrow and wait in line or worse you'll have to go to a facility in another town. How ironic it'll be when the government sends you a social security check for half the amount that you received the month before with a note telling you how good you should feel for sharing your benefit with a new citizen. You have to be somewhere in la la land if you think that this will work out and you'll have the same benefits you now enjoy.
Immigration and citizenship are good things for this country but they must be accomplished in a manner that takes into consideration the financial and medical resources as well as the security of the nation. One doesn't get citizenship by demonstrating or demanding rights they have not earned. One gets to the end of the line and gives thanks for the privilege of citizenship in this great country. One works hard, pays taxes, takes the crap and puts a little away for the future and eventually enjoys the fruits of their labor. That fruit being free from fear, a reasonable assurance of adequate healthcare and a social security check each month to help meet needs.
Thanks, Francis. You make some very good points.
Should Reform Be For Immigrants Or the National Interest?
By Peter Brown
The impasse in the Senate over immigration reform generated lots of charges and recriminations, but all sides were reluctant to focus on the most fundamental question about the whole issue:
Should the guiding principle of any legislation be the desire for the most humane policy, in other words one with a bias toward treating immigrants most reasonably? Or, should it be the tilted toward the national interest, that is a proposal perceived to be most beneficial to current U.S. citizens?
Almost every aspect of the current proposal raises that tradeoff. The politically correct answer, of course, is that any reform should have the interests of both at heart.
Yet, that is a cop-out. ...
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