About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Immigration Reform Checkmate

Every time the United States Senate attempts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that gives your Social Security, Medicare, & life savings away to the poorest, least educated, lowest skilled people they can find you know that politicians are once again on the prowl for votes.  Establishment Republicans participated this time because they panicked when Mitt Romney only received 27% of the Hispanic vote last November.  Democrats are only too glad to encourage this Republican fool's errand because they know they will receive all of the electoral rewards.
 
The problems with the senate's immigration reform bill that now moves to the House start when you realize that it is 1,200 pages long & was written principally by New York's Senator Chuck Schumer working in close direct coordination with BO's staff including former La Raza senior vice president Cecilia Munoz.  The provisions of the bill will be enforced by BO & Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  What more does any one need to know about what is wrong with the bill?
 
Hold on to your wallet when you hear politicians are concerned & take it upon themselves to get eleven million illegal immigrants out of the shadows & into the sunlight & a life of dignity that leads to U.S. citizenship.
 
Never mind that the illegals themselves are not the least bit interested in becoming citizens which requires paying citizenship administration fees & back taxes, learning English, & taking a test where they can explain the importance of George Washington to our nation's founding.  After the 1986 amnesty only 40% of the 2.7 million immigrants who received permanent legal status had become naturalized citizens by 2009.  Source – DHS study in 2010.  Illegals may be interested in obtaining legal status if it doesn't require any of the foregoing – & there won't be any such requirements by the time the execution of the bill is watered down & plays out.
 
The first call from Republicans on the immigration issue is always that the border must be secured before the eleven million (or more) illegal immigrants in the country can get on a pathway to citizenship?  I always ask why do we have to combine the two points?  If the border is not secure why are we not working double time to secure it?
 
The biggest problem with the position "we must secure our borders first" is the separate issue that this is admitting that our borders are not secure.  The point being, if this was a real issue, that if our elected representatives were interested in securing our borders & protecting our citizens they would do so regardless of the legal status of any eleven million people. 
 
So the American people continue to be bystanders with everything @ stake while this plays out. 
 
Between June 11 – 16 Quinnipiac illustrated the Hispanic problem Republicans have by running some trial heats of the 2016 presidential race using 1,176 registered voters in Florida featuring two of Florida's favorite sons.  Hillary beat Rubio 53% to 41% & Jeb 50% to 43%.
 
Now before anyone tells me the 2016 election is far off & that they discount the above trial heats please consider the results of last Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts to fill the seat vacated by John Kerry where Ed Markey won by eight points overall over Republican Gabriel Gomez. 
 
The real lesson to be learned by those Republicans who are pandering for Hispanic votes is that Markey won 70% of the Hispanic vote despite Gomez being pro amnesty & a fellow Latino.  Now even if you think Gomez would not win in Massachusetts it is not unreasonable to think he would have done better than he did with Hispanics.  BO won 70% of Hispanic votes in Massachusetts in November so they all stuck with him in supporting Markey – & it is because of the most powerful electoral principle – namely the Death of Democracy principle that dominates the deterioration of a country once the citizenry realizes they can keep electing people who will take from the public treasury to support them.  Pat Buchanan asked – "Why should the half of America that pays no taxes but survives on federal benefits vote for a party that will cut taxes they do not pay but roll back benefits upon which they do depend?"
 
Now it is clear to everyone except the fourteen Republican senators who voted for the immigration bill that just supporting one bill or saying you are for immigration reform is not going to all of a sudden get Hispanics to vote for Republican candidates.  It didn't happen as a result of the 1986 Reagan amnesty bill.  Just look @ the below account from Ed Meese, U.S. Attorney General 1985-88 who sets the record straight regarding the 1986 bill:
 
"The 1986 act didn't turn illegal immigrants into citizens on the spot. It granted temporary resident status only to those who could prove they had resided continuously in America for five years. After 18 months, their status could be upgraded to permanent residency, and only after another five years could they become U.S. citizens.

"But advancement to citizenship was not automatic. Immigrants had to satisfy various requirements along the way. They had to pay application fees, learn to speak English, understand American civics, pass a medical exam and register for military selective service. Those with convictions for a felony or three misdemeanors were ineligible.

"Sound familiar? It's pretty much the same 'penalties and hurdles' set forth by the Gang of Eight. Today they call it a 'roadmap to citizenship.' Ronald Reagan called it 'amnesty.'

"The '86 reform bill also had supposedly 'rigorous' border security and immigration law enforcement provisions. So how did that pan out? On the day Reagan signed 'comprehensive' reform into law, only one thing changed: Millions of unlawful immigrants gained 'legal' status. The promised crackdowns on security and enforcement never happened. Only amnesty prevailed.

"Since the '86 amnesty, the number of illegal immigrants has quadrupled. That should teach Congress a very important lesson: Amnesty 'bends' the rule of law.  And bending the rule of law to reach a 'comprehensive' deal winds up provoking wholesale breaking of the law. Ultimately, it encourages millions more to risk entering the country illegally in the hope that one day they, too, might receive amnesty."

Conservatives like Steve Moore, Larry Kudlow, & Laura Ingraham understand a better solution to the immigration problem than enacting the senate bill is to put America on a path to economic growth through free market capitalism.  The problem with this is "economic growth" to these people is code for lower income taxes – i.e., Conservatives' mechanism for economic growth is to reduce income tax rates – both corporate & individual, thereby putting more money in the hands of entrepreneurs to invest in capital & people meaning new jobs.  Of course this will bring out the class warfare calls & revive the claims that Republicans are for the hated corporations & millionaires & billionaires.  BO masterfully used the slogan that Republicans were for "tax cuts for the wealthy" in the 2012 campaign & many people were surprised how well it stuck & it will stick again.

This is quite a box BO has put the country in – 1) If the senate immigration reform bill passes the House Hispanics will ensure Republicans never win another national election – by 2016 alone there will be approximately one million more Hispanics eligible to vote than voted in 2012.  2) If Republicans try to spur the economy through income tax cuts the class warfare warriors will come out in droves like before & the economy will not improve – there will be a bigger divide & the poor will get poorer & more government dependent while continuing to support Democrats like they have for generations.  Checkmate.

Not meaning to pile on but it gets worse.  As Democrats continue to control the presidency & Supreme Court older justices like Scalia, Thomas, & Kennedy retire they will be replaced by young statists like Kagan & Sotomayor who will ensure the unconstitutional actions of the Supreme Court continue until the country collapses of its own weight. 

The Democrat lock grip on the presidency & subsequent control of the Supreme Court provides the fundamental transformation of America BO promised.

Realistically the best we can hope is that Republicans hold on to enough seats to control the House so that BO's plans (& beyond) are gummed up giving us time for something to happen that will wake people up & bring them to their senses.  Absent that we are gone in a slow burn that has all the potential to speed up.

Now I have documented over the years the steps that have to be taken to turn all of this around.  The apathy of the American people will not make this easy but it all starts by looking for & supporting people like the 32 Republicans listed below who voted against the senate immigration reform bill.

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress - 1st Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote Summary
 
Question: On Passage of the Bill (S. 744 As Amended )
Vote Number: 168 Vote Date: June 27, 2013, 04:11 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Bill Passed
Measure Number: S. 744 (Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act )
Measure Title: A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes.
Vote Counts: YEAs 68
NAYs 32
 
NAYs ---32
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
 
Additional Reading:
 
 
 
Enzi (R-WY)
Fischer (R-NE)
Grassley (R-IA)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Lee (R-UT)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Paul (R-KY)
 
 
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Scott (R-SC)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

 

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