If there were political booby prizes handed out each year — something like the Razzies for the Beltway set — the award for Worst Legislation Proposed by a Democrat this year would have to go to Heath Shuler’s misbegotten "SAVE Act, an attempt to pass a "deportation only" approach to the immigration issue. Of course, it not only reflects the worldview of the anti-immigrant wing of the party, headed by Rahm Emanuel, but it’s a profoundly bad piece of legislation.
Among its more awful provisions, you may recall, are "verification" measures that essentially would require every American to get an OK from the federal government every time they get a new job or change jobs.
Let’s face it: Not only is SAVE a bad piece of policy (more on that shortly) it’s also incredibly shortsighted politically — it’s certain to alienate the very voters (working-class people and Latinos) on whom the Democrats’ electoral future almost certainly depends. It’s also a remarkably dumb piece of politics in the short term: How did Democrats let themselves get dragged so far to the right by a freshman with no previous background in dealing with immigration?
Earlier this month, Republicans tried to force the bill to a floor vote in the House, just before congressional recess, using a discharge-petition maneuver that so far has accumulated 181 signatures — short of the 218 needed.
Some 49 Democrats signed up as cosponsors of the bill, but only eight have signed onto the discharge petition. So with Congress returning this week from recess, there will be a push from the GOP to get the rest of the 41 Democrats to sign on.
But the House leadership — with the support of activists from within the immigrant and labor communities — has been trying to hold the line, keeping the bill in committee for the time being. The question is how much longer they’ll be able to do that without hearing more from their constituents.
At the bottom of this post, you’ll find a complete state-by-state list, including contact information, of the 41 Democrats being wooed to sign the discharge petition. Many of them are vulnerable Dems running in conservative districts, and a number of them have been feeling pressure to let the bill go to a vote.
We’re urging every reader who opposes this bill to check the list for members of Congress from their own districts or states, and then write or phone them directly to tell them how you feel.
It’s been clear, as things have gone along, that Shuler — who was described this week by National Republican Congressional Committee chair Tom Cole ("with a certain envy") as "to the right of Genghis Khan" — is uninterested in discussion or negotiation. Because he has the complete backing of the nativist wing of the Republican Party, including Tom Tancredo and Rep. Brian Bilbray, his co-sponsor, he has stormed full speed ahead in pushing the bill forward.
Because it has remained bottled up in committee, Shuler has been complaining (somewhat dishonestly, as Howie Klein observes) that somehow John McCain is to blame. But the reality is that members of his own caucus are determined to hang onto the bill.
"It’s just really stupid politics," says Clarissa Martinez of the National Council of La Raza. "For now, it’s not about how far Democrats are willing to go to protect Blue Dog Democrats, now it’s about, OK, you have one freshman who’s actually making you more vulnerable."
NCLR’s leaders, as well as the SEIU and other interest groups, have been leading the charge against SAVE, for obvious reasons: It’s simply another legislative attempt to scapegoat working-class people, Latinos especially, for a problem created by the status quo of immigration law. And with its fetish about "securing the borders," it’s singularly ineffective: It doesn’t even begin to address, for instance, the undocumented workers who come to the U.S. legally and simply overstay their visas — people who constitute nearly half of the so-called "illegal immigrant" workforce.
"We’re worried about what Mr. Shuler is trying to do," says Martinez. "In terms of the discharge petition, we’re hoping that leadership’s gonna stand strong and not allow that to happen. However, this strong stance also needs to translate to dealing with the substance of the bill and not just the procedural maneuver that’s being used right now to stop it. Our ultimate concern is that substance.
"Obviously, forcing it to the floor without any discussion is problematic, but in this case, there seems to be too much willingness to go along with something that is basically going to result in every American having to ask permission from Washington to get a job or change a job."
There has been some previous discussion of the manifold problems created by Shuler’s bill, notably by Digby, who explained that the bill:
[T]throws even more police power at Homeland Security, tons of money at police agencies, both militarizes AND privatizes the border (a neat trick), empowers the IRS to share information with other agencies and creates a new federal database that contains information about every American worker.
