June 21, 2007

Kay Bailey Hutchison Is A No

The vote count on immigration reform has drawn plenty of interest from backers and opponents of the compromise bill. The compromise coalition needs only 15 Republican swing votes in order to gain cloture on the latest version of the bill, and the focus has fallen on a narrow band of Republicans that have offered moderate views on immigration in the past.

One of the key Senators in that group is Kay Bailey Hutchison. Being from Texas, one of the border states most affected by immigration issues, her input on this bill may carry significant weight on the rest of the undecideds. If so, the bill's backers may have a real problem on their hands. A Senate source told me a few minutes ago that Hutchison intends to vote against cloture, and will have a statement to that effect later today.

Keep your eyes and ears open on this development. When it becomes official, she may carry others with her, such as Lamar Alexander and Orrin Hatch.

UPDATE: Fixed the misspelling of Hutchison's name, h/t to CQ commenter Bob.

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Comments (24)

Posted by Phil | June 21, 2007 10:51 AM

Way to go Kay. That's why we love you here in Texas.

Posted by Bill Faith | June 21, 2007 11:13 AM

I don't live in Texas any more but I'm proud to say I voted for Senator Hutchinson when I did. There's an article in today's LAT saying the touchback requirement she wants to add to the amnesty bill would be enough to keep a lot of illegals from applying for legal status. It's a start. I just added an excerpt and link to my 2006.06.21 "No Illegal Left Behind" Roundup .

Posted by BoWowBoy | June 21, 2007 11:13 AM

This is good news if indeed it is true. I will be waiting for her announcement. Hopefully it will be on cloture and not on support of the bill if it reaches the floor of the Senate.

This doesn't necessarily keep the bill from coming to the floor .......the back room negotiators may already have the votes for cloture allowing KBH a pass.

If she does vote against cloture .....I will be the first one to thank her. Cornyn too.

Keep those phones and faxes ringing ...............

Posted by RBMN | June 21, 2007 11:21 AM

I'm waiting for Ted Kennedy to announce, tearfully, "I was wrong, we have to disaggregate the elements of this Immigration bill, because I know that once we have a tight Southern border, everyone in Congress will be ready to get to work on regularization and a path to citizenship." Should I hold my breath for that to happen? :-)

Posted by Bob | June 21, 2007 11:29 AM

Her name is H-U-T-C-H-I-S-O-N!

Spell it correctly!

Posted by Jay | June 21, 2007 11:32 AM

From Terence Jeffrey, www.townhall.com

He would need to have been the hardest working boy in America, for -- according to documents that employers filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) -- his efforts were not merely Herculean, they were miraculous.

He was born in September 1991, and by the time he was 7 -- according to W-2 reports bearing his Social Security Number (SSN) -- he had taken multiple jobs. From 1998 to 2001, employers filed more than 3,900 W-2s using his SSN.

In fact, past SSA inspector general reports have discovered that certain employers, year after year, file massive numbers of W-2s that bear fraudulent SSNs or valid SSNs that don't belong to the employee using it. These W-2s go into what SSA calls the Earnings Suspense File (ESF), where SSA deposits what it calls "no-match" W-2s.

About 9 million of these are filed per year, and SSA Inspector General Patrick O'Carroll told Congress last year "the chief cause" of them "is unauthorized work by non-citizens."

Posted by NahnCee | June 21, 2007 11:38 AM

I'm confused. I thought Dubya was pushing for this stupid bill because it would help big business back in Texas to meet their cheap labor requirements. So that when he goes home after he's done being President, he will be *welcomed* in Texas as a good old boy looking out for their best interests.

So now you're telling me that Texans are just as pissed off about this stupid legislation as everyone else is?

Posted by TomHeard | June 21, 2007 11:51 AM

I have sent several letter via e-mail to both her and Senator Cornyn and posted their replies on my blog. I felt pretty sure she would come out against this and still hold out hope that Cornyn will too.

