KANSAS - Beware!! Brownback trys to pull fast one

Forums Home | Border Fires | Where Senators stand on Amnesty

Posts 1-10 of 10 | Latest Post

June 29, 2007 01:18 PM

Beachbug1

Member Since:
May 23, 2007

GOP presidential hopeful Sam Brownback was very nervous for 11 minutes this morning. That's the time that elapsed between his initial "Aye" vote for cloture on the Senate's immigration bill today -- essentially an expression of support for the Bush-backed overhaul -- and a change to "Nay" before the vote was over.

Brownback likely recognized that a vote in favor of the bill, which is deeply unpopular among many Republicans who consider it "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, would not play well in the GOP presidential race or in a potential re-election bid in his native Kansas (he's up in 2010). He's supported the bill up until now, and voted to bring the measure to the Senate floor earlier in the week.

Too bad that only 11 minutes earlier he was fully willing to sell his constituents and the American citizens down the RIO GRANDE!!!

Taken from: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/28/247314.aspx

June 30, 2007 12:54 AM

SovereignMan

Member Since:
February 13, 2007

To: mbrown@brownback.com

Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:55 PM

Subject: Re: Brownback Votes Against Senate Immigration Bill

M. Brown,

After reading the article below I found myself concerned about the ethical nature of the statement the Brownback campaign made and how it represents the vote Senator Brownback cast. This appears to be a case of "first I voted for it, before I voted against it". Below is an excerpt from the AP article I am referencing. The entire article is copied below the campaign statement.

Unless there is an official retraction of your statement or one by the AP concerning the accuracy of Mr. Babington's reporting I intend on making both the campaign statement and information concerning the vote cast by Senator Brownback available to a number of activist and other interested parties. Therefore, if this article is not accurate regarding how Senator Brownback cast his vote please inform me of such in a timely manner.

The American people need to be certain in 2008 that they elect an ethical leader with convictions rooted in Constitutional Principle, not a flip flopper who plays inside the beltway games such as switching a vote for political expediency when it will not decide the outcome.

Sincerely,

Senate blocks immigration bill

By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer

EXCERPT:

All the Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate voted to end debate and advance the bill. Among the Republican candidates, only Sen. John McCain of Arizona voted to keep the measure alive. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., at first voted with McCain, but switched his vote when it was clear the bid to end debate would fail.

----- Original Message -----

From: mbrown@brownback.com

To: MBrown@Brownback.com

Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 5:16 PM

Subject: Brownback Votes Against Senate Immigration Bill

Brownback Votes Against Senate Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today voted against the Senate immigration bill.

"I voted against the Senate immigration bill because I am not convinced it would fix our broken immigration system and it would most likely repeat the mistakes of the 1986 reform," said Brownback.

The immigration bill failed earlier today on a 46-53 procedural vote that required 60 votes for the bill to advance to a final vote.

PAID FOR BY BROWNBACK FOR PRESIDENT, INC.
PO Box 2008, Topeka, KS 66601
info@brownback.com

Senate Blocks Immigration Bill
Thursday June 28, 2007 6:16 PM
By CHARLES BABINGTON

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush's plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections.

After the stinging political setback, Bush sounded resigned to defeat.

``Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people, and Congress' failure to act on it is a disappointment,'' he said after an appearance in Newport, R.I. ``A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find common ground. It didn't work.''

The bill's Senate supporters fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate and clear the way for final passage of the legislation, which critics assailed as offering amnesty to illegal immigrants. The vote was 46 to 53 in favor of limiting the debate.

Some senators in both parties said the issue is so volatile that Congress is unlikely to revisit it this fall or next year, when the presidential election will increasingly dominate American politics. t

Bush appeared glum as he spoke. His negotiators had expressed optimism the vote would go their way - or, at least be closer.

``Congress really needs to prove to the American people that it can come together on hard issues,'' Bush said. He turned attention to other his other goals in Congress this year, including energy, health care and balanced-budget initiatives.

