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POISON PILL: COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION - Politicians Lying To Us & Name-Calling Re Illegals & Amnesty? Appeal To Your Guilt/Emotions Instead Of Your Logic/Intellect; They Think You're Stupid! - RI10
POISON PILL:
COMPREHENSIVE
IMMIGRATION -
Politicians Lying To
Us & Name-Calling
Re Illegals &
Amnesty? Appeal
To Your Guilt/
Emotions Instead
Of Your Logic/
Intellect;
They Think You’re
Stupid! - RI10
Excerpts from Lou Dobbs Tonight, June 12, 2007
CAROL SWAIN, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Well, he's a real optimist. I just think the American people are too smart to be persuaded by the president's words on this. They have common sense and that is not a good bill.
SWAIN: He thinks the American people are fools.
DOBBS: Do you think that's what it is?
SWAIN: Why would he think he could convince them after he's lied to them again and again and again?
MICKEY KAUS, SLATE.COM: I have one explanation for this mystery of why he's persisting on what Howard Fineman of "Newsweek" called a suicide mission, which is if the whole purpose is to convince Latinos that he's their champion, then he has to go down fighting. Even if he goes down, he has to keep up the pressure to show that he's pro-Latino.
KAUS: It's sort of what we saw in Social Security. He kept pushing and pushing and then when he lost, he pushed some more. There is so much for show in Washington, kabuki, it's called, where you try to impress the lobbyist who gave you money by seeming to be for the bill when you really know it's going down.
And there may be some of that going on.
SWAIN: So he's going down with the ship?
KAUS: His ship is over in 18 months.
DOBBS: The struggle for me is to understand why we would not see this president can say "comprehensive immigration reform" time after time, but there's been nothing comprehensive about the legislative process. There's been nothing comprehensive in understanding the impact and consequence of the legislation they have in front of them. There's been nothing comprehensive in understanding why this Congress, this president failed to enforce existing immigration laws and to secure that border.
KAUS: And it's not that he has to convince the American people. He thinks if he does it quickly, he can bamboozle the American people.
KAUS: If there was any lengthy process of debate, as even William Kristol said, the more it's debated, the more it looks like a terrible bill. The opponents of the bill have the better argument.
Tabacco: This Bush Comprehensive Immigration Bill is the 3rd Worst Legislation of All Time behind No 2. Segregation & No. 1 Slavery. The good news is this one is not going to become law. Bush is pushing it, even though he knows it’s dead, to impress the lobbyists, who paid for it, and the Hispanics, who want it even though it would create a semi-permanent Underclass.
Hispanic supporters of Bush-Kennedy Amnesty Bill are unwitting facilitators of 21st Century Slavery for Mexican peons. If Hispanics are any smarter than average Americans or American lobbyists (and I doubt it), they should vote against all supporters of this Bill (Democrats as well as Republicans), which is just another in a long list of QuasiCon/Neocon SCAMS!
Read my Post:
What Comprehensive Immigration Really Means? Look At New Orleans’ Guest Worker Program, A Microcosm “Petri Dish” - More Bush Deceptions! - RI10
http://tabacco.blog-city.com/what_comprehensive_immigration_really_means_look_at_new_orle.htm
Published January 26, 2007
Therefore Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and all the other Democrats & Republicans, who are publicly supporting this bill, are doing it for the same reason (propaganda) because they all know it’s dead.
In fact the bill is so bad that I don’t believe these supporters ever wanted it to pass anyway. Don’t forget, these congressmen and this president have to live in this country too. Why else would they put these features in any bill if not to ensure its defeat?
Do you really believe Caucasian politicians want to allow 20 million poor Mexicans to determine who will be president in 2009? Or worse, another Cesar Chavez? I don’t think so! That’s why all those Democrats voted “Aye” – they know that poor people are natural Democrats! And even though they don’t really want this Comprehensive Immigration, they do want the votes of poor Hispanics. That’s why they are playing this charade.
