Posted by
Tzimisce on Monday, June 25, 2007 2:04:22 PM
Congresses approval ratings are at an all time low. Doesn't matter if you're on the right, the left or in the middle, odds are you're not happy about what Congress is doing right now. Interestingly the media doesn't consider this scream worthy like when the President's poll numbers go down. It's okay though, I'm sure that the lack of coverage over Congress' numbers have nothing to do with politics.
But why are legislative branches numbers so low? Personally I think it's because there are so many issues smashing together at the same time.
When is this immigration bill going to die and stay dead? Just about every poll shows that Americans (especially legal immigrants) are opposed to the amnesty bill that is being hammered through. That said, guess which polls get cited whenever a Congressperson/Senator/News Story comes out?
Senator Lott appearing on the evilest of all places (Fox News) on Fox News Sunday reiterated his support for the bill (even though Fox News only plays the Conservative side of anything) while he was appearing with Diane Feinstein. He went on to chide stupid Americans for not understanding how "tough" the bill is and how much it cracks down on border hoppers.
The problem is we don't believe you Senator. Here our media keeps bringing us all kinds of footage of what they tell us are illegal aliens protesting and marching everywhere - and the cameras sweep past police and ICE agents filing their fingernails while telling us they can't do anything. If you won't even try to enforce the old, lax bill then we have NO confidence that you'll enforce this new bill no matter how tough it is.
They keep telling us they can't find illegals in our society - but someone figured out that there are 12 million here. They should hire that guy to enforce our immigration laws. You know, most criminals be they speeders, murderers, smugglers or whoever hide from law enforcement. In fact, the two most disgusting types of criminals in the eyes of Congress (people who won't pay their taxes and people who run campaign ads during elections) are to be hunted to the ends of the earth without mercy. Tax evaders owe the Government money and no amount of hiding is going to win amnesty for these people.
No one is sure if McCain Feingold Campaign Finance Reform applies to the internet. But to play it safe, law enforcement is going to crack down on these people anyway despite the fact that it's almost impossible to find anyone on the net. Moral of the story is that if it bothered our elected officials, it would be a problem worthy of getting serious on.
Even their response to their critics on this issue exposes their arrogance. Since they can't get the bill past Trent Lott, Barbara Boxer and others are complaining that "talk radio" is defeating their efforts. How DARE the people express their opinions over the public airwaves. I guess it goes without saying that television, film, newspapers and major universities are all in favor of the legislation since no one in Congress is complaining about these outlets. Never mind that the Constitution is *very* clear on this issue - Congress shall pass NO LAW limiting speech. Even the most closed political philosophers agree that the the free speech clause in the United States deals with political topics which Immigration is.
It should surprise no one that I listen to a good chunk of talk radio (I have listened to Air America btw) and every show I hear takes phone calls. And not all of those phone calls are glowing sycophantic butt kissing. A lot of hosts love to take calls from people who disagree. It makes the show much more interesting. Moreover I have heard some hosts speak praise about the immigration bill: Roger Hedgecock and Michael Medved are two.
The idea that talk radio has an audience just sitting around taking their marching orders is insane. True, some hosts give out phone numbers to members of Congress in order to effect policy - but #1) no one is being forced to make the calls and #2) no elected official should be upset when they hear from the voters. Do these people work for us or not? If it's just a bunch of fringe kooks, then you can easily write these people off without fear. Since this bothers so many members of Congress, then my only conclusion is that this bill is unfavorable.
So instead of scrapping the bill, their solution is to silence the people. How is that for twisted logic? The people are supposed to talk about politics in our system, that's what makes the machine work. Our government isn't supposed to regulate political speech for ANY reason. Speech is supposed to be free. If people are "misinformed" about immigration and it's a problem that needs a government fix, are we also going to clean up the "misinformation" about global warming (cause there is a lot of it)? Answer: no. Global Warming nuts vote left wing, so they'll be left untouched.
Who would have thought that illegal aliens would have brought so many issues to a head?