Last year a similar immigration effort collapsed in Congress, and the House has not bothered with an immigration bill this year, awaiting Senate action.

The vote was a defeat for a bipartisan group of lawmakers who advocated the bill as an imperfect but necessary fix of current immigration practices in which many illegal immigrants use forged documents or lapsed visas to live and work in the United States.

It was a victory for Republican conservatives who strongly criticized the bill's provisions that would have established pathways to lawful status for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. They were aided by talk radio and TV hosts who repeatedly attacked the bill and urged listeners to flood Congress with calls, faxes and e-mails.

Voting to allow the bill to proceed by ending debate were 33 Democrats, 12 Republicans and independent Joe Lieberman, Conn. Voting to block the bill by not limiting debate were 37 Republicans, 15 Democrats and independent Bernard Sanders, Vt. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., did not vote.

The bill would have toughened border security and instituted a new system for weeding out illegal immigrants from workplaces. It would have created a new guest worker program and allowed millions of illegal immigrants to obtain legal status if they briefly returned home.

Bush, making a last-ditch bid to salvage the bill, called senators early Thursday morning to urge their support. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez approached senators as they entered and left the chamber shortly before the vote.

But conservatives from Bush's own party led the opposition. They repeatedly said the government must secure the borders before allowing millions of illegal aliens a path to legal status.

Sen. Elizabeth H. Dole, R-N.C., said many Americans ``don't have confidence'' that borders, especially with Mexico, will be significantly tightened. ``It's not just promises but proof that the American people want,'' Dole said.

But the bill's backers said border security and accommodations to illegal immigrants must go hand in hand.

``Year after year, we've had the broken borders,'' said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. ``Year after year, we've seen the exploitation of workers.''

After the vote, he said: ``It is now clear that we are not going to complete our work on immigration reform. That is enormously disappointing for Congress and for the country.'' Kennedy, a chief proponent of the bill, said, ``we will be back. This issue is not going away.''

But before the vote, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told colleagues the political climate almost surely would not allow a serious reconsideration until 2009 or later. It would be highly unlikely, she said, ``in the next few years to fix the existing system ... . We are so close.''

From the beginning, the bill's most forceful opponents were southern Republicans. GOP Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama led the charge, often backed by Texan John Cornyn.

Two southern Republicans - Lindsey Graham, S.C., and Mel Martinez, Fla., who was born in Cuba - supported it.

Also crucial to the bill's demise was opposition from three Democrats recently elected from GOP-leaning states: Jon Tester of Montana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Jim Webb of Virginia.

All the Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate voted to end debate and advance the bill. Among the Republican candidates, only Sen. John McCain of Arizona voted to keep the measure alive. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., at first voted with McCain, but switched his vote when it was clear the bid to end debate would fail.

Sessions said on the Senate floor after the vote that Americans ``are not mean-spirited, but they are concerned about a lawful system of immigration.''

DeMint told reporters, ``I think the only victory here is for the American people and, symbolically, a government of the people and for the people. The people responded to this issue in a very emotional and just a very engaged way, which changed the minds of many people here in the Senate.''

DeMint said he hoped ``we'll proceed with the security and enforcement aspects of this bill, and that will pave the way of how we solve some of the other problems.''

September 19, 2007 03:42 PM

Member Since:
February 15, 2007

Called and have faxed both Senators on the Department Defense authorization bill (HR 1585) to vote

NO on amendment 2237 the Dream Act amnesty,

No on H-1B high skill foreign workers permanent green card visas,

No on H-2B Low skill seasonal workers visas.

Roberts has committed to a NO vote according to Numbers USA. However so far Brownbeck has not.

September 20, 2007 10:59 AM

jpm

Member Since:
March 2, 2007

People, they think you are apathetic (most are and that's why they get elected) and will let this pass. Are they right? Below from NumbersUSA

Sen. Durbin has introduced a new version of the DREAM Act and officially filed it as an amendment to the Department of Defense (DoD) authorization bill - amendment #2919. DREAM amnesty proponents hope this will give offices the opportunity to convince faxers and callers that your concerns have been taken into consideration and that the "improved" DREAM Act addresses those concerns.

