Duncan Hunter speaks about the shamnesty bill

I just received this statement from presidential candidate Duncan Hunter:

By a vote of 46 to 53, the U.S. Senate voted today not to proceed with debate on legislation providing amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants presently living in the United States. Following the Senate's vote, Presidential Candidate and U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) made the following statement:

"From the very beginning of the immigration debate, the American people were clear in their strong opposition to granting amnesty to more than 12 million illegal immigrants. While this flawed piece of legislation should never have been considered in the first place, I commend my colleagues in the Senate who positioned themselves with the American people and rejected this amnesty bill.

"The idea that amnesty must be accepted in order to achieve secure and enforceable borders is absurd. The effort to provide citizenship benefits to millions of illegal immigrants failed -- not once, but twice. It is time that we abandon the concept of rewarding those who have broken our laws and take action to secure our borders and enforce existing immigration laws. This is what the American people have been demanding and this is what they deserve.

"Executing one existing law in particular, the Secure Fence Act, would go a long way to bringing a greater element of security to our Southern land border. By constructing double-layered security fencing across the major smuggling corridors on the U.S.-Mexico border, as required by the Secure Fence Act, we will have taken a significant step towards achieving a border that is enforceable and no longer a conduit for illegal activity."

NOTE: Congressman Duncan authored the fencing provisions in the Secure Fence Act, extending the San Diego Border Fence across Arizona, and portions of New Mexico and Texas.

I've said it before, I'll say it again -- we need Duncan Hunter in 2008.

On June 30th, another FEC finance report is due. You can donate using the form located below on my blog, or go on over to Duncan's page at www.gohunter08.com. If you want a true conservative in the White House -- and Hunter is -- then get on over to his page and donate a few dollars if you can.

Cloture vote fails, 46 - 53

John Hawkins liveblogged the cloture vote in the Senate over at Right Wing News.

End result? We win, with 46 nay and 53 yea.

Here's some advice, folks -- and this is from someone who fought this bill as hard as anyone on the net.

Be magnanimous in victory.

Remember the people who fought for us all along, like Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn, David Vitter, Jeff Sessions and some of the other people who played a smaller, but still significant role, like Elizabeth Dole and John Cornyn.

Don't forget that the House Republicans stepped up when it counted and sent a message to the Senate by opposing amnesty.

Keep in mind that John Ensign, the head of the RNSC, voted for cloture when it counted -- and he let people know his decision before the vote started. So, he didn't just go with flow once he saw the bill was going to lose, like Sam Brownback and some of the others. Tossing a few bucks the NRSC's way as a thank-you wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.

Last but not least, take a day and drink in the victory. It took way too long and it was way too hard, but the American people won out in the end. Take a little time to be happy about that.

PS: Here's a piece of free advice for George Bush and the Republican senators who ended up on the wrong end of this bill: You need to get right with your base and with the American people -- and you need to do it in a hurry.

Here's the roll call:

Team America:

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)

Team Mexico:

Akaka (D-HI)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Roll Call!

From the Senate, here is the roll call for today's cloture vote.

Team Mexico - 64:

Akaka (D-HI)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ensign (R-NV)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Team America - 35:

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bunning (R-KY)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)

Some senators will vote for cloture, but then against the bill, because they think we are all too stupid to understand what they are doing. Remember folks, keep the pressure on.

Call or e-mail them here.

Call the National Republican Senatorial Committee at (202) 675-6000 and the Republican National Committee at (202) 863-8500 (option 1).

Let them know you won't support any senator who supports this bill. Maybe also throw in that you'll be on board for John Hawkins' Payback Project. If this bill passes, I know I will be.

The time is now

... to contact your senators. The immigration bill is rearing its ugly head yet again on Tuesday, and what better way to greet them back from the weekend with a mountain of phone calls? Tell them you won't support anyone who votes for this bill or for cloture.

Get their e-mail addresses and phone numbers here.

Call the National Republican Senatorial Committee at (202) 675-6000, and call the Republican National Committee at (202) 863-8500 (option 1).