The lobbyists must really be as stupid as these QuasiCons/Neocons think the American voters are. If the lobbyists believe these Amnesty supporters are really sincere, then lobbyists are just as dumb as Karl Rove has concluded. Karl Rove has read P. T. Barnum:
http://www.allegromedia.com/sugi/quotes.html
Want to know what’s so ridiculous about this bill? Read Lou Dobbs’ 5 Dumbest Points:
What idiot American would want these 5 Dumbest Points! These politicos, Democrats & Republicans, are playing a Sophistic game on America (the voters and the lobbyists)! They pretend to support it to gain Hispanic votes and lobbyist donation$ - that’s what this is about. It is just as disingenuous as that GOP initiative about “Flag Burning” and the “Preservation of Marriage Act”.
Those bills also were meant to appease their Conservative base, not to actually become Law! The Bill Clinton Impeachment was also Sophistry because the GOP supporters knew it would never achieve the required majority because of consensual sex with Monica Lewinsky! They merely wanted to emasculate the Bill Clinton presidency.
If you want to understand what the GOP is up to, you have to think like Karl Rove – Tabacco does!
PILGRIM: Unbelievable. Thanks very much, Bill Schneider.
Now, President Bush will make a rare visit to Capitol Hill tomorrow. He's about to meet with GOP senators in a new attempt to move his immigration compromise forward. One Democrat who opposed the legislation is Senator Claire McCaskill. She joins me now. Thanks for being with us.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Thank you for having me.
PILGRIM: You know, the president goes to talk with Republicans tomorrow, conservatives who oppose the bill.
Now, this White House says that the bill -- the stalled bill is doable. It's a temporary setback. They're basically denying that this is dead. They say it's alive and well.
Let's listen to what President Bush had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And tomorrow, I'll be going to the Senate to talk about a way forward on the piece of legislation. It's important that we address this issue now. And I -- I believe we can get it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: One of the bill's architects, Republican Jon Kyl, says that the Senate can still pass this by July 4th. What is your view?
MCCASKILL: I don't think that's likely. I think for the -- for the president to get the number of votes, he'd have to get in the Republican Party to get this bill across the finish line, is really a stretch. And there are some of us who, on the Democratic side, who feel very strongly that this is not the right way to go about this problem.
This is very similar to what President Reagan did in 1986, when he said, well, we're going to go after the employers after we do this amnesty, and we're never going to have this problem again.
Well, that never happened. And employers still in this country can hire illegal immigrants without any fear that they will really be held accountable under the law. And frankly, Kitty, until we do that, we're never going to get a handle on this problem. It has very little to do with legislation.
PILGRIM: You know, you are very big with this enforcement with the employers issue. You had an amendment, which would deny companies who employ illegal aliens from government contracts. What is the status of your amendment, Senator McCaskill?
MCCASKILL: Well, it was not put on the bill. But, frankly, I don't think the bill is going to end up passing, so I don't know that that's as important.
What really needs to happen is, you know, Attorney General Gonzales survived a no-confidence vote on the Senate just now. What really needs to happen is President Bush, when he comes to the Senate, he should instead be saying, "I have instructed the Department of Justice to meaningfully go after employers in this country."
We just had a -- a raid on a chicken processing plant in Missouri. They arrested 136 illegal immigrants. Not a word about the employer.
We can deter the crime of hiring illegal immigrants if we go after the employers that are doing it, and then we take away the magnet that are drawing these people across the border to try to feed their families.
PILGRIM: Let's talk about the guest worker program, which is what you saw, the whole draw of this. You voted to cut the guest worker program to 200,000 workers a year and sunset the guest worker program after five years. If that provision isn't in, do you think that this bill is doable at all?
MCCASKILL: I don't know that it is. And frankly, my view on the guest worker program is very simple. As a former auditor, you don't grow a program that's behaving incompetently. You starve it. Right now, as many as 4 million of the 12 million immigrants that are here illegally in this country came here under a legal pretense of the guest worker program or other type of program. And we're not keeping track of them.
