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Author: Tony Phyrillas
Date:  June 1, 2006

Topic category:  Other/General

Senate's immigration bill betrays U.S.


Without having to read a word of the 614-page Senate bill, ask yourself one question. Can anything supported by Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry be good for the United States?

What do Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Joe Biden, Dick Durbin, Pat Leahy, Chuck Schumer and Diane Feinstein have in common?

They are among the most liberal members in the U.S. Senate. They're all Democrats. Some of them plan to run for president in 2008. And every one of them voted in favor of the sweeping "immigration reform" bill passed in the Senate.

Without having to read a word of the 614-page bill, ask yourself one question. Can anything supported by Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry be good for the United States? The fact that so many far-left politicians support this bill is reason enough to sound the alarm.

It gets worse. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 62 to 36, with two senators missing the vote. It passed with the support of 23 Republican senators, a motley crew that includes Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Bill Frist of Tennessee and John McCain of Arizona.

Frist and McCain essentially forfeited any chance of winning the Republican nomination for president in 2008 by turning their backs on the wishes of the majority of Americans. This bill is possibly the worst idea to come out of Washington, D.C., since Prohibition.

Frist and McCain sold out their country for political expediency. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the electorate. They want to attract Latino voters at the expense of the rest of the country, including millions of immigrants who came here legally and followed the rules to become naturalized U.S. citizens. There cannot be any special treatment for illegal aliens. The fact that you broke into somebody's house does not entitle you to walk away with his belongings even after the police arrive.

The primary goal of the Senate bill is to provide amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens already living in the United States. It would make it easier for illegals to obtain citizenship and even gives them retroactive credit toward Social Security. In other words, it's not only OK with the majority of U.S. Senators that people break our laws, but we should make it easier for them to have a comfortable retirement.

The basic argument that senators are making is that there are too many illegal aliens already in the U.S. to consider sending them back home. It's the same as saying that there are too many criminals running around, so we'll tell the police to forget arresting any of them. Lawlessness has its rewards when it comes to the Senate bill.

The Senate bill was immediately hailed by Mexican President Vicente Fox, another reason this bill cannot possibly be good for the United States. If you were Fox, president of one of the most corrupt nations in the world, and had the opportunity to send millions of your poorest citizens into a neighboring country so they can make money, get free medical care and other benefits at the expense of the other nation’s taxpayers, of course you’d support it.

Mexico is not a good neighbor. The relationship between the U.S. and Mexico is a simple one. You get up in the morning, go next door to your neighbor's house, raid his refrigerator, put on his clothes, grab the keys to his car and help yourself to some spending money from his wallet on the way out.

The Senate's betrayal of America is nothing short of treason. Every senator who voted for the bill must be held accountable. (All but four Democrats in the Senate approved the bill). One-third of the Senate is up for re-election this year. Find out how your senator voted and fire him or her on Nov. 7.

In Pennsylvania, Specter doesn't have to face the voters until 2010, when he will probably retire. The state's other GOP senator, Rick Santorum, facing a tough re-election fight against the son of former Gov. Bob Casey, voted against the Senate bill even though Santorum is running behind the polls and is the No. 1 target of the far left during this election cycle. Santorum's courageous vote to oppose the amnesty bill is reason enough to re-elect him.

The fight is now in the House, where a House-Senate Conference Committee will attempt to "reconcile" the Senate amnesty bill. Let's make this real clear. There is nothing to reconcile. There is no compromise. The only hope the United States has to protect its borders from invasion and to save its sovereignty is for the House to reject the Senate bill outright.

All 435 members of the House face re-election in 2006. While most Democrats will follow the party line and support amnesty, some moderate Democrats may be persuaded to put down the Kool-Aid mixed by Howard Dean and do what's best for their country. Every Republican in the House must be told that their re-election depends on rejecting the amnesty bill.

Immigration reform is a complex issue, but the solution begins with the basic premise that the U.S. must secure its borders and stop illegal immigration. Amnesty is wrong. We must repair the holes in the dam before we worry about cleaning up the flood damage below.

Tony Phyrillas
http://tonyphyrillas.blogspot.com (Columnist)


Biography - Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a leading conservative political columnist and blogger based in Pennsylvania. He is a veteran journalist with 25 years experience as a reporter, editor and columnist for several newspapers. Phyrillas received recognition for column writing in 2010 from the Associated Press Managing Editors, in 2007 from Suburban Newspapers of America and in 2006 from the Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter. A graduate of Penn State University, Phyrillas is the city editor and political columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa. In addition to The Mercury website (www.pottsmerc.com), his columns are featured on more than a dozen political websites and blogs. Phyrillas is a frequent guest (and occasional host) on talk radio and has been a panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" public affairs TV program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN). Phyrillas was named one of the '10 Leading Greek-American Bloggers in the World' in 2007 by Odyssey: The World of Greece magazine. BlogNetNews.com ranked Phyrillas the Most Influential Political Blogger in Pennsylvania for three consecutive years (2007-2010). You can follow Phyrillas on Twitter @TonyPhyrillas


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