Also, yesterday John Hawkins of Right Wing News had a great entry about where the bill is standing right now:

My source tells me that this has left a sour taste in the mouth of a number of Republican senators who are upset that Mitch McConnell is cooperating with Harry Reid to curtail the rights of Republican senators. Moreover, there's a growing fear that a dangerous precedent is being set here that could be used against Republican senators again and again as long as they're in the minority. After all, if the "clay pigeon" strategy is used against conservatives on the immigration issue, who's to say it won't also be used against them on any number of issues in the future? According to my source, this is causing a lot of nervousness amongst Republican senators and it has Mitch McConnell acting very defensively behind closed doors about working with Harry Reid to roll members of his own caucus. Because of this issue, my source tells me that the vote for the "clay pigeon" strategy is no longer a slam dunk and it is possible that the "grand bargainers" may not be able to get 60 votes to put the bill on the floor as a new bill. If that turns out to be the case, the bill is dead.

Make sure to read it all here.

Mexicans really do love the US of A

They love it so much, they're setting our forests on fire.

From The Washington Times:

U.S. Border Patrol agents seeking to secure the nation's border in some of the country's most pristine national forests are being targeted by illegal aliens, who are using intentionally set fires to burn agents out of observation posts and patrol routes.

The wildfires have destroyed valuable natural and cultural resources in the National Forest System and pose an ongoing threat to visitors, residents and responding firefighters, according to federal law-enforcement authorities and others.

In the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, with 60 miles of land along the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Forest Service firefighters sent in to battle fires or clear wild-land fire areas are required to be escorted by armed law-enforcement officers.

Armed smugglers of aliens and drugs have walked through the middle of active firefighting operations, the authorities said.

Last month, the Border Patrol -- in a single operation targeting illegal aliens causing what Forest Service officials called "significant damage" to the Coronado National Forest -- apprehended more than 300 illegals along just a three-mile section of U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and confiscated 600 pounds of marijuana in a 10-day period.

At least five fires were set below a Border Patrol observation post during the operation in an effort to burn the agents out, according to a Forest Service report. The fires were extinguished, and no one was arrested.

Wildfires are being set by alien and drug smugglers, authorities said, to create a diversion in an attempt to gain undetected access across the border. The fires correspond to a dramatic rise in assaults against Border Patrol agents -- up more than 100 percent over last year.

And these are the people liberal moonbats are saying just want to come and peacefully coexist with us, because they love the United States.

They're assaulting Border Patrol Agents using molotav cocktails and rags the size of grapefruits dipped in gasoline and then set ablaze. Yet, agents can clearly do nothing to defend themselves, because, as in the case of Ramos and Compean, when they do they are arrested for violating these criminals' "civil rights".

These are the people that the Senate wants to let in, folks. People who don't think twice about assaulting -- and possibly killing -- our Border Patrol Agents. People who smuggle drugs and set fire to our forests.

Yeah, those are the kinds of citizens I want here.

Hat Tip: MoonBattery

Well, at least the House gets it

This is a very encouraging sign:

The U.S. House of Representatives this morning voted to withhold federal emergency services funding for "sanctuary cities" that protect illegal immigrants.
Anti-illegal immigration champion Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., sponsored the measure, which he says would apply to cities such as Denver and Boulder. He was elated by its passage, which stunned critics and supporters alike.

"The issue has come to fruition," Tancredo said by cell phone after the vote. "The people of the country really have spoken. It's a really good indicator of just how much closer to the people the House is than the Senate is."

The House passed the amendment, 234 to 189, with 50 Democrats voting in favor.

Tancredo and his staffers hooted and cheered from his office across the street from the Capitol immediately after the vote. Tancredo has introduced similar amendments at least seven other times since 2004, but each has failed — often by wide margins.

This shows that the shamnesty bill that won't die in the Senate has a very good chance of failing in the House. Every single member is up for reelection in 2008, and they aren't willing to risk it. Even the Democrats in the House can see it. If Republican senators were smart, they would just let it die.

But that's a big if.

Hat Tip: Right Wing News

John Hawkins interviews John Ensign, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman

Over at Right Wing News, John Hawkins has an interview with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign:

John Hawkins: Sure, I understand. Give me an estimate of how many calls, emails, and faxes that you think the RNSC has received over the immigration issue and maybe what the for and against ratio has been.

John Ensign: The number of calls to our personal offices as well as to the NRSC are overwhelming and they are overwhelmingly against the bill. It's, I don't know, ...a hundred to one against.

