Cross posted from Freedom Of Philadelphia
Ok, so he and the Amnestocrats failed to get this sham bill down our throats. Looks like he’s not only going to try again but even use a old but nasty Senate rule to get this through. First remember that the Senate is all about rules, rules on who can do what, how to propose an amendment, time limits for speaking etc. Basically what that means is that the Senate has a lot of ways to skin a cat (or get Jorge a green card).
It seems that he’s going to try what’s called a “clay pigeon” maneuver to move this craptastic bill.
Only in the arcane world of the U.S. Senate could a quirky gambit known as a “clay pigeon” make the difference between passage of an important immigration measure and its death at the hands of opponents.
Democratic leaders hope the complex maneuver _ which makes use of the Senate’s labyrinthine rules to insist on votes on amendments _ will frustrate conservatives’ attempts to derail the embattled immigration bill, instead putting it on a fast track to passage next week.
Now let’s put this into plain old English. Basically what Reid is saying is this “you guys are too stupid to stop me, so I’m going to use rules that most don’t know about to cram it down your piehole.”. See he’s going to have his favorite 22 amendments added to the bill, then shoot them like a “clay pigeon” into smaller pieces, let the debate run for awhile and then go for cloture to limit debate. Basically keep people so busy debating all the small pieces of different amendments that they can’t offer their own.
Under the tentative plan, Reid as early as Friday would launch his target _ an amendment encompassing all 22 proposals _ and shoot it into its component pieces. The Senate would then vote on ending debate on the immigration measure, which would take 60 votes and limit discussion of the bill to 30 more hours. After that interval, all 22 amendments would have to be voted on, with little opportunity for foes to interfere.
Ironically, the move is usually used by mavericks _ not leaders _ to slow down legislation, not free it from a procedural thicket.
Well, Reid really isn’t a leader. He’s Pelosi’s lap dog and a tool of special interests and nutroots. Hell if he fought half as hard for winning in Iraq our boys would be home for Christmas.
Here’s what I propose. Vote fast on all the splintered amendments, then offer the poison pill amendment. Offer the amendment if the Z-visa holders move to the states that have the Senators who voted for the bill they will be given a 10,000 tax rebate or something equally horrific. I say this knowing that Specter, from my home state, would be stupid and pompous enough to vote for it anyways. However, there are enough chicken shits in the Senate that they will never get the 60 votes needed. I doubt it would happen that way, but we have to hope for anything we can get. Thank god for the Tancredo amendment in the House, though I hate to have it all come down to the House stopping it.
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration</a> (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.
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