It’s filled with all kinds of neat new requirements for all people who work for a living. If you are a person with two jobs, like a lot of people, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this:
Notification of Multiple Uses of Individual Social Security Numbers
Prior to crediting any individual with concurrent earnings from more than one employer, the Commissioner of Social Security shall notify the individual that earnings from two or more employers are being reported under the individual’s social security account number. Such notice shall include, at a minimum, the name and location of each employer and shall direct the individual to contact the Social Security Administration to submit proof that the individual is the person to whom the social security account number was issued and, if applicable, to submit, either in person or via electronic transmission, a pay stub or other documentation showing that such individual is employed by both or all employers reporting earnings to that social security account number.
The National Immigration Law Center has a complete rundown of the bill’s provisions and the issues at play here. Among other things, SAVE would:
-
- Expand the problem-plagued Basic Pilot electronic employment eligibility verification system (recently rebranded “E-Verify” by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, or DHS) into a nationwide mandatory program for all employers and workers in the economy.
- Convert the Social Security Administration (SSA) “no-match” letter program into a blunt immigration enforcement tool by requiring employers to fire workers with mismatched information unless the workers can fix the problem within 10 days (70 percent of errors in SSA’s database pertain to U.S. citizens).
- Require all individuals who work for more than one employer at the same time to provide proof of employment to SSA before their Social Security account can be credited.
- Override current confidentiality of tax and Social Security information by dumping all reported anomalies such as multiple use of a Social Security number (SSN) and mismatches into a DHS database while providing few if any protections against misuse of such information.
- Continue the exponential but ineffective increase in the number of Border Patrol agents that we have seen in recent years without providing for any balancing protections needed to hold the government accountable for reported abusive practices.
- Continue to pour even more money into infrastructure and technological gadgetry along the southern border without addressing the problems of mismanagement that have tainted the massive contracts that have been let in recent years.
- Expand the scope of activity that can be prosecuted as “alien smuggling” and narrow the protections from such prosecution enjoyed by religious workers.
- Provide incentives for more state and local police to enforce immigration laws. (Police nationwide have been reluctant to embrace such enforcement because it detracts from their core mission of preventing crime and catching criminals.)
- Continue the recent unprecedented increase in immigration incarceration capacity from 27,500 to 35,500 beds while providing for none of the reforms that human rights advocates have urged in response to well-documented abuses in current detention facilities.
It’s also worth remembering, of course, that not only is SAVE endorsed by the Tancredo wing of the GOP, it also enjoys the avid support of FAIR — recently designated a hate group by the SPLC — but also such like-minded souls as the David Duke and Stormfront factions.
"We know that the anti-immigrant folks are definitely stirring the pot on this," says Martinez. "And we know that the strategy on the Republican side to force the discharge petition right before recess was definitely to create that environment."
The current problem, however, lies within the Democratic Emanuel-Shuler faction. "What we’ve heard is that they keep saying to people to go visit them — that in conversations they can be more upfront, and that’s that they need a vote on something. And that’s the pressure to get on board with Shuler — that’s the only vote out there.
"That takes us back to the mother of all conversations on immigration — that when you have a leadership that is not articulating that position and working with its members to articulate its position, you either allow your enemy to define you, which is Republicans are doing by trying to label them soft on immigration, or you allow somebody who has no taste for the substance and is a freshman to be dragging the whole party."
Republicans, Martinez says, are going to put the squeeze on vulnerable Democrats in the coming weeks. And that’s where ordinary citizens come in.
As we suggested, check the following list for representatives within your district or state to whom you can write or phone. (Folks from Pennsylvania and Tennessee will have their work cut out for them.) If there isn’t anyone who fits, feel free to write any or all of those listed in any event. Rather than use any kind of boilerplate, voice your opposition in your own words (and feel free to explore any of the above links to help).
A number of those listed are vulnerable — notably Jerry McNerney, Kristin Gillibrand, Jim Matheson, Ron Klein, Paul Kanjorski, Jason Altmire, and Steve Kagen, all of whom have tough races this fall (Kanjorski, in fact, is running against a rabid nativist). For most of these, simply hearing from constituents and donors who oppose SAVE will give them reason to stand tough, especially if we help them think about how they can frame the immigration debate in a forward-looking way.