John Hawkins: If the Senate amnesty bill passes, Tom Tancredo has pledged to campaign against senators who vote for it. You probably know. I've set up a website called The Payback Project to do the same thing. The number of (commenters) I've seen around the blogosphere who've commented that they're either going to stay home in 2008 or throw their vote away on a third party has been enormous. According to Rasmussen, the public opposes this bill 2 to 1. Given all that, don't you think it's fair to say that if this bill passes, isn't it pretty safe to say that some Republican senators will lose their job as a result?

John Ensign: Well, first of all, I want to see the final version. I don't think people should judge the final version. I'm against the bill as it currently stands. But, if we can make some changes to the bill, I do believe it will be a much better bill than current law is...and it will help actually clean up some things.

Read the whole thing.

The funniest thing I've heard in a long time

Tancredo runs into McCain at a restaurant and sends him nachos. I'm totally snickering right now.

From Earth Times:

While in New Hampshire for the June 5th Republican presidential candidates' debate, Rep. Tancredo ran into Senator John McCain at Blake's Restaurant. Tancredo sent an order of nachos to Senator McCain, mocking Senator McCain's efforts to find a path to legal status for millions of undocumented residents once they have paid penalties, fines, learned English and passed citizenship tests -- proving they are hard-working members of our communities.

Today, while 200 Esperanza clergy discuss immigration with their Members of Congress, Rev. Luis Cortes will respond with a delivery of his own, sending a Merriam-Webster Dictionary and a bilingual Bible to Rep. Tancredo.

"Congressman Tancredo has based his entire presidential campaign on his distorted definition of amnesty," said Cortes. "I can only assume that Congressman Tancredo is unfamiliar with the dictionary and Christian definitions of amnesty.

"This Merriam-Webster dictionary defines amnesty as 'an act granting a pardon to a group of individuals.' A pardon is defined as 'the excusing of an offense without penalty.'

"As Christians we understand amnesty: Amnesty is what Christ provided for us as forgiveness for our sins when he paid for our sins with his life. This is true amnesty -- unconditional and without penalty. Amnesty is a free pass and a place in the front of the line. This Senate compromise is not amnesty."

But... it is a free pass and a place in the front of the line, before the millions of would-be immigrants, waiting patiently as they go through legal channels. And it isn't a compromise, either. It's a mandate. We aren't getting anything on our side of the bargain -- it's all to benefit Washington, and a big middle finger to the rest of the country.

But nachos... to John McCain... oh, Lord. That is just too priceless. Tancredo just rose a few notches in my book.

The Night of the Living Immigration Bill

Over at Right Wing News, John Hawkins has a great article letting us know what's going on behind closed doors to make sure this immigration bill comes back once more to see the light of day and continue to terrorize us all:

Yesterday, a GOP aide, who is one of my sources in the Senate, gave me the rundown on what's happening with the Senate immigration bill (this is the same person who I talked to last week about the bill).

First off, it does look like the Senate immigration bill is coming back. The conventional wisdom seems to be that it's going to be brought up right before the July 4th break, so that the Senate Republican leadership can try to use that as leverage to get votes (in other words, "vote for the bill or we'll have to waste your vacation time until you do").

This is despite the fact that the conservative leaders of the anti-amnesty movement are refusing to cooperate, and won't give Mitch McConnell a list of amendments that they want considered. My source tells me that the reason for this is that the game has now been rigged. McConnell is essentially promising to bring the amendments up in exchange for cloture votes, but he's publicly saying that they will strip any problematic amendments out in committee.

In other words, if the bill gets through the Senate and the House, the Democrats and the open borders Republicans will work together when the bills have to be reconciled in committee to strip out any amendments that the "grand bargainers" don't like. Therefore, at this point, it doesn't matter what amendments pass, because any tough enforcement provisions that slip through will be rendered toothless when the bills are reconciled.

Make sure to read the whole thing.

What happened behind closed doors

Right Wing News has the scoop on why the shamnesty bill failed:

After the 2nd cloture vote failure at noon on Thursday, Harry Reid could not get unanimous consent to call up amendments to the bill because Jim DeMint refused to give his consent. This was extremely problematic for Reid because he wanted to get in votes on 6 more amendments before the last try at a cloture vote.

