Toast Graham!

Spook86 has a great piece on the real dangers that our "broken borders" present and why the next big battle may be the 2008 elections. Until then we have to start coming up with big ideas and we certainly can’t start sleeping. Here’s a snippet:

The next battle will prove even tougher, because President Bush and key members of Congress are more-than-comfortable with the status quo. Democrats view the illegals as a new bloc of voters; Republicans who support reform are worried about their presidential prospects, trying to salvage a legacy, or they’re trying to placate (choose at least one): the cheap labor lobby, illegal immigration activists, or The New York Times editorial board.

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Check out this video clip from FOXNews’ Special Report . Further evidence that the talking heads are pompous a**hats, just like our elected officials (but then FOXNews has been in the bag for amnesty for the most part). It’s been very amusing to watch those that wanted the amnesty passed blame it’s failure on everything from talk radio to racism to citizens not knowing enough about it. None of them will admit that most Americans want our borders secured long before we consider the rights of foreign citizens who are illegally on our soil. And Lindsey Graham a profile in courage? It doesn’t take courage to attack your opponents on an issue as racist bigots.

I’ve also found it interesting that one of Graham’s key talking points is going on about how people became more supportive of the bill once they found out more about it. If that’s the case, why did he participate in the arcane "clay pigeon" strategy to ram it through as quickly as possible? I smell BS…

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Rumor at The Shot is that the GOP elite are looking to draft someone to replace Lindsey. And their choice???          Katon Dawson…..   Hmmm, not sure what I think of that. I’ve met Katon at GOP functions and he’s well spoken and a great guy, just don’t know what his qualifications are for a U.S. Senate seat. Also, to be honest, in today’s climate I’m always suspect of the folks in DC playing kingmaker before the party voters have had a chance to sort out their choices. Guess we will have to wait and see how real this is.

Shoot me an e-mail va the contact list to let me know what you all think. (Working on getting the comments on-line in the near future)

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I just don’t think Graham will give up so easily, but here’s what Hugh says:

7) THE IMMIGRATION BILL WATER-CARRIERS – Lindsey Graham’s approval ratings in South Carolina have dipped to 31% because of his obnoxious antics while supporting this bill. Trent Lott has made himself a national laughingstock. Again. I know – dog bites man.

But remember who the biggest winners in this imbroglio are – the voters. If the Republicans in South Carolina are sick of being embarrassed by Lindsey Graham, they have a choice – they can find someone to run against him in the primary. Just about anyone will do the trick. I’ll even make a bold prediction: Reading the writing on the wall, Senator Graham will decide that K Street beckons and remove himself from public life before his constituents do the deed for him.

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Well, at least the second part of this statement is correct:

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said opponents were avoiding reality and doing "nothing but talking about what (they) want to do."

"The American people have a low opinion of us because we can’t do the things we need to do because we’re more concerned about us and not about them," he said.

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The bill is dead! Of course, Lindsey is not repentant:

But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the key members of the coalition that
crafted the bill, warned his Republican colleagues ahead of the vote.

“Remember this day if you vote ‘no,’” Graham said, adding that this bill would not
come back in its current form and it is “as good as it gets.”

There’s still a lot of work to do though. We have to give some payback to those who ignored the will of the people and push for the administrative side of government to actually enforce our existing immigration laws and border security. This episode has demonstrated how Washington, D.C. has indeed become nothing but a "kabuki" theater of political posturing for power. It’s also demonstrated that we the people have to hold those in power responsible and we can change the course if we step up.

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I hate to link to the NY Times, but…. Looks like folks are sending some nasty messages and letters to Senators. I can understand the frustration, but that sort of thing does no one any good. The folks getting the message just assume (and are likely right) that the person leaving it is a nutcase and it reflects badly on everyone on our side of the debate. Falls right into the MSM/Washington concept of the uneducated bigot masses.

But what I found interesting, was Graham’s statement. While he doesn’t say we are all bigots anymore, he dismisses the concerns over this bill as being nothing more than rhetoric:

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is one of the architects of the immigration overhaul, said he also had received threats in telephone calls and letters to his office. Mr. Graham said several other senators had told him privately that they also received similar messages.

“There’s racism in this debate,” Mr. Graham said. “Nobody likes to talk about it, but a very small percentage of people involved in this debate really have racial and bigoted remarks. The tone that we create around these debates, whether it be rhetoric in a union hall or rhetoric on talk radio, it can take people who are on the fence and push them over emotionally.”

Funny, I’ve heard far more details and facts from talk radio than I have from anyone in government. I would say it has been those pushing this amnesty that have been using inflaming rhetoric. Can I blame Lindsey’s rhetoric for feeling threatened by La Raza extremists who want to ethnically cleanse North America?

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Most folks expect this Shamnesty thing to finally go down in flames (but it ain’t over till it’s over, so keep up the pressure!). Here’s an excerpt from FOXNews quoting our soon to be ex-senator as he sees the horse he tied his career to being led to slaughter:

"I don’t pretend to know that I am on the right side or the wrong side of the American people," responded Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a supporter of the bill who added that once the provisions are explained to Americans, polls show they overwhelmingly support it.

You won’t have to pretend at all by next year’s SC primary, Senator.

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Malkin has a great roundup of yesterday’s Senate Shamnesty maneuverings:

“Let’s end this thing”

I’m still completely amazed that the people in D.C. are so insulated that it has taken this incredible amount of heat over this lengthy period of time to have them respond at all. Perhaps we are finally convincing them that we are paying attention and will not forget all this come election time.

Update: Michelle’s site continues to be one of the best places for up to the minute news on what’s happening in the Senate on the Amnesty Bill. She is doing rolling updates right now.

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Right Wing News has the inside scoop on what’s going on behind closed doors in the Senate and here’s what they are saying about Graham’s latest tough talk on the touch-back amendment:

Additionally, I asked my source about Lindsey Graham suddenly talking tough about not voting for the bill unless a touchback provision is added. What is his motivation for that? He told me that he thinks Lindsey Graham is just running scared at this point. He’s up for re-election in 2008, his poll numbers are plunging, and talk radio and the conservative blogs are mercilessly beating him up every day. So, he’s looking for some kind of fig leaf to use as protection. He added that unfortunately for Graham, the touchback provision probably wouldn’t cut it. For the most part, the base isn’t impressed with it, and most of the people who support that provision are already inclined to support amnesty anyway.

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