Posted by retire05 | June 21, 2007 11:56 AM

I'm in Kay Bailey's district. I can't tell you have many of us have called her offices (all of them) and told her "NO" to the Shamnesty Bill. We Texans have been dealing with higher and higher property taxes in order to provide class room space for school districts that are overloaded with illegal, non-English speaking students.
Just how big a burden, with 2 million illegals already living in Texas, are the Texas taxpayers expected to carry?
This bill could be called "The We Are Not Going To Enforce The Laws We Enacted Previously Bill". That is what we are being told, that without this bill, nothing will be done about the problem. We are being held hostage by a group of back room dealers who think (like Lindsey Graham) that they are so much smarter than those who voted them into office while we peons deal with the realities of illegal immigration and they live in their gated communities. Hell, Teddy Kennedy has not even bothered to met with the Border Patrol down on the border. But he knows better than the boots on the ground who put their lives on the line everyday against smugglers, illegal drug runners and other criminals.
Want to know what the real border is like?
Google "rape tree".

Posted by james23 | June 21, 2007 12:37 PM

apropos of the comment of retire 05 above, one of the things that has interested me about this issue, in those rare moments when the anger subsides, is that border state politicians are NOT leading the charge to torpedo amnesty and get the fence built. We read routinely about shootings, fires and various war-like incidents on the border, and yet McCain and Kyl, to name just two border state Senators, are two of the biggest obstacles to getting that border closed and under control. Why is that?

I am delighted, if its true, that KB Hutchison has decided she is a NO, but as the Sen. from Texas, shouldn't she be a lock to vote against Amnesty and in favor of all necessary means to close and control the border?

Posted by banding | June 21, 2007 12:42 PM

Senator Hutchison is thinking about a run for Texas governor in 2010. Let’s go Texans…tell KBH that Texans won’t elect a pro amnesty governor! Also make sure you tell her a vote for cloture is no different than a vote for amnesty. Email or fax her every day and let her know how you think.

Posted by retire05 | June 21, 2007 1:03 PM

james23, you must rememer that Texas is a "right to work" state. Simply put, that means that a company cannot force a worker to join the union in order to work. It also means that big business, who are the largest donors to the RNC, have an unending supply of cheap labor. Everyone in the trades (carpentry, plumbing, sheetrocking, electrical) has a) started hiring illegals to remain competetive and increase profits or b) gone into business like remodeling for themselves. No carpenter can work for the wages being paid by companies like CenTex Homes.
Check out the Texas Employers For Immigration Reform web site and see the list of who are members; poulty plants (at least three), restraurant owners, construction companies, lawn services and Hispanic groups. Their list of members tells you all you need to know about big business in Texas.
Enforcing current laws against dishonest employers who hire illegals would put a major crimp in their profit margin.

Posted by Michael McCullough | June 21, 2007 1:26 PM

So now you're telling me that Texans are just as pissed off about this stupid legislation as everyone else is?

Probably more. I have a nice, but not extravagant home in a Dallas suburb (it would probably go or $700,000 in LA but it cost me quite a deal less here). Since I live in Dallas County, I pay more than $2,000 a year in taxes that support free local clinics and Parkland Hospital. According MSNBC, about 70% of the babies born there each year are born to illegal immigrants.

We want our borders secure and we want them secured now. Next, we want any illegal immigrant who has committed a felony to be shipped back where they came from. Then I'm willing to talk about a worker program.

I hate the current amnesty bill but I do have a lot of sympathy for illegal aliens since I have worked in a church ministry to teach them English as a second language. Mexico is a horrible place and, if I lived there, I would get the US as quickly as I could.

Further, I'm all for having people to be able to read, write, and speak English fluently before giving them citizenship. People from some cultures assimilate as quickly as they can while other refuse to assimilate for generations. We need to encourage people to assimilate.