And so until that department of government can demonstrate that they can competently run that program, we should not be growing that program; we should be shrinking it.
PILGRIM: Well, that logic is inescapable. Thanks very much for being on the program, Senator Claire McCaskill.
MCCASKILL: Thank you.
PILGRIM: Thank you.
Still ahead, we'll be joined by the president of one of the largest locals of the National Border Patrol.
And also coming up, from California to Florida, some of the worst drought conditions in years. We'll have a special report.
Also, shuttle astronauts make repairs on the International Space Station. Will astronauts also fix the damaged shuttle? Stay with us.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/11/ldt.01.html
DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.
President Bush today made a rare trip to Capitol Hill. They're trying to save his so-called grand compromise on comprehensive immigration reform, or amnesty.
After meeting with Republican senators, President Bush declared, "Now is the time to get it done." But many Republican senators remain bitterly opposed to any legislation that would give amnesty from anywhere to 12 to 20 million illegal aliens. One leading Republican, senator Jeff Sessions, simply told the president to "back off".
Dana Bash reports from Capitol Hill --Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, the president spent his hour with Republicans asking them not to give up on immigration reform on this particular bill. And according to several Republican senators in this meeting, the president did something he's accused of not doing here for years on Capitol Hill, and that is he listened. He listened to senators' ideas, to their complaints and their concerns about this divisive issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice over): It was a short motorcade right to the Capitol for a tall order. The president hoping to convince skeptical fellow Republicans to rescue his top domestic priority which many GOP senators oppose -- immigration reform.
BUSH: Some members in there believe that we need to move a comprehensive bill. Some don't. I understand that. It's a highly emotional issue.
BASH: And it was that kind of conciliatory tone, not his vintage swagger, the president used with Republicans behind closed doors, reporting to several senators in the meeting, telling them off the bat he came to listen to Republican concerns about immigration, not twist arms.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: He took a lot of questions and he listened, and I thought that was very important, because he was beginning to get the feel for the concerns that have been raised.
BASH: GOP senators told the president about the pummeling they're getting from constituents who just don't trust the government to make good on the immigration bill's promise to secure the border.
Georgia's two Republican senators asked Mr. Bush to show conservatives he's committed to border security by paying for it now.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: A number of our members have suggested that the president actually send up a supplemental request, an appropriations supplemental request for border security, much like he does for the Iraq war.
BASH: A key challenge for the president is convincing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring immigration back to the Senate floor.
BUSH: I would hope that the Senate majority leader has that same sense of a desire to move the product as I do.
BASH: Reid tried to turn the tables on the president.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: We've done our job. It's not a question of Democrats doing anything. It's a question of Republicans supporting their own president.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BASH: The question is whether the president was simply too late or too politically weakened to win back fellow Republicans who oppose him on this immigration bill. Most senators said that they really didn't think he'd change many Republican minds. But the authors of this compromise say they hope at the very least what the president did is buy them some time and convince Republicans, for now, at least, not to give up on this bill -- Lou.
DOBBS: This president, Dana, saying that he wants to convince the American people this is a good bill, doesn't even remotely approximate his bravado earlier when he said that he'll see you at the bill signing.
BASH: You're exactly right. And you know, that is not an accident, Lou.
I just bumped into a Republican senator right before coming on this show who said that the White House got the message that that bravado, both when he was abroad and a couple of weeks ago, when he made a speech, basically making clear that he thought opponents of immigration were fearmongering, that that really didn't help his cause here on Capitol Hill.
That, we're told, was a big reason why he came here to Capitol Hill and he had that kind of conciliatory tone that he had in private and in public.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Dana.
Dana Bash from Capitol Hill.
The president's trip over to Capitol Hill illustrating the president's growing political weakness. President Bush appears to have run out of the political capital he once promised to spend, even among members of his own party. Many Republicans are simply furious with the president for saying last month that opponents of illegal alien amnesty "don't want to do what's right for America."