At that point, all the senators who were participants in the "Grand Compromise" AKA the "Masters of the Universe" by the opponents of the bill, leaned on DeMint to try to get him to give consent for the bill to move forward. Unfortunately for them, DeMint wouldn't budge. This essentially killed the entire afternoon that the pro-amnesty side hoped to use to shore up support for the bill.

While DeMint was gumming up the works, the opponents of the bill, including most prominently Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, and Tom Coburn, huddled and came up with a list of conservative amendments they wanted considered.

The "Grand Compromise" crowd didn't want a lot of these amendments to be voted on because either some of the amendments would have been accepted and it would have killed the bill or alternately, they would have had to vote against common sense enforcement measures and made themselves look bad.

Eventually, after the process was tied up all afternoon and failed a third cloture vote, Harry Reid yanked the bill even though the opponents of the bill said they were willing to stop gumming up the process as long as all the amendments they wanted were voted on today.

I think we need to send Jim DeMint flowers or something. He is officially my new hero. We all owe a HUGE thank you to DeMint, along with Tom Coburn, Jeff Sessions, John Cornyn, and Elizabeth Dole. You can get their phone numbers and/or e-mail addresses HERE. Make sure they know how grateful we all are. This bill, in all likelihood, is dead thanks to their efforts, and most of all Jim DeMint's.

UPDATE: Cloture fails, 45-50

UPDATE: From Michelle Malkin, of course, who has been liveblogging all day:

Somber Harry Reid: "Mr. President, this has been a very difficult time...I was hoping that my friends on the other side of the aisle that a small group shouldn't dictate what happens around here."

Um, yeah.

"We're going to keep the bill off the Senate floor." Proposes having more GOP amendments. "Hopefully, we can do that in the next several weeks...One of my colleagues who has worked very hard on this came into my office and shed some tears."

Bets, anyone? Mine: Lindsay "Hissy Fit" Graham.

Reid extols the DREAM Act provision in the bill that promises illegal alien college tuition discounts not available to Americans and law-abiding immigrants--in violation of a federal ban on such special treatment.

Whines some more about lack of support for his cloture vote.

Reid vows that he will "put aside hurt feelings" and "move on with the anticipation that this bill is something that the country needs" and "hope we can figure out a way to do it."

Thank God. Reid has said that if this final cloture failed, he will drop the bill. While it can of course resurface again, this was their best chance to force it through. The closer we get to election season, the more scared Republican senators will be of alienating their base, although they have already done that anyway. Right now, I -- and a lot of other conservatives -- are breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Michelle Malkin has been liveblogging from the Senate floor:

I liveblogged the vote on the Coburn amendment earlier this morning. The roll call deserves its own separate post. Everything you need to know about your US Senators' commitment to the rule of law is right here. Note that GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain didn't bother to cast a vote:

The Coburn Amendment states:

EXISTING LAW.--The following provisions of existing law shall be fully implemented, as previously directed by the Congress, prior to the certification set forth in paragraph (1):
(A) The Department has achieved and maintained operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States as required under the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-367)

(B) The total miles of fence required under such Act have been constructed.

(C) All databases maintained by the Department which contain information on aliens shall be fully integrated as required by section 202 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (8 U.S.C. 1722).

(D) The Department shall have implemented a system to record the departure of every alien departing the United States and of matching records of departure with the records of arrivals in the United States through the US-VISIT program as required by section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1221 note).

(E) The provision of law that prevents States and localities from adopting ``sanctuary'' policies or that prevents State and local employees from communicating with the Department are fully enforced as required by section 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1373).

(F) The Department employs fully operational equipment at each port of entry and uses such equipment in a manner that allows unique biometric identifiers to be compared and visas, travel documents, passports, and other documents authenticated in accordance with section 303 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (8 U.S.C. 1732).

(G) An alien with a border crossing card is prevented from entering the United States until the biometric identifier on the border crossing card is matched against the alien as required by section 101(a)(6) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(6)).

(H) Any alien who is likely to become a public charge is denied entry into the United States pursuant to section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)).

Here are the GOP senators who opposed it (I won't list the Dems, because we all know they hate America already):

Bennett (R-UT)

Brownback (R-KS)

Collins (R-ME)

Craig (R-ID)

Domenici (R-NM)

Graham (R-SC)

Hagel (R-NE)

Hutchison (R-TX)

Kyl (R-AZ)

Lugar (R-IN)

Martinez (R-FL) -- that's me!