Don't be fooled by the late attempt. Our legislative staff (the best on Capitol Hill) has looked over the "DREAM Act 2.0" and determined that only two changes have been made:

(1) Sets age limit for amnesty. Now illegal aliens must be under 30 years old to qualify. However, there is still a "humanitarian" and "family unity" waiver that can be granted by DHS.

(2) Removes the in-state college tuition section. However, aliens who get the amnesty will become legal residents and therefore will be automatically eligible for in-state tuition anyway.

Needless to say, while these changes make the DREAM Act slightly "less-bad," as it were, DO NOT BE FOOLED: this is still an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens who then be able to turn around and petition for their parents who broke the law to bring them into the country in the first place.

Please fax your senators and let them know that you are aware of the changes that have been made to the DREAM Act, but you still find the DREAM Act amnesty unacceptable.

Tell Senate offices know that the following things remain unchanged:

- The DREAM Act allows illegal "teens" to petition for their parents, leading eventually to their aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins:

The big argument for this amnesty is that it is for teenagers who are here illegally because their parents broke the law. Even with the new "less-than-30" age requirement, far more than teens can get this amnesty (and Sen. Durbin has included "humanitarian" and "family unity" exceptions to the age limit). Nonetheless, the argument is that the teenagers should not be punished for the crimes of their parents.

But as soon as DREAM amnesty citizens are over 21, they can bring in their parents who broke the law to get them into the country. The chief criminals will be rewarded after all.

And because of Chain Migration, the amnestied "teens" can see their aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents getting permanent U.S. residency as well.

- The DREAM Act does not Protect Americans from Terrorists and Criminals:

Illegal immigrants are not required to submit fingerprints or undergo background security checks at any point in the DREAM Act process. Therefore, DHS has no way of learning whether an alien seeking DREAM Act amnesty is a terrorist or criminal. This security failure is compounded by the confidentiality section of the DREAM Act, which is a relic from pre-9/11 days (it’s modeled on the fraud-prone 1986 amnesty). This section basically requires DHS to hide information about terrorist and criminal aliens from itself. If a DHS adjudicator at USCIS learns from a DREAM Act application that an alien poses terrori st or criminal concerns, the adjudicator is prohibited from alerting ICE enforcement officers at DHS, and in fact, if the adjudicator did volunteer such information to ICE, he could be fined $10,000. To cap it all, DHS is prohibited from removing from the United States all aliens, including criminals, terrorists, fraudsters, and other ineligible aliens while they have a DREAM Act application pending, even if that application is based upon fraud or the alien is ineligible.

- The DREAM Act Offers Citizenship to Illegal Aliens Who Lack Good Moral Character:

The DREAM Act does not require that aliens have a history of good moral character; it only requires that they have good moral character from the time that they apply. This means that criminal aliens, terrorists, and other aliens who lack good moral character before they apply get an amnesty for their pre-application period conduct, no matter how bad or extensive that conduct.

- The DREAM Act is Not Just for Young People:

Sponsors insist that the point of the DREAM Act is to provide legal status to “kids” and “young people.” However, the DREAM Act is not directed just at minors. Under the "new" DREAM Act, anyone 29-years-old or younger, who illegally entered the United States before the age of 16 and has illegally remained here for 5 years or more will qualify for lawful permanent residence (and eventual citizenship) if they satisfy the easily-met criteria for DREAM Act amnesty. Illegal aliens who are 30-years-old or older can still be granted the DREAM amnesty through "humanitarian" or "family unity" waivers.

- The DREAM Act is a Big Amnesty:

It’s estimated there are some 2 million illegal immigrant children in the United States. They are only a portion of the millions of aliens who will likely qualify for the DREAM Act amnesty, because the DREAM Act does not place a cap on the number of people who qualify, provides exceptions to the newly-formed under-30 age limit, and applies retroactively to anyone who first entered before age 16. Furthermore, the recipients of the DREAM Act amnesty will be permitted to petition for their illegal parents and adult relatives once they become citizens.