Ed Henry has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The menu for the president's lunch in the Senate was simple comfort food -- grilled cod with some chicken, stuffed peppers and green beans on the side. But it doesn't take a restaurant critic to see that many Republicans are just not biting.
BUSH: It's going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of effort.
HENRY: That means convincing 15 senators to change their votes in order to move the immigration reform bill forward, a task that may be insurmountable for a president whose clout is shrinking fast and facing the reality that the 2008 campaign will soon dwarf his agenda.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It's going to get progressively harder. In an election year it's very difficult to move legislation, let alone complicated legislation.
HENRY: So Republicans are trying to grill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for cutting short the debate.
JOHN FEEHERY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It's like a chef. It's like "Hell's Kitchen." You've got to -- you've got to get all the soup right. It wasn't ready, and Senator Reid really prematurely served it.
HENRY: Thirty-eight Democrats voted for the president's immigration bill, while only seven Republicans supported Mr. Bush.
REID: What this all boils down to is the Republicans do not support their own president's bill.
HENRY: How to turn that around is a question vexing the president's inner circle so much, a White House that always insists it does not govern based upon polls is -- well, citing polls to make its case.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And if you take a look again at the key provisions in this bill and you simply ask the public opinion polling question, do you support it or not, you get very high public approval for them. So we think that there really is a strong base of support here.
HENRY: Oh, really?
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: The president is wrong to push this piece of legislation so hard after we've demonstrated the flaws that are in it. He needs to back off.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: "Back off," those are tough words from a very conservative Republican senator. And it gives you an idea of the uphill battle the president now has -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ed, the question has to be asked, who is advising this president? We have seen this president expend political capital on failed initiative after failed initiative, whether you go back to Social Security or now this comprehensive -- the man is saying everyone is opposed to him, doesn't know what's right for America. Everyone who's opposed to him -- he's saying you've got to convince the American people that he's right.
Is there anyone there advising this president to restrain himself?
HENRY: No. I mean, I think when you ask who's advising him, it's clear, two words -- Karl Rove. I mean, that's the chief architect, and the president is stuck with him because he helped him win two elections.
And despite the criticism, despite the public outcry from various people, the president is sticking with the agenda that he's laid out. It's the agenda that Karl Rove has laid out. And despite the criticism, he's dug in.
And that's why people are jumping on him, even in his own party. You're seeing now people like Jeff Sessions right there pointing out that they're frustrated, and the president, though, is still dug in -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much.
Ed Henry from the White House.
And our poll question tonight: Do you believe that on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform legislation President Bush should, as Senator Jeff Sessions has put it, simply back off? Yes or no?
Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results here later.
Also later, slate.com's Mickey Kaus and Vanderbilt University Professor Carol Swain join me to discuss the president's gamble on illegal immigration.
Four of the country's top radio talk show hosts will also be joining us here tonight.
-----
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Joining me now on the political battle over the president's so-called grand compromise or comprehensive immigration reform, Carol Swain, she is the editor of "Debating Immigration" a very important book on the issue, professor at Vanderbilt University. And joining us as well, Mickey Kaus, from slate.com. Good to have you with us here Mickey from the West Coast.
We appreciate it. Well, the president today said, we've got to convince the American people this bill is the best way to move forward. What's your reaction to the president saying that?
CAROL SWAIN, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Well, he's a real optimist. I just think the American people are too smart to be persuaded by the president's words on this. They have common sense and that is not a good bill.
DOBBS: Do you agree, Mickey?
MICKEY KAUS, SLATE.COM: I agree. I think it's a little late for him to say trust me, don't worry, I won't sign a bad bill. He's completely broken with large swaths of his own party and a lot of Democrats who don't like the bill either. And I don't think anyone trusts Bush to do the right thing anymore.
DOBBS: I'm struck with this, "We've got to convince the American people".
SWAIN: He thinks the American people are fools.
DOBBS: Do you think that's what it is?
SWAIN: Why would he think he could convince them after he's lied to them again and again and again?