Some of them — notably Paul Hodes, Joe Sestak, and Patrick Murphy — are good guys who should be relatively willing to listen to these concerns. One of them — Leonard Boswell — faces a tough primary challenge from a more progressive Democrat (Matthew Grimm at Down With Tyranny has much more on Boswell’s race with Ed Fallon; it seems likely that contacting Fallon could be productive as well). Mark Udall is running for the Senate; and Bud Davis has announced he’s retiring; both should be responsive to pleas to do the right thing here. Likewise, Artur L. Davis — despite his close proximity to Emanuel politically — is bucking for a spot with the Democratic Caucus Leadership, so he should listen to constructive pressure from progressives. And of course, there are Blue Dogs and really not-very-progressive Dems on the list: Allen Boyd, Sanford Bishop, Jim Marshall, Melissa Bean, Baron Hill, Charles Melancon, Bart Stupak, David Boren, and Zachary Space. Your mileage may vary regarding the effectiveness of contacting them, but it never hurts for them to hear from the progressive side.
Others are fence-sitters who don’t face particularly tough challenges this fall: Marion Berry, Mike Ross, Ed Perlmutter, Peter Visclosky, Michael Arcuri, Brian Higgins, Tim Ryan, Robert Brady, John Murtha, Tim Holden, Lincoln Davis, Jim Cooper, Gordon Bart, John Tanner, Ciro Rodriguez, Rick Boucher, and Brian Baird. These folks will probably need the most bucking up of any group.
The important thing is to make contact and let them hear that there are plenty of Americans, plenty of their constituents, who want them to do the right thing and get a spine in the face of this kind of destructive legislation.
The list:
ALABAMA
5th District:
Robert E. (Bud) Cramer Jr.
2184 Rayburn House Office Building 2184 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0105
Phone: (202) 225-4801
Fax: (202) 225-4392
7th District:
Artur Davis
208 Cannon House Office Building 208 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0107
Phone: (202) 225-2665
Fax: (202) 226-9567
ARKANSAS
1st District:
Marion Berry
2305 Rayburn House Office Building 2305 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0401
Phone: (202) 225-4076
Fax: (202) 225-5602
4th District:
Mike Ross
314 Cannon House Office Building 314 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0404
Phone: (202) 225-3772
Fax: (202) 225-1314
CALIFORNIA
11th District:
Jerry McNerney
312 Cannon House Office Building 312 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0511
Phone: (202) 225-1947
Fax: (202) 225-4060
COLORADO
2nd District:
Mark Udall
100 Cannon House Office Building 100 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0602
Phone: (202) 225-2161
Fax: (202) 226-7840
7th District:
Ed Perlmutter
415 Cannon House Office Building 415 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0607
Phone: (202) 225-2645
Fax: (202) 225-5278
FLORIDA
2nd District:
F. Allen Boyd
1227 Longworth House Office Building 1227 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0902
Phone: (203) 225-5235
Fax: (202) 225-5615
22nd District:
Ron Klein
313 Cannon House Office Building 313 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-0922
Phone: (202) 225-3026
Fax: (202) 225-8398
GEORGIA
2nd District:
Sanford D. Bishop Jr.
2429 Rayburn House Office Building 2429 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1002
Phone: (202) 225-3631
Fax: (202) 225-2203
8th District:
Jim Marshall
504 Cannon House Office Building 504 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1003
Phone: (202) 225-6531
Fax: (202) 225-3013
ILLINOIS
8th District:
Melissa L. Bean
318 Cannon House Office Building 318 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1308
Phone: (202) 225-3711
Fax: (202) 225-7830
IOWA
3rd District:
Leonard L. Boswell
1427 Longworth House Office Building 1427 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1503
Phone: (202) 225-3806
Fax: (202) 225-5608
INDIANA
1st District:
Peter J. Visclosky
2256 Rayburn House Office Building 2256 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1401
Phone: (202) 225-2461
Fax: (202) 225-2493
9th District:
Baron P. Hill
223 Cannon House Office Building 223 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1409
Phone: (202) 225-5315
Fax: (202) 226-6866
LOUSIANA
3rd District:
Charlie Melancon
404 Cannon House Office Building 404 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-1803
Phone: (202) 225-4031
Fax: (202) 226-3944
MICHIGAN
1st District:
Bart Stupak
2352 Rayburn House Office Building 2352 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-2201
Phone: (202) 225-4735
Fax: (202) 225-4744
NEW HAMPSHIRE
2nd District:
Paul W. Hodes
506 Cannon House Office Building 506 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-2902
Phone: (202) 225-5206