- The DREAM Act is Deceptive:

The marketing campaign for the DREAM Act makes as though the amnesty is intended for high school graduates who are on their way to college or military service. But the bill as written ensures that illegal immigrants don’t have to attend high school or go to college to qualify for the amnesty: they need only take an ability-to-benefit test and complete a 1-year vocational program to get eventual citizenship (and there’s no requirement that they actually complete their college education). Nor do aliens have to join the Armed Forces: they need only go to work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or Public Health Service for 2 years to get eventual citizenship.

- The DREAM Act is a Fraud Machine:

We know from experience that amnesty from immigration laws generates massive fraud, and the DREAM Act is no exception. Nothing in the DREAM Act will prevent a 29-year old alien from asserting that he entered the United States before the age of 16 and has remained here ever since. The DREAM Act is silent on how DHS will determine the veracity of such claims. The DREAM Act will actually promote fraud because it prevents DHS from deporting aliens who’ve applied for the amnesty until their applications are resolved – a process that will likely take years, because DHS lacks the resources to rapidly process the millions of applications it will receive. Even if DHS eventually decides that some aliens do not qualify for the amnesty, DHS cannot use the statements aliens made in their applications to deport them, because their statements are protected by the confidentiality section in the DREAM Act.

- The DREAM Act is Unfair to American Students and Taxpayers:

The "new" DREAM Act removed the in-state college tuition section. However, aliens who get the amnesty will become legal residents and will therefore be automatically eligible for in-state tuition anyway.

- The DREAM Act Puts Illegal Immigrants at the Front of the Line for Green Cards:

The DREAM Act requires that applications for its amnesty must be expedited, bars DHS from charging fees for expedited service, and fails to provide DHS the additional personnel and equipment needed to handle expedited applications. Because millions of people will file applications for DREAM Act amnesty (regardless of whether or not they eventually qualify), DHS will experience a significant backlog of cases that will necessarily slow DHS’ ability to process conventional business and family visas, and applications for naturalization. This will adversely impact our economy, and disrupt the settled expectations of intending legal immigrants to the United States.

- The DREAM Act Will Allow Dangerous Criminal Aliens to Remain At Large in the United States:

DHS lacks the resources to detain all criminal aliens it encounters in the United States, and so DHS has to pick and choose which criminals to hold for deportation. When DHS deports a criminal al ien, the detention or “bed space” vacated by the out-going criminal is immediately filled by another criminal alien. The DREAM Act does not disqualify anyone (even criminals) from filing an application and bars DHS from removing any alien who’s filed an application for amnesty. Thus, criminal aliens who have no desire to be deported will file DREAM Act applications to halt or slow their deportations, which means they will spend more time taking up detention space which could be used to house other criminal aliens. That means more criminal aliens whom DHS cannot house will be free to roam the United States. The DREAM Act also creates an opportunity for extremely dangerous criminal aliens to be released into the general population. By law, a criminal alien who is subject to a final order of removal must be released from DHS custody within 90 days if his removal is not “reasonably foreseeable.” As mentioned previously, the DREAM Act does not allocate resources to DHS to process the millions of applications that are sure to be filed, which will result in very lengthy delays. The result? A dangerous criminal alien who would otherwise have been removed from the United States files his DREAM Act application, and when that application stalls at DHS with millions of others, he can file a petition in a district court after 90 days to effect his release because his removal is not “reasonably foreseeable.”

You can find this fax by proceeding to
http://www.numbersusa.com/faxes?ID=8840

Jim

September 27, 2007 01:13 AM

cinjj1

Member Since:
June 22, 2007

I call, write, fax and email this Kansas joker every day! I didnt vote for this lamer and I assure you I wont now either.

Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"

September 27, 2007 04:57 PM

jpm

Member Since:
March 2, 2007

The battle is not over...

Harry Reid, bristling over the defeat, said the battle is "still on" promising
passage this Fall!

