America-Hating Socialist Democrats Beat Down, Agan: Immigration DREAM Act Fades

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/dream_act_durbin/2007/10/22/43654.html

Immigration DREAM Act Fades

Monday, October 22, 2007

Anti-amnesty forces predict Wednesday's Senate defeat of the DREAM Act won't

prevent Democrats in Congress from introducing a slew of similar

pro-immigration measures in coming months.

The Senate vote of 52-44 fell eight votes short of the 60 required to invoke

cloture and move the bill to a final vote. The action effectively kills the

bill.

The bill, sponsored by Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin, would have created

a special path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who complete at least

two years of higher education or military service.

Despite the victory, the anti-amnesty Minutemen group called on supporters

to continue deluging Congress with messages opposing any effort to revive

the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

"Like we did in June and again this week," said Minutemen leader Chris

Simcox, "we need to jam Congressional faxes and phones in order to deliver a

clarion message that we will not reward people who have violated existing

federal statutes, stolen the identities of hardworking American citizens,

and illicitly used tax-payer subsidized social services while remaining in

this country illegally."

Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh also warned listeners that the push to grant

amnesty to illegal immigrants will continue.

Pro-immigration efforts, Limbaugh said, "would grant amnesty to millions of

illegal immigrants. The Democrats need those people as voters."

More attempts to pass amnesty legislation are inevitable, he added, saying

"Democrats can bring it back up at a later point, and go for it all over

again - and they will."

In late June, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act was defeated by a

wide margin. Supporters fell 14 votes short of the number they needed to

invoke cloture. While pulling the bill off the table following the vote,

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., vowed to bring it back in the future.

"This is everything we fought to stop in the amnesty bill," Limbaugh told

listeners Wednesday after the latest measure was defeated. "This is the

sequel; this is Amnesty II."

There was spirited debate on the Senate floor before today's failed cloture

DREAM Act vote.

"This bill is an attempt to put illegal immigrants who graduate from a U.S.

high school or obtain their G.E.D. on a special path to citizenship," argued

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.). "I do not believe we should reward

illegal behavior."

McConnell noted that the Senate has yet to pass a single appropriations

bill, as requested by the president.

Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter said "every level of government is

legislating on immigration because of Congress of the United States is

derelict in its duty." Specter supports immigration reform but opposed the

DREAM Act because he says it distracts from the larger need to pass

comprehensive immigration-reform legislation.

"This is amnesty," Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe declared flatly.

Democrats argued that the bill should be passed because it helped young

people trying to better themselves. "Children should not be penalized for

the actions of their parents," Reid said.

A dozen Republicans crossed party lines and joined with Democrats to vote in

favor of cloture. Surprisingly, they include both Senators from

usually-conservative Utah, Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett, as well as

Mississippi's Trent Lott and Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas.

The others were former presidential candidate, Sam Brownback, Norm Coleman

of Minnesota, both Maine GOP Senators, Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe,

Nebraska's retiring Senator Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Mel

Martinez of Florida, who announced his retirement as Republican National

Committee Chairman last week.

Eight Democrats voted with the Republicans against cloture. They were Max

Baucus of Montana, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Both North Dakota

Democrats, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, Claire

McCaskill of Montana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and Jon Tester of Montana.