Fax: (202) 225-2946
NEW YORK
20th District:
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
120 Cannon House Office Building 120 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3220
Phone: (202) 225-5614
Fax: (202) 225-1168
24th District:
Michael A. Arcuri
327 Cannon House Office Building 327 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3224
Phone: (202) 225-3665
Fax: (202) 225-1891
27th District:
Brian Higgins
431 Cannon House Office Building 431 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3227
Phone: (202) 225-3306
Fax: (202) 226-0347
OKLAHOMA
2nd District:
Dan Boren
216 Cannon House Office Building 216 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3602
Phone: (202) 225-2701
Fax: (202) 225-3038
OHIO
17th District:
Tim Ryan
1421 Longworth House Office Building 1421 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3517
Phone: (202) 225-5261
Fax: (202) 225-3719
18th District:
Zachary T. Space
315 Cannon House Office Building 315 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3518
Phone: (202) 225-6265
Fax: (202) 225-3394
PENNSYVANIA
1st District:
Robert A. Brady
206 Cannon House Office Building 206 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3801
Phone: (202) 225-4731
Fax: (202) 225-0088
4th District:
Jason Altmire
1419 Longworth House Office Building 1419 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3804
Phone: (202) 225-2565
Fax: (202) 226-2274
7th District:
Joe Sestak
1022 Longworth House Office Building 1022 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3807
Phone: (202) 225-2011
Fax: (202) 226-0280
8th District:
Patrick J. Murphy
1007 Longworth House Office Building 1007 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3808
Phone: (202) 225-4276
Fax: (202) 225-9511
11th District:
Paul E. Kanjorski
2188 Rayburn House Office Building 2188 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3811
Phone: (202) 225-6511
Fax: (202) 225-0764
12th District:
John P. Murtha
2423 Rayburn House Office Building 2423 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3812
Phone: (202) 225-2065
Fax: (202) 225-5709
17th District:
Tim Holden
2417 Rayburn House Office Building 2417 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-3817
Phone: (202) 225-5546
Fax: (202) 226-0996
TENNESSEE
4th District:
Lincoln Davis
410 Cannon House Office Building 410 CHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4204
Phone: (202) 225-6831
Fax: (202) 226-5172
5th District:
Jim Cooper
1536 Longworth House Office Building 1536 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4205
Phone: (202) 225-4311
Fax: (202) 226-1035
6th District:
Bart Gordon
2310 Rayburn House Office Building 2310 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4206
Phone: (202) 225-4231
Fax: (202) 225-6887
8th District:
John S. Tanner
1226 Longworth House Office Building 1226 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4208
Phone: (202) 225-4714
Fax: (202) 225-1765
9th District:
Steve Cohen
1004 Longworth House Office Building 1004 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4209
Phone: (202) 225-3265
Fax: (202) 225-5663
TEXAS
23rd District:
Ciro D. Rodriguez
2458 Rayburn House Office Building 2458 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4323
Phone: (202) 225-4511
Fax: (202) 225-2237
UTAH
2nd District:
Jim Matheson
1323 Longworth House Office Building 1323 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4402
Phone: (202) 225-3011
Fax: (202) 225-5638
VIRGINIA
9th District:
Rick Boucher
2187 Rayburn House Office Building 2187 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4609
Phone: (202) 225-3861
Fax: (202) 225-0442
WASHINGTON
3rd District:
Brian Baird
2443 Rayburn House Office Building 2443 RHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4703
Phone: (202) 225-3536
Fax: (202) 225-3478
WISCONSIN
8th District:
Steve Kagen
1232 Longworth House Office Building 1232 LHOB
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20515-4908
Phone: (202) 225-5665
Fax: (202) 225-5729
Related posts:
- 53 House Progressives Won’t Vote for Blue Dog Compromise
- Public Option Whip Count: Jerry Nadler Goes “Splunge!”
- Blue Dog Letter to Waxman Wants PhRMA Deal to Replace Chairman’s Language in Health Bill
- Just In: AMA Endorses House Version of Health Reform Bill
- Help Us Help Alan Grayson Save Federal Reserve Audit Bill
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
first?
To The Phones!
You’re not seeing the silver lining in this legislation. Suppose that everytime you changed your job or residence you needed to have it approved by a government agency, which charged a paper handling fee for the transaction. It would probably resolve the deficit. It is also very much the way personal serfdom emerged in the early middle ages. What’s not to like?