Murkowski (R-AK)

Specter (R-PA)

Stevens (R-AK)

Voinovich (R-OH)

Warner (R-VA)

The bill just avoided cloture with a 33-63 vote -- again -- but there is still another vote coming up at 5:00. Let's hope we can avoid that. It will help slow momentum, but it won't kill it completely. Keep the pressure on your senators. Get their phone numbers and/or e-mail addresses here, on the official Senate website.

Also, call the National Republican Senatorial Committee at (202) 675-6000, and the Republican National Committee at (202) 863-8500 (option 1). Tell them all -- politely, of course -- that you will not support any senator who lets this bill pass. Remind them that this bill would be national suicide, costing taxpayers trillions of dollars and that you don't want it passed.

If it does pass, John Hawkins of Right Wing News is ready with The Payback Project. Hopefully, he won't have to use it. Here is the plan if the bill passes:

If the amnesty bill in the Senate passes, The Payback Project is going to work through the end of the primary season to defeat any Republican senator up for reelection in 2008 who votes for it.

Some of the ways we're going to do that include,

* Googlebombing the targeted senators with negative articles (I know some people are claiming Googlebombing no longer works. They may be right. But, my expectation is that it will work fine because they were saying the exact same thing last year and it worked like a charm).

* Writing articles like this about each targeted senator, "What Republicans in South Carolina should know before they vote for Lindsey Graham."

* Making YouTube videos similar to these aimed at the targeted senators.

* Building up or acquiring in-state email lists of Republicans to use in an effort to convince as many Republicans as possible in the targeted states not to vote for the targeted senators.

* Making ourselves freely available to the local press to explain, as conservatives, why Republicans shouldn't support the targeted senators.

* Raising money for viable challengers to targeted senators.

Our goal will be to either defeat these senators in the 2008 primaries or, if that's not possible, to cause enough early damage to cost them 5k-10k votes in the general election.

The point of that will either be to put more senators willing to listen to us into office or hurt the targeted senators enough that the GOP will never go against the base again on an issue this important.

Keep the pressure on. Keep fighting. With any luck, this bill will die in the Senate.

Duncan Hunter on immigration at last night's debate

I'm behind Hunter for President in 2008 all the way -- ever since I learned of him, I felt that he was the one we need right now to lead this country. His three core principles are a strong national defense, enforceable borders, and fair trade. He has been very vocal in opposition to the shamnesty plan Kennedy and McCain are trying to force through, and here he is at last night's debate about illegal immigration and the "jobs Americans won't do":



One of the best responses of the night.

Democratic debate tougher than cotton balls!

CNN and Wolf Blitzer hosted the Democratic debate last night, with the usual puffball soft questions, designed to let it as obvious as possible how much each candidate hates our troops, democracy, and America. Pull out of Iraq now! Socialize, socialize, socialize! We must submit to the UN!

One of the best parts (for me, anyways), was when Hillary Clinton disagreed with John Edwards about the global war on terror being a "bumper sticker slogan" because... she's a New Yorker , and has seen first hand the effects of terror.

Since when is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she have to purchase property in New York in order to hold a Senate seat there because she isn't a New Yorker? And does this mean that those of us not in New York are unable to comprehend how horrific 9-11 was?

Then there was John Edwards' line, "I don't know if I know what a rich person is!"

Gee, John, could it be someone who spends $400 on a haircut, and then an additional $225 at a spa and salon called the "Pink Sapphire" in "services"? Or maybe someone who made their living chasing ambulances and charging ridiculous fees pretending to be the advocate for the little guy?

Only two candidates -- Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel -- had the guts to mention that Clinton and Edwards both voted for the war initially.

At the end of the debate, each candidate was asked what they would do in their first 100 days of office. John Edwards said he would travel the world to "re-establish America's moral authority" -- because, ya' know, John Edwards just has so many morals! And the first 100 days as president of America should not be spent in... America!

Clinton and Obama both said bringing the troops home from Iraq, although Obama added in national health care. Hillary didn't need to, because we all know how she feels about health care.