Cecilia Munoz, senior vice president of the National Council of La Raza added, "There is no question that this issue doesn't stop here."

Grassfire.org Alliance
From the Desk of Steve Elliott

James P.,

I want to thank everyone who invested their time and financial
resources to take a strong stand against the Senate's
nightmarish "Dream Act" amnesty push!

Last night Dick Durbin (D-IL), the measure's chief Senate
sponsor stated that attempts to attach the Dream Act to
the defense authorization bill had failed. "I am disappointed
for thousands of young people whose lives are just in limbo."

But even in defeat, the arrogance of amnesty Democrats was
clearly evident. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, bristling
over the defeat, said the battle is "still on" promising
passage this Fall!

Cecilia Munoz, senior vice president of the National Council
of La Raza added, "There is no question that this issue doesn't
stop here."

Click here for more:

http://www.firesociety.com/blog/100/17948/?src=111

Jim

September 27, 2007 05:02 PM

beyondangry

Member Since:
June 15, 2007

cinjj1 said: I call, write, fax and email this Kansas joker every day! I didnt vote for this lamer and I assure you I wont now either.

You and I have a year to get someone to run against these bozos.

As far as I am concerned, J Fred Muggs can promise to build a fence and start deportation and he has my vote.

September 27, 2007 05:45 PM

jpm

Member Since:
March 2, 2007

Don't give up the battle is not over...

++ Grassroots Answers the Call

James P., turnout to defeat this latest attempt by open border
lawmakers was unprecedented, and spectacular! Dianne Feinstein,
a strong supporter of the bill reported receiving more than
4,000 phone calls since September 13. A spokesman for her
office reported that while 239 calls were in favor of the bill,
3,805 were opposed!

And that doesn't even include the hundreds of thousands of faxes
that literally poured into every Senate office on Capitol Hill
over these last few weeks!

Once again the arrogance of our leadership underestimated the
strength and power of the people--the citizens of the U.S, who
once again demanded enforcement of our existing laws, the
building of the fence and absolutely NO AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS!

Simply stated, without your efforts, Durbin and his open-border
cohorts would already be celebrating the bill's passage with
amnesty special interests.

But, as in the past, we cannot rest on our laurels. Instead we
must remain vigilant for the next deceptive amnesty charge.
In fact, Harry Reid probably did us all a favor by promising
it would be coming again in the Fall.

James P., thanks for standing with Grassfire. I know that when
we sound the next alarm, I will be able to count on you!

Again, thank you so much for your passionate efforts to secure
our border and protect our sovereignty!

Steve Elliott, President
Grassfire.org

P.S: Just yesterday, the House passed a measure for illegal
aliens to gain access to additional taxpayer funded benefits,
including healthcare. Our staff has compiled an exclusive
backgrounder for our team. Click here to access the report:

http://www.firesociety.com/article/17956/?src=111

Jim

September 28, 2007 01:07 AM

cinjj1

Member Since:
June 22, 2007

OK beyond, we know we have to vote out a few weh ahve in their and Boyda so far has been doing a good job compared to Brownback. YAY us and Sebilus signing into law that ENGLISH is the official language of Kansas! For all the good it does since I still have to press 1 for English. But I well be watching each and everyone of them! They have a few local commercials on tv and radio that after the English they redo it all in mexican.. I REFUSE to do any business with those companies!

Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"

October 23, 2007 07:46 AM

pistol426pete

Member Since:
February 15, 2007

All, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has invoked Rule 14 on the new bad DREAM Act amnesty (S. 2205) and the vote will be tomorrow. This act is much worse than the previous version.I phoned 8 senators yesterday and will call at least 20 today. Please phone your senators TUESDAY. We need to put loads of pressure on them to vote NO to this massive sellout. Call a few other senators as well, particularly those from Virginia, West Virginia, New Mexico, Maine, and Vermont.Don't get discouraged. We can beat this if everyone calls.Keep fighting!Pete

KANSAS - Beware!! Brownback trys to pull fast one

You must login to discuss this item.