No, they’ll outsource the processing so the fees will go to private contractors.
I like the way you think, Knut. The only problem is that they would outsource the approval process and let some buddy keep the fee. That buddy would outsource to a foreign country where our data would no doubt be super-secret-secure. But the return of serfdom is right on target.
Great minds think alike.
Bobby G – too many minds thinking alike. ;-)
Curious how the Thugs don’t worry about new layers of government when it occurs in an area they just love.
Stop that! You will owe me a coke before this is over!
Drink water!
“Republicans run for office on the grounds that government is incompetent. Then they get elected to prove it.”
- PJ O’Rourke, Gooper humorist
tw3k, that is so funny!
Incentives like asset forfeiture? Yeah, that’s the ticket. Confiscate everything they own and then toss them out of the country. Afterall it was(is) a favorite tactic in the War on Drugs(TM).
O/T -
INCOMING!!!!
March 31, 2008 [NY POST] — SARAJEVO, Bosnia – The Bosnian girl who famously read a poem to Hillary Rodham Clinton during her 1996 visit to the war-torn country is shocked – and her countrymen infuriated – that the former first lady claimed to have dodged sniper fire that day.
Emina Bicakcic, now 20 and studying to become a doctor, told The Post she stood on the tarmac at the air base in Tuzla, greeted Clinton and even had time to share the lines of verse she’d written – all without fear of attack from an unseen enemy.
“I was surprised when I heard this,” Bicakcic said, referring to Clinton’s assertion that she braved snipers upon landing, ducking and sprinting to military vehicles.
Other Bosnians said they had one of two reactions to Clinton’s debunked action-hero account of her visit: laughter or anger.
“It’s an exaggeration,” said former acting President Ejup Ganic, who was present during Clinton’s visit. “No one was firing. There were no shots fired.”
Sema Markovic, 22, a student, said she has long respected Hillary as a strong leader but was angered by her remarks.
“It is an ugly thing for a politician to tell lies,’ she said. “We had problems for years, and I don’t like when someone lies about them. It makes us look bad.”
Clinton has since admitted she “misspoke.”
Bicakcic, asked if she feared any threat of violence that day, said she felt just the opposite…
Why shouldn’t they outsource this type of processing. After all, as this from the Moonie Times shows they’ve outsourced passport processing. /s
My question is “When/Why did Americans give into fear?”
WHY are you so afraid of other people?
Come on Americans, Its nothing but a power grab,
YOU are Strong and Smart So, WHY are you letting FEAR destroy EVERYTHING your Great Great Granddads, your Granddads, your Fathers, sweated, fought and died for????
This is NOT the United States of ‘Russia’. DAMN-IT, it’s America…..
/end rant
This one of the provisions really fills me with confidence:
Let’s let DHS/TSA straighten out their “no fly list” first, before giving them another data base to screw up, shall we?
Just called Boswell of Iowa. Said the Save act is endorsed by Tom Tancredo for heaven’s sake.
Great write-up, Dave. Thank you.
Oh yes, feudalism, those were the days…..
This is one of the oddest things to have happened in a very odd campaign season. I can’t figure out why Hillary told this lie when it was so easy to disprove and it may very well be the thing that does her in. A rather small thing in this year of ugly politics but it looms so large.
just got off phone with Ciro’s office – will follow up with fax –
couldn’t be anymore disappointed in Patrick Murphy – there’s an earful coming his way
fyi – SEIU is listed over at open secrets as a $5k contributor to Shuler’s 08 cycle – wth ?
Will contact Sestak. Have donated to his campaign in the past. Won’t do it again if he votes for this ugly thing.
Hmmm… permission from the gub’mint (the big-brother one or the drown-in-the-bathtub one?) to change jobs? What’s next Heath… will I need to show my papers to travel? Oh, I already do.
Creeping Fascism. Installment II brought to you by a guy who is as good a congressman as he was a quarterback.
Jeebus. For this I served my country?
Agreed.
Quick! Get that Rev Wright video clip back up on the TeeVee screens!
Seriously, the thing that really drove me even further away from her was her blow-off response to getting called on it.
Her statements on the landing dubbed over the actual landing footage is pretty dang effective.