KAUS: I have one explanation for this mystery of why he's persisting on what Howard Fineman of "Newsweek" called a suicide mission, which is if the whole purpose is to convince Latinos that he's their champion, then he has to go down fighting. Even if he goes down, he has to keep up the pressure to show that he's pro-Latino.
SWAIN: He's definitely going down.
DOBBS: At this rate it is arguable that the Democratic Senate and this president last year on comprehensive immigration reform, went down a path in passing that legislation, they sent their colleagues, Republican colleagues in the House to defeat by a significant margin. Is there any reason in the world that you can think of that Republicans would be tolerating the nonsense that's emanating from the White House at this point?
KAUS: No, they wouldn't. We have a willful president who wants to do this and a business establishment that really wants it. I saw an interesting article by a conservative saying the establishment is still pushing for this bill.
DOBBS: Oh, absolutely. The establishment is pushing hard, socioethnic interest groups are pushing hard for this bill. But isn't there somewhere in Washington, wouldn't you think, at least a cadre of people that say, we really need you here to kind of represent all Americans and not the special interests, not just corporate America but maybe 300 million Americans?
SWAIN: I mean, I guess we're waiting for those people to -- you're the leader.
DOBBS: Don't put it on me. But I'm saying -- somebody talk to this president. Do you know we have not seen a fiscal impact statement? We've not seen a social impact; we haven't seen an environmental impact statement.
SWAIN: I don't think he would know comprehensive immigration reform if he saw it. Because the bill that's before Congress is not comprehensive. It's not comprehensive immigration reform. So I'm not sure why this president would put so much emphasis on this bill.
KAUS: It's sort of what we saw in Social Security. He kept pushing and pushing and then when he lost, he pushed some more. There is so much for show in Washington, kabuki, it's called, where you try to impress the lobbyist who gave you money by seeming to be for the bill when you really know it's going down.
And there may be some of that going on.
SWAIN: So he's going down with the ship?
KAUS: His ship is over in 18 months.
DOBBS: The struggle for me is to understand why we would not see this president can say "comprehensive immigration reform" time after time, but there's been nothing comprehensive about the legislative process. There's been nothing comprehensive in understanding the impact and consequence of the legislation they have in front of them. There's been nothing comprehensive in understanding why this Congress, this president failed to enforce existing immigration laws and to secure that border. KAUS: And it's not that he has to convince the American people. He thinks if he does it quickly, he can bamboozle the American people.
SWAIN: Right.
KAUS: If there was any lengthy process of debate, as even William Kristol said, the more it's debated, the more it looks like a terrible bill. The opponents of the bill have the better argument.
DOBBS: I appreciate you both being here. Let me ask you in conclusion, do you think this president is strong enough to resurrect this legislation?
SWAIN: No, I'm waiting for the next president to take it on as an issue.
KAUS: I don't think so. But only because the founding fathers made it very hard to pass a law.
SWAIN: Right.
DOBBS: Thank God for somebody's wisdom even if it was just 200 years ago.
KAUS: It's one of the times when it comes in handy.
DOBBS: Absolutely, as it often does. We thank you very much, Carol Swain, thank you. Mickey Kaus, thank you.
KAUS: Thank you.
SWAIN: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Appreciate it. Coming up here next, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales escapes a Senate no confidence vote but do they have confidence. Our radio roundtable joins us. More on that and a great deal more.
The $54 million pantsuit law case going to court. You've got to just be very impressed with the legal system of the United States of America. We'll have that story and more. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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FLANDERS: Well, both. I like the Jaime Crow thing. He's right. What this was sort of an attempt to trade contract indentured workers the corporations want and they're going to come back for that for an agreement to criminalize families, separate families and militarize our border even more.
Is it a sort of undermining of human rights and workers' rights for everybody? Absolutely, I'm glad it's gone. And I'm angry at the spin that tells us that this bill would have been better than nothing. I think nothing's better than this bill.
