After three weeks of heated concern by the American people, and of dealing and amending by U.S. Senators, the "bipartisan" immigration proposal appears dead tonight in the U.S. Senate.
In what should be described as a victory for conservatives and for the grassroots movement, the death of this bill will mean that amnesty will likely not yet be provided to the millions of illegal aliens already here.
Votes on cloture to push the bill along failed twice today. This morning, a cloture vote failed by a 63-33 margin. Later this evening, another cloture vote was taken, but again failed. This one failed by a much closer 50-45 vote, and it was 15 votes short of the 60 "ayes" needed to move the proposal along. Quickly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) pulled the bill from the floor. It seems we have won the battle, but we have not yet won the war. America should celebrate tonight, but also prepare for the next round the business interests, pandering politicians and special interest groups plan to pour on us. Reid insisted that the bill is not dead for the year, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) doubted that "prospects would get better with the passage of time".
MSNBC's headline tonight read "All But Dead", referring to the bill's prospects. CNN and Fox News both called the proposal dead. NumbersUSA, an influential grassroots website on this issue, calls tonight's event a "victory". Team America PAC, a political action committee founded by Congressman Tom Tancredo to fight illegal immigration, wrote a headline that reads, "America Wins: Senate Sellout Stopped."
Reid appears out of touch with America. "There's lots of support for this program on the outside,'' Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said after pulling the bill from the Senate floor in Washington. ``The problem was on the inside of this Senate chamber.'' He obviously doesn't realize from all the phone calls critical of this bill that the Americans on the street opposed this.
The footprint of this proposal is far from over, however. The political ramifications will continue to be felt and watched for some time. This defeat is primarily a defeat for President George W. Bush and the Senate architects, primarily Senators Kennedy, Specter, McCain and Graham. The one man who may be hurt most from this is the Arizona Senator John McCain, who is a 2008 Republican Presidential contender. RealClearPolitics shows McCain's average in the polls has slipped nearly 6 percent since the compromise was announced. At the same time, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, both candidates for President who have blasted the proposal, continue to clime steadily in the poll averages. Another political future to watch next year because of this is that of Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who was an architect of the compromise and one of the 45 senators who voted tonight to end debate and pass the bill on. A primary challenge should be expected for him next year. Personally, I am hoping for a challenge to him and I would encourage it. In 2010, we should watch for a conservative primary challenger to the RINO Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter.
FOR A LOOK AT THE TWO CLOTURE VOTES CLICK HERE (This Morning's Vote) AND HERE (Tonight's Vote)! For a look at the votes on various amendments and a look at what has happened over the last three weeks, go to NumbersUSA's Action Center here.
For those in Tennessee, you should be happy to know that Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, both Republicans, voted the right way by voting no both times. For Pennsylvanians, my native state has very sour representation. Specter was a principal architect of the bill. The other senator, the Democrat Bob Casey, voted yes in both of today's votes. Casey last year defeated and replaced a principled statesman in Republican Rick Santorum, who would have almost certainly gone against this proposal.
REMEMBER, this is not over yet. This proposal looks dead, but the Benedict Arnolds who oppose America will certainly try again. We need to celebrate tonight, but continue to be vigilant for the next time this is tried. We defeated it now, we can certainly do it again with the same effort we have shown these last few weeks. If your senator voted against this proposal, don't forget to thank him. If he voted for it, let him know what you think of him on the phone, through e-mail, and through the ballot box the next time they run.
BE READY FOR THE NEXT TIME!
PRAISE GOD THAT THE 2007 SENATE IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL HAS GONE THE WAY OF THE 2006 DUBAI PORTS DEAL AND THE 2006 SENATE IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL!
CONSERVATIVES AND THE GRASSROOTS CAN DECLARE VICTORY IN A BATTLE TONIGHT, BUT THE WAR WILL RAGE ON AGAINST UN-AMERICAN BENEDICT ARNOLDS!
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