“What’s next Heath… will I need to show my papers…”
_________
According to the Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Murkins need to re-think privacy and get over the notion of anonymity. The ultimate logical import of his remarks are “your papez pleeze, herr citizen” anytime, anywhere.
My dad left a leg behind on Sicily in WWII taking down that ideology.
Morning all :) I learned to do the DIGG!!!
Completely OT, but how bad is this, my first thought about the semi-trailer/hidden wall was;
Hmmm I wonder ‘which’whos’ company owns the truck and, do they have a ‘fleet’???…wow, I’m getting cynical…
‘Two Michigan men arrested in Colorado on marijuana charges’
officers at a port of entry on Interstate 70 found about 600 pounds of marijuana behind a false wall in their semi- trailer Friday.’
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb…../803310410
First the girl in the 3AM ad and now this. Hillary doesn’t seem to be inspiring many younger women.
Clinton and now Mayor NutterButter did say though that they would’ve left Rev. Wright’s church. Since Hillary wants to start questioning personal decisions such as their church, as my wife said upon hearing this, she would’ve left Bill the first time he cheated on her, let alone the several times after.
Then they have Gavin Newsome campaigning for Hillary over the weekend? Spitzer was supporting her. David Paterson supports her. Bill’s campaigning all over her. Are we to assume Hillary doesn’t have a problem with adultery, but she’s troubled by a Reverend that’s taken out of context? Some judgment.
Yeah, I wasted my misspent youth being a sailor and watching friends die during peacetime so we could “deflect” that ideology from the “horrible” Creeping Red Menace. I’m sure that those who died in all the wars of the 20th century and the ensuing peace serving would be so proud of all the Americans who piss themselves over the very idea of some undocumented worker building houses and cooking fries.
Gee, is there a presidential candidate who can stand up to these fascisti and not pander to their xenophobic rhetoric? Magic 8 ball sez… may be not.
The words that keep running through my head are “with liberty and justice for all ” – maybe not so much any more.
hEY, U SOUND LIKE SUM cOMMIE pINKO!
Thanks, David, for making this convenient for us to take action. Researching each name can be daunting sometimes. Much appreciated.
I like your idea of recognizing the worst legislation by Democrats of the year. Years ago in San Francisco when developers were throwing together anything and calling it a building with the city leaders approval, the people stepped in to address this blight on our lovely city. Each year the newspaper would announce “the ugliest building of the year” built in SF. Basically, with so much publicity and exposing the culprits, we ridiculed and shamed them into taking responsibility to ensure new buildings were aesthetically pleasing.
By the same token, let’s recognize the best legislation of the year.
Just my two cents, again.
Thanks for the excellent post, David. We need to be reminded of this situation every day. Besides that, we have to stop letting the Repub set the agenda. Aren’t we the majority?
Sometimes I am weirdly grateful for my dad’s enfeebling dementia (I am now his legal guardian). The ol’ flight commander — a lifelong Republican — would be aghast at these clowns today.
oh, and could be please get rid of Heath Shuler? Did he play too much football without a helmet?
It’s not to so tough to say it, but the inherent racism of this shitty piece of legislation is just too much. Perhaps the way to kill the bill is for a progressive Democrat to join the Shuler caucus and rename the bill the “No [fill in a racial epithet] Here” so that it has a name reflective of the thinking of Mssrs Shuler and Tancredo. It’s time to start naming these horrid bills for what they do. There is power in words/names and the republicans have controlled that frame for too long. “Patriot Act” “Clean Skies”… you all know the drill.
I wonder how many of the Bush Dogs and even other republicans would be able to stand up in good conscience anywhere outside their own cloistered offices and proclaim they in fact, are opposed to undocumented workers by the racist name they probably use in private.
Twain, unfortunately, too many in “our” majority drank the coolade. They too repeat the status quo. I think they have no idea what other advisers to tap other than the same old stale NeoCons.
Apparently Obama is seen as “some sort of a latte’ drinking man” according to some nitwit on MSNBC.
This nation has collective brain death.
-G
I for one think the SAVE Act should be given the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps if there were a demonstration of its efficacy by say, deporting Shuler, Rahm Emanuel, and Tancredo, I would be willing to give it a second look.
Yeah, I think one of the things that needs to happen with a Democratic Prez and Congress is a restoration of the so-called “Fairness doctrine” to the media. The republicans gutted it for a reason, and it’s served them well, overall a very strategic “win” for them.