Kucinich had the realistic goal of "reshaping the world for peace" and ending ALL nuclear weapons, everywhere! After he's done with that, he and Miss America will braid each other's hair and have a pillow fight.

Other responses included a $40k a year minimum wage for teachers (Richardson), and more ending the war in Iraq (Biden).

Some oddball answers were "restoring constitutional rights" to the country (Dodd), and not actually ending the war in Iraq, but simply reminding congressional leaders that they should (Gravel).

Funnily enough, although Shrillary said she'd pull out our troops now, she still refuses to admit that her vote was wrong. Whatever's most popular at the time, eh, Hillary? Oh, and she also mentioned her husband, saying, "Bill Clinton, my dear husband, would be sent around the world as a roving ambassador." Ugh.

Each candidate also said they'd get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military as well.

Maybe next time, the Democrats will actually get asked real questions... like whether John Edwards prefers cherry or strawberry lip bloss better.

Stop Amnesty Now

Hot Air always amazes me. Those people are brilliant -- I wish I came up with this stuff.

The RNC has seen their donations drop by 40%, as Americans angrily try to fight against the amnesty for 12 million illegal immigrants that the White House seems so desperate to force on us. But why? That's what I don't understand. This bill is unpopular on both sides of the political fence. They want to give this country away to a bunch of people waving Mexican flags, sending money back to Mexico, refusing to speak English, and refusing altogether to assimilate in any way, shape, or form. Wherever there is a large influx of illegal immigrants, a large influx of crime -- and especially violent crime -- seems to follow. And what will happen to national security when our borders are wide open, free for anyone to penetrate?

How are we supposed to get through to the idiots in Washington, when even drastically cutting back their money doesn't do it?

Don't stop -- keep the pressure on Washington. Hot Air is asking everyone to Join the Cero Peso Campaign.



This is a document with four cero peso notes, free for you to print out and send to the RNC. And while you're at it, send it to the Democrats, too.

Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington DC 20003

Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Also, don't forget to sign Rep. Eric Cantor's No Amnesty Petition:

The rule of law is vital to the success and character of our nation.

I strongly urge our nation's leaders to oppose the Ted Kennedy Amnesty Bill currently being considered by the United States Senate.

Almost two decades ago, amnesty was attempted - it failed. Repeating that mistake will do nothing to secure our borders today.

America's insecure borders are an enormous threat to our national security - a liability we can not afford in the struggle against gang violence on our streets or in the Global War on Terror.

We must take steps to secure our border, but amnesty is not the way.

Our message is simple - do not support amnesty.

Keep the pressure on. Don't give up. We can send a message to Washington and stop amnesty in its tracks.

UPDATE:

Rep. and Presidential Candidate Duncan Hunter has a petition to build the border fence:

"It’s all too obvious that America is under threat because its land borders are largely porous and unprotected. In response, last year Congress passed, and the President signed into law, legislation calling for the construction of 854 miles of border fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite this legislative mandate by the U.S. Congress, the Department of Homeland Security recently announced its intention to build only 370 miles of fencing along the border, not the 854 miles required by the legislation. The Kennedy-McCain Amnesty bill, also would cut the 854 miles of fence down to 370.

I wrote the border fence bill and it is not ambiguous. It is not a suggestion. It was passed and signed by the President. It is the law. It has been over six months since we passed that law and only 11 miles have been built. At that rate, it will take us 20 years to build it. If elected President, I will build all 854 miles in six months. In the meantime, it is still the law and the fact that only 11 miles have been built is unacceptable." - Congressman Duncan Hunter

Be sure to sign it.

Sign this petition today

Rep. Eric Cantor has set up a petition for people to sign showing their disapproval of the awesome Teddy Kennedy's amnesty bill. It reads:

The rule of law is vital to the success and character of our nation.

I strongly urge our nation's leaders to oppose the Ted Kennedy Amnesty Bill currently being considered by the United States Senate.

Almost two decades ago, amnesty was attempted - it failed. Repeating that mistake will do nothing to secure our borders today.

America's insecure borders are an enormous threat to our national security - a liability we can not afford in the struggle against gang violence on our streets or in the Global War on Terror.

We must take steps to secure our border, but amnesty is not the way.

Our message is simple - do not support amnesty.

Sign it here.

Hat tip: RightWingNews