DOBBS: Well, it's pretty disgusting but that's exactly what Senator Edward Kennedy and President George W. Bush have said to us and did so, Warren, with straight faces, can you imagine?
BALLENTINE: This is nothing more than Tony Soprano. President Bush told us in Europe, hey, I'll see you at the signing of the immigration bill. This is a joke, Lou. This is absolutely ludicrous what's going on in America today. When you think about this, when you really, really think about it, why is one certain group getting individual privileges that others aren't getting? The Italians aren't coming here like this, the Polish aren't, the Irish aren't the Haitians, oh my God, they can't even get over here. We're supposed to open our doors for anybody that's Hispanic? This is ridiculous.
FLANDERS: The point is we're supposed to have labor law that applies to everybody. We're supposed to have an equal legal system. Not some special system for a certain class of workers. We're supposed to have employers that have to get workers by fiddling with wages and benefits and an education system that will provide us the work force we need. This is a way to avoid all of that and it doesn't just do harm to the immigrants it does harm to all of us.
BALLENTINE: Hey Laura, you know what? My audience is very upset about this. Because it's destroying the middle class. They're taking construction jobs; they're taking trucking jobs.
FLANDERS: Let's force the contractors to increase wages. It would be good for the middle class instead of bringing in this indentured class of workers who are going to drop the wage floor. That's what they're about.
MCINTYRE: This was the prime directive. You have to remember that when the corporatist who saw George W. Bush win the second term as governor of Texas and said how would you like to be president? They asked him to do things, cut taxes and get us cheap labor to make the Free Trade of the Americas work and NAFTA and GATT work by lowering the standard of wages for the working class in this country to level out that speed bump at the Rio Grande. Whatever else we wanted to do, they didn't care about. Terry Schiavo, knock yourselves out on the stuff like that. But this is a full frontal assault on the sovereignty of America.
BALLENTINE: That's right.
MCINTYRE: And it has to be killed if the country is to survive.
FLANDERS: It's not the sovereignty, it's the human rights, it's the Constitution.
BALLENTINE: "We, the people!"
DOBBS: Those human rights don't exist if this nation doesn't have sovereignty.
BALLENTINE: Exactly.
DOBBS: Because it is this nation that makes these human rights ...
BALLENTINE: I want to ...
DOBBS: Let me say something.
BALLENTINE: I want to point two things out, you guys. I want to put two things out here. First thing I want to put out here is they're estimating 12 million. I think it's more like 30 million. And I'm guaranteeing you this, if this amnesty, because that's what it is, amnesty. If it's allowed, by 2025, your kids, my grandkids and everybody else is going to have to learn how to speak Spanish.
The facts of it is -- and this isn't to be racist at all. But the fact of it is this, Americans are having 2.5 kids and they are having five kids a household.
DOBBS: I've got good news for you. My kids, four of them all speak in various ability, but mostly very well, Spanish. So I'm not worried about that. But what I am worried about is people in this government don't even know what they're talking about. They don't know whether it's 12 million or 20 million.
BALLENTINE: That's right, Lou.
DOBBS: They have no idea the fiscal impact of the legislation they're putting out there. But does it strike anyone else as ironic that Senator Ted Kennedy, who was one of the principal architects of the '65 immigration law we're paying for the consequences now, which was -- we put aside under a civil rights initiative by President Kennedy, national origin quotas because some deem that to be racist?
Those national origin quotas have been brought back by the Hispanic socioethnic-centric groups. Today the largest number of people coming into this country are from Mexico and they are from Central America and they're the ones who have rolled it back to their benefit and to their advantage, those national origins. They are flouting the intent of the 1965 immigration bill. FLANDERS: It's like 53 percent over 47 percent and sometimes you get the impression from the debate there were no other immigrants except for Latino and Hispanic emigrants. But Democrats are divided on this stuff. And that's good debate. I think this debate is going to come back.
DOBBS: I think it's a lousy debate, Doug. But do you know why? I don't hear a debate. No one's talking about the facts.