I’ll second that! :D
ROTFLMOA Big Time!
LOL!
O/T -
Speaking of Sheik bin al BaraBlackHussienMadrassaOsamaBama, over at
ObamaisTheDevil.comtaylormarsh.com, she has a hilarious clip of Bu’ush getting boo’ed while throwing out the first pitch yesterday.That clip was on the first post of the morning here
Go Attaturk.
Cool. I was still in the sack.
I wonder if Bu’ush will go on to become MLB Commish, so he can ruin baseball like he’s done the nation?
And my uncle, and many more like him, are buried in a field in Belgium fighting this kind of crap!
Hell no, Herr Shuler!
Wasn’t Health one of “ours” – Blue America?
What happened – or did he just lie to us?
Your attitude is noticed, herr citizen.
ahhhhh heath shuler, did he win howie’s contest to target or did chris carney? i voted heath.
a call to action thread, just my cup of tea today, been doing that today.
-ten days to straighten out your ss id or you’re fired…….nothing can be done at ss in 10 days except fill out forms. and that’s if you have an office in your area, and can take off of work to get there.
have a friend who went ’south’ to be a border guard, he quit after two weeks because he didn’t like the treatment the prisoners were getting, said he couldn’t stomach it.
there are too many troubling things that are in this bill to point them all out.
what’s scarier is trying to imagine the mind that put this all together.
truly frightening.
thanks david. helps to have the points of the bill all lined up and ready to read and use.
gonna cost a lot of money to implement each one, anyone notice that part? seems the repubs and the dems would care about that being used against them.
That’s why our work here, (and elsewhere) will never be done.
Yea, well Heath Schumer probably got at least one concussion, and maybe had his mouthpiece knocked out once when getting paid many millions to throw a ball around! That’s sacrifice too! /s
I believe Heath may have been part of ActBlue, which I believe accepted anyone with a Dem label, no matter how Bush Dog they may have been.
Blue America is a subset that pushes for better Dems as vetted by Howie Klein. After having been burned by Chris Carney, Howie is far more particular in applying the Blue Am imprimatur.
I don’t Heathbar was ever a BA candidate. He was quite open about his Rahmish-ness all along.
As I’m hauled away to the concentration camp…
But, but Arbeit macht frei, right…
Thanks for fixing my mind. Knew he was in there somewhere.
It makes me feel better knowing that Howie didn’t pick him. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for this post!
I have just called my own Congresscritter, John (good on everything except impeachment) Olver, plus C’critters Rahm Emmanuel & Heath Schuler about the SAVE Act.
My tack: Americans working two or more jobs will be furious — with Democrats — when they find out that they must prove that they are working their 2nd (and 3rd & 4th) jobs in order for their 2nd, 3rd, 4th job Social Security contributions to be credited.
The provision was news to both Olver’s and Emmanuel’s staffers. It was news to Schuler’s staffer, as well, but he got an explanation from a colleague that only “a few” (his words) Americans would be “inconvenienced,” and that it was aimed at preventing identity theft. My telling him that not “a few” but millions of Americans work two or more jobs did not seem to make an impression. But maybe he is trained to be noncommittal.
Oh, drat. Colleague. Noncommittal. SAVE is still a bad bill.
“Americans working two or more jobs will be furious — with Democrats — when they find out that they must prove that they are working their 2nd (and 3rd & 4th) jobs in order for their 2nd, 3rd, 4th job Social Security contributions to be credited.”
____________
I read an article a while back recounting the rampant fraudulent use of SSNs in Texas and elsewhere for employment. One example was of one SSN begin used by 35 different illegals for employment. The Social Security Administration and IRS know this, but take the position that they’re not in the bidness of confirming just who the real SSN holder is. All the SS and Medicare tax monies withheld pertaining to the bogus users goes into what they call a “suspense account,” meaning the government simply keeps it.
Neat-o.
greenharper
used that same approach in my LTE to Congressman Shuler’s hometown Newspaper – maybe some other firedogs (You BobbyG!) will consider doing the same
LTE link
the founder of the movement, liberation theology or whatever it’s called, that came to the forefront because of rev. wright–is on fresh air with terry gross right now. npr. can get it on the website later, too
When one votes to elect a candidate known to have been the target for the abuse of 20 or more teams a year to beat, hit, slug, and generally attempt to “knock off” his block, then you have to wonder who is smarter? Is it the brain damaged slug looking for the job, or the morons that think electing same is a “good thing”?