Posted by retire05 | June 21, 2007 1:51 PM

Michael McCullough, while I respect your Christian values that causes you to have sympathy for those who are less fortunate than we are, I have to ask you this one question: if the United States became an oppressive nation and our system of government continued to prevent it's citizens from acheiving their highest potential, would you fight to change that or would you leave and go to another nation that was less oppressive? I would like to think that your 1776 heritage would kick in and you would fight to end the oppression here.
You are having sympathy for a group of people who are not willing to fight for their rights in their own nations. Instead, they show disrespect for ours, demand rights they are not entitled to as non-citizens and insist we change our ways to suit their socialist and semi-socialist view points. Foreign born Latinos [especially] have a Pan-Am socialist view point and until their own nations change, they will not change.
One other thing; are you aware that a working knowledge of reading, writing and speaking English is already a requirement for citizenship in the United States?

Posted by kgibsong | June 21, 2007 2:45 PM

HOLD on....Is she voting NO on Cloture, just so she can get her amendment added? Or, is she dropping her 'touch back' scheme amendment and announding she'll vote NO against the Bill?


Posted by Labamigo | June 21, 2007 2:49 PM

Cornyn will not vote for cloture.

He is up for re-election in '08 and has already drawn one John Edwards type mega millionaire trial lawyer for an opponent.

Cornyn needs every GOP vote he can possibly squeeze out.

Posted by Maverick Muse | June 21, 2007 3:00 PM

Illegal aliens are extortionists. Our carpet bagger politicians are their cohorts and absolutely need a reality check to see past their own insider noses. We KNOW that comprehensive immigration reform is the shattering of the dam preventing the reservoire from flooding and destroying established civilization. The illegal aliens are not "living in the shadows" today because the ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE ENJOYING THE SHADE. If they were living in the shadows, they would not be using our hospitals, our schools, our social services, and clogging our entire system of government--all three branches. They have already reaped the benefits of their criminal behavior and certainly do not "deserve" any more benefits than they have already illegally taken. Our carpet bagger politicians and business tycoons must pay the piper for all of the woes THEY HAVE PROMOTED by refusing to uphold their legal duties. The illegal aliens have already proven their willfull disregard of any law that inconveniences them, just as politicians continue to prove that they will not perform their official responsibilities. Our carpet bagger politicians have their own disregard of any law that inconveniences them; and unfortunately, they have the opportunity to revise and reform law to suit their own corrupt interests, ALWAYS AT THE SEVERE EXPENSE OF THE WORKING AMERICAN CITIZEN. Everyone involved has the power to promote their cause with polished propaganda. At this point, Bush/McCain propaganda only resounds to smartly idiotic sophisticates who abuse the system to their own advantage, all belonging to the same category that disregard any inconvenient law. America has every good reason to DEPORT ILLEGAL ALIENS ACCORDING TO LAW and absolutely no reason to allow any illegal alien to stay in the USA. Those who would argue are the hypocrites who would never invite the illegal aliens into their own home or into the house next door and personally pay for the illegal aliens' health care, education, and legal expenses.

It is absolutely the responsibility of our government to deport illegal aliens. It is the sole responsibility of anyone and everyone to apply for permission and receive acceptance from the US government PRIOR to entry. I agree with the talk show host who said that America needs a legislative time-out on immigration to sort it all out in plain sight while our government PROVES BORDER SECURITY ENFORCEMENT that includes deportation of illegal aliens before any reform occurs.

KBH decried the "status quo" the other Sunday on Fox News. ALL of our Senators had better realize that to Americans, the "status quo" refers to our government's neglect of official duty, the lack of responsibility that our officials exhibit, failing their inconvenient official duties in favor illegal gain. To Americans, "status quo" refers to Congress' carpet bagger shenanigans. This legislative reform will further distance those with responsibility from performance of duty and will distance them further from our ability to take them to task. Their hoax of a cure-all will exacerbate every problem inflicted upon citizens at the bequest of illegal aliens who disdain regard for law. THAT is status quo.

ENFORCE THE LAW.
SECURE THE BORDER.
REQUIRE LEGAL ENTRY.
DEPORT ILLEGAL ALIENS.

Posted by kgibsong | June 21, 2007 3:06 PM

I'm not surprised she's voting NO on cloture. She wants a chance to add her precious 