MCINTYRE: That's right. This is the problem, it takes you down into cul-de-sacs of rhetorical gymnastics like who is a bigger racist and who is an uber nationalist.
BALLENTINE: It's all about votes. It's all about votes.
MCINTYRE: It's what we talked about in the debate. Nations have immigration policy for the benefit of the nation, not for the benefit of the immigrant. We want the immigrants to do well because it makes the nation stronger. But nations have policies on who they let in for the benefit of the greater good of society. And once again it's all about individuals and not about the greater good.
FLANDERS: I think the debate with respect to the greater good is just beginning. It's a conversation about workers' rights. We need to have one class of workers who are equal in their protection under the law, who abide by the law, who are treated as equal citizens by employers and by the corporations. That's a big struggle, big conversation we've had in this country before about civil rights and we've got to have it again.
BALLENTINE: The biggest problem here to me, I'm saying this not only as a talk show host. I'm also an attorney. I'm a gate keeper. I protect rights. All the time -- my record speaks for itself. The biggest problem for me that nobody wants to come out and say, it's all about votes. The Democrats want to seem like they're the heroes because they want to get the votes if they're allowed amnesty. George Bush is doing the same thing. This is just all about getting political position for a new group of voters.
MCINTYRE: Warren, I disagree to this extent. I believe for the Democrats it's about votes. But for the Republicans, I think that's a dodge. I think for the Republicans it's about the corporatist multinational agenda about leveling out the income disparity between Central America and North America.
Tabacco: He doesn’t mean bringing up Central Americans’ Standard of Living only; he means depressing American workers’ Standard of Living – these two aspects work hand-in-hand!
BALLENTINE: That plays into it but I guarantee you it's about votes, too ...
DOBBS: Laura Flanders gets the last word.
FLANDERS: Immigrants come to this country with a dream of what this country really is. It's about making this country true to that dream which allows possibility and equal rights and constitutional protections for all.
DOBBS: You mean legal immigrants, right? FLANDERS: I do.
DOBBS: I thought so.
All right. Laura Flanders good to have you. Warren, good to have you. Doug, as always, appreciate it.
BALLENTINE: Thank you, Lou.
MCINTYRE: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you all three.
Coming up next, the results of our poll, more of your thoughts, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The results of our poll tonight, 97 percent of you say you believe on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform legislation, President Bush should, as Senator Jeff Sessions put it, simply back off. Let's take a look at a few more of your thoughts. We're receiving thousands of e-mails a day about the so-called comprehensive immigration legislation that failed.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/12/ldt.01.html
A LITTLE HISTORY: S2611 (109th): Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 - Vote May 25, 2006
Tabacco: The Senate for this monstrosity, while the House voted it down in 2006. These “Aye” votes (both Parties) are all about paying off Lobbyists and pandering to the Hispanic vote.
Totals & Party Breakdown
Tot Dem GOP Ind
Ayes: 62 37 23 2
Nays: 36 4 32 0
No
Vote: 2 2 0 0
Required: Simple Majority of 98 votes
Aye HI Akaka, Daniel [D]
Aye MT Baucus, Max [D]
Aye IN Bayh, B. [D]
Aye DE Biden, Joseph [D]
Aye NM Bingaman, Jeff [D]
Aye CA Boxer, Barbara [D] Even Boxer cannot be trusted!
Nay WV Byrd, Robert [D]
Aye WA Cantwell, Maria [D]
Aye DE Carper, Thomas [D]
Aye NY Clinton, Hillary [D] See voters! Hillary is a She-Rat!
Aye ND Conrad, Kent [D]
Aye MN Dayton, Mark [D]
Aye CT Dodd, Christopher [D]
Nay ND Dorgan, Byron [D]
Aye IL Durbin, Richard [D]
Aye WI Feingold, Russell [D]
Aye CA Feinstein, Dianne [D] What did you expect!
