Political wind

amnesty, Political wind

The pro-amnesty, pro-sanctuary Senate Republicans

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Fellow Republicans booed several Senators last week back in their home states when they spoke about the immigration legislation moving through Congress. They will continue the debate back in Washington this week and the Washington Times points out those Republicans are a little hard of hearing:

Judging by what took place in the first hours of the Senate immigration debate last week, critics are deluding themselves if they expect lawmakers to improve the bill when debate resumes after the Memorial Day recess.
…
Sen. Norm Coleman a moderate Minnesota Republican who cannot possibly be termed “anti-immigrant” or a “bomb thrower” introduced an amendment aimed at closing the notorious “sanctuary city” loophole that cities and states are using to avoid compliance with federal immigration law… With all the talk we’ve heard for close to six years from politicians on the right and left about the importance of being able to “connect the dots” in order to thwart terrorist attacks, Mr. Coleman’s amendment should have passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Instead… Mr. Menendez and Sen. Edward Kennedy defeated Mr. Coleman’s amendment by a 49-48 vote, with eight Republicans Sens. Pete Domenici (New Mexico), Chuck Hagel (Nebraska), Dick Lugar (Indiana), Mel Martinez (Florida), Olympia Snowe (Maine); Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania), George Voinovich (Ohio) and Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) joining 41 Democrats in opposition [emphasis added mine].
…
Sens. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican, and Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, offered an amendment striking amnesty from the bill. Messrs. DeMint and Vitter sensibly warned that the Senate bill repeats the mistake of the 1986 amnesty. But their amendment was defeated 66-29: Forty-three Democrats voted for legalization, compared to nine voting against it. Disappointingly, twenty-five Republicans, among them prominent lawmakers like Sens. Jon Kyl, John Cornyn and Mitch McConnell, were on the pro-legalization side compared to 20 Republicans who voted no.

Contact your representatives and boo louder.

Political wind, War on Terror

Edwards is so over the ‘War on Terror’

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Former Senator John Edwards makes a lot of promises; if it is a problem, he’ll create a government program to “fix” it. With him as the Commander-in-Chief, Osama bin Laden and the rest of al Qaeda will need good lawyers except he never says how he is going to get them into court:

Democrat John Edwards Wednesday repudiated the notion that there is a “global war on terror,” calling it an ideological doctrine advanced by the Bush administration that has strained American military resources and emboldened terrorists.

In a defense policy speech he planned to deliver at the Council on Foreign Relations, Edwards called the war on terror a “bumper sticker” slogan Bush had used to justify everything from abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison to the invasion of Iraq.

“We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq military that is mission focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological purposes,” Edwards said in remarks prepared for delivery. “By framing this as a war, we have walked right into the trap the terrorists have set—that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war on Islam.”

With John Edwards as President, ours would be a parade field military. That ought to scare our enemies into submission.