Amnesty Bill Chrashes and Burns...

Well America, you did it! The US Senate this morning voted 4 against advancing the amnesty bill to a vote.The tally was 46 to 53, 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to end debate. Here's the role call:

Alphabetical by Senator Name

Akaka (D-HI), Yea Alexander (R-TN), Nay Allard (R-CO), Nay Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Baucus (D-MT), Nay Bayh (D-IN), Nay Bennett (R-UT), Yea Biden (D-DE), Yea Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Bond (R-MO), Nay Boxer (D-CA), Yea Brown (D-OH), Nay Brownback (R-KS), Nay Bunning (R-KY), Nay Burr (R-NC), Nay Byrd (D-WV), Nay Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Cardin (D-MD), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Clinton (D-NY), Yea Coburn (R-OK), Nay Cochran (R-MS), Nay Coleman (R-MN), Nay Collins (R-ME), Nay Conrad (D-ND), Yea Corker (R-TN), Nay Cornyn (R-TX), Nay Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Nay DeMint (R-SC), Nay Dodd (D-CT), Yea Dole (R-NC), Nay

Domenici (R-NM), Nay Dorgan (D-ND), Nay Durbin (D-IL), Yea Ensign (R-NV), Nay Enzi (R-WY), Nay Feingold (D-WI), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Graham (R-SC), Yea Grassley (R-IA), Nay Gregg (R-NH), Yea Hagel (R-NE), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Nay Hatch (R-UT), Nay Hutchison (R-TX), Nay Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Nay Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting Kennedy (D-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea Kyl (R-AZ), Yea Landrieu (D-LA), Nay Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Leahy (D-VT), Yea Levin (D-MI), Yea Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Lott (R-MS), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea Martinez (R-FL), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Yea McCaskill (D-MO), Nay

McConnell (R-KY), Nay Menendez (D-NJ), Yea Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Murkowski (R-AK), Nay Murray (D-WA), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Nay Obama (D-IL), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Nay Reed (D-RI), Yea Reid (D-NV), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay Salazar (D-CO), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Nay Schumer (D-NY), Yea Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Nay Smith (R-OR), Nay Snowe (R-ME), Yea Specter (R-PA), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Nay Stevens (R-AK), Nay Sununu (R-NH), Nay Tester (D-MT), Nay Thune (R-SD), Nay Vitter (R-LA), Nay Voinovich (R-OH), Nay Warner (R-VA), Nay Webb (D-VA), Nay Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Yea

And here are the 18 senators who switched their votes between Tuesday and Thursday, thanks to your phone calls, e-mails and faxes...the Senate actually had to shut down its' phone system and limit access!

• Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico
• Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Missouri
• Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
• Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas
• Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina
• Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota
• Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine
• Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico
• Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada
• Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
• Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky
• Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
• Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas
• Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska
• Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio
• Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia
• Sen. James Webb, D-Virginia


This should be a clear message to Washington and the political elites that the American people want the borders fixed and to see concrete evidence of enforcement of our laws before they start worrying about immigration issues. Here's one senator who gets it, Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, who said his "no" vote sent a crystal clear message "that the American people want us to start with enforcement, both at the border and at the workplace, and don't want promises. They want action, they want results, they want proof, because they've heard all the promises before."

The sheer arrogance in the way this bill was rushed through the Senate in an attempt to shove it down America's throat before anyone knew what hit them is mindboggling.

And the effort to mix the idea of border security with immigration and economic issues in a post 9/11 world amazes me.It deserved to be defeated.

As with all victories, there will be some consequences. The fact that proponents of this flawed legislation chose to go below the belt by playing the race card and painting those who legitimately questioned this folly as bigots may resonate with part of the Hispanic electorate..and of course, those politicians that threw this garbage into the mix, especially the Republicans, will of course blame the victims of their vitriol if there are any consequences at the polls. And given whose running the senate election campaign committees in both parties, those senators who had the courage to defy the elites and listen to their constituents can expect some spiteful retaliation.

Moreover, the same spitefulness will likely ensure that nothing gets done in terms of border security until the next president takes office...and Dianne Feinstein,Harry Reid, Mel Martinez, Ted Kennedy and Lindsay Graham have promised us as much.

Another thing we can probably look forward to is a real attempt to muzzle talk radio and the internet.The elites dislike it when the light is shined on their attempted back room dealings.

That attempt will undoubtedly be unsuccessful, but as always, freedom carries the burden of watchfulness.

For now, however, we can congratulate ourselves on a well-deserved victory.