Aye IA Harkin, Thomas [D]
Aye HI Inouye, Daniel [D]
Aye SD Johnson, Tim [D]
Aye MA Kennedy, Edward [D]
Aye MA Kerry, John [D]
Aye WI Kohl, Herbert [D]
Aye LA Landrieu, Mary [D]
Aye NJ Lautenberg, Frank [D]
Aye VT Leahy, Patrick [D]
Aye MI Levin, Carl [D]
Aye AR Lincoln, Blanche [D]
Aye NJ Menendez, Robert [D]
Aye MD Mikulski, Barbara [D]
Aye WA Murray, Patty [D]
Nay NE Nelson, Ben [D]
Aye FL Nelson, Bill [D]
Aye IL Obama, Barack [D] See voters! Obama is a He-Rat!
Aye AR Pryor, Mark [D]
Aye RI Reed, John [D]
Aye NV Reid, Harry [D] now Democratic Majority Leader
No Vote WV Rockefeller, John [D]
No Vote CO Salazar, Ken [D]
Aye MD Sarbanes, Paul [D]
Aye NY Schumer, Charles [D]
Nay MI Stabenow, Debbie Ann [D]
Aye OR Wyden, Ron [D]
Aye VT Jeffords, James [I]
Aye CT Lieberman, Joseph [I] The Skunk also Rises
Nay TN Alexander, Lamar [R]
Nay CO Allard, Wayne [R]
Nay VA Allen, George [R]
Aye UT Bennett, Robert [R]
Nay MO Bond, Christopher [R]
Aye KS Brownback, Samuel [R]
Nay KY Bunning, Jim [R]
Nay MT Burns, Conrad [R]
Nay NC Burr, Richard [R]
Aye RI Chafee, Lincoln [R]
Nay GA Chambliss, C. [R]
Nay OK Coburn, Thomas [R]
Nay MS Cochran, Thad [R]
Aye MN Coleman, Norm [R]
Aye ME Collins, Susan [R]
Nay TX Cornyn, John [R]
Aye ID Craig, Larry [R]
Nay ID Crapo, Michael [R]
Nay SC DeMint, Jim [R]
Aye OH DeWine, Michael [R]
Nay NC Dole, Elizabeth [R]
Aye NM Domenici, Pete [R]
Nay NV Ensign, John [R]
Nay WY Enzi, Michael [R]
Aye TN Frist, William [R]
Aye SC Graham, Lindsey [R]
Nay IA Grassley, Charles [R]
Aye NH Gregg, Judd [R]
Aye NE Hagel, Charles [R]
Nay UT Hatch, Orrin [R]
Nay TX Hutchison, Kay [R]
Nay OK Inhofe, James [R]
Nay GA Isakson, John [R]
Nay AZ Kyl, Jon [R]
Nay MS Lott, Trent [R]
Aye IN Lugar, Richard [R]
Aye FL Martinez, Mel [R]
Aye AZ McCain, John [R] Rat also voted to scuttle
Minimum Wage
Aye KY McConnell, Mitch [R]
Aye AK Murkowski, Lisa [R]
Nay KS Roberts, Pat [R]
Nay PA Santorum, Richard [R]
Nay AL Sessions, Jefferson [R]
Nay AL Shelby, Richard [R]
Aye OR Smith, Gordon [R]
Aye ME Snowe, Olympia [R]
Aye PA Specter, Arlen [R]
Aye AK Stevens, Ted [R]
Nay NH Sununu, John [R]
Nay MO Talent, James [R]
Nay WY Thomas, Craig [R]
Nay SD Thune, John [R]
Nay LA Vitter, David [R]
Aye OH Voinovich, George [R]
Aye VA Warner, John [R]
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Tabacco: I consider myself both a funnel and a filter. I funnel information, not readily available on the Mass Media, which is ignored and/or suppressed. I filter out the irrelevancies and trivialities to save both the time and effort of my Readers and bring consternation to the enemies of Truth & Fairness! When you read Tabacco, if you don’t learn something NEW, I’ve wasted your time.
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T.A.B.A.C.C.O. (Truth About Business And Congressional Crimes Organization)