Yeah.
Yes, according to this NYT article:
I’ve seen other articles which point out that this keeps SS solvent for many, many years. Not good news for those who want to tell us that SS needs to be privatized to save it.
That is why they are trying to end this point of income to SS.
All over the country, illegal aliens are using bogus SS numbers to gain employment (otherwise they work illegally under the table). Its interesting that the issue of the monies generated by this violation of the law is never mentioned in the MSM. No illegals can collect “their SS benefits”. They just fatten the (bankrupted) treasury.
So now the NYT finally provides an article about the issue. Its been going on hot and heavy for over 10 years.
That one actually from 3 years ago. Must’a slipped in when the editors weren’t looking. ;^)
Enquirer headline says Obama (and the reverend) has a secret plan to Destroy White People.
Just one apropos anecdote:
I am in the middle of a huge hassle with Medicare at the moment relating to my power-of-attorney and guardianship duties toward my ailing geriatric parents. I’ve got this $1,400 ambulance charge that got kicked back and not paid. The ambulance company says that Medicare claims my mother’s “primary coverage” is through “Progressive Insureance,” and that since they declined payment, Medicare will as well.
Assholes. My parents have NO insurance policies with Progressive. My mom is Medicare A and B, United Healthcare (my dad’s retirement indemnity policy), and Tricare for Life (military retireees), in that order.
I am thus far unable to get an actual Medicare person on the phone, after several exasperating, l-o-n-g phone tree tries. In the event I ever do, I’m sure I’ll be told that they can’t deal with it over the phone, ‘cuz they won’t be able to verify my bona fides as POA and guardian.
Yeah, verifying multiple jobs via yet another bureaucracy is gonna be swell.
Here’s a more recent article from Kevin Drum which references this column from our friend, Paul Krugman.
I’ve been through that. IMHO, Medicare refuses to pay any ambulance company charges under any circumstances. The ambulance co charged my deceased father’s estate ($650). I phoned them.
“Medicare won’t pay unless the ride was medically necessary.”
“My father died three days after the ride”, I said. “Seems to me that demonstrates a medical necessity if the man died in the hospital”.
They asked me to send a copy of the death certificate (indicating that they would pursue Medicare for payment). I sent it. Three months later upon settlement of the estate, the bill is still unsettled. I paid it. What are you going do? Pay the attorney $200 per hour to chase down $650?
I agree, the SS was never intended to act as any kind of gatekeeper. It’s purpose is solely to ensure that Americans have some sort of income in their retirement years. Adding functionality to any bureaucratic system results in exponential complications and results in screw-ups such as you are experiencing.
In your case it seems to me that Medicare should have to do all this fact-checking before they deny instead of deny first and make your track it all down.
Good luck (sincerely) with getting them straightened out.
The infuriating part is that these kinds of charges have been paid before by Medicare for previous episodes of care (my mom has been in and out of various medical facilities with increasing frequency since 2004).
The only thing I can think of is that my parents once — long ago — had an auto insurance policy through Progressive. Some clown bureaucrat got ahold of that and let it get into her Medicare file.
Aggghh!!!!
If this is an ongoing mess — not just a problem you’ve had over the last week — a call to the “Constituent Services” staffer in the office of your member of Congress can be quite helpful. Even if you have a hardcore GOP rep, their staffers have orders to help out constituents who have problems like this with government offices.
The fact that your dad left a leg in Sicily will also really motivate that staffer to help you out. They love it when they can call some other govt office and say “this guy is a wounded vet, and you’re screwing him over.”
Seriously, good luck!
Good idea. Thank you.
According to Thomas, there are also two related bills to H.R.4088, “To provide immigration reform by securing America’s borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical employer verification program.” One introduced by Diaper Dave, S.2366, “A bill to provide immigration reform by securing America’s borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical verification program.” And one introduced by Pryor, “S.2368
A bill to provide immigration reform by securing America’s borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical employer verification program.” Haven’t read the text of the two senate bills, but is this some sort of concerted effort?
Chris Shays is on the Tom Tancredo list as well. He’s also vulnerable.Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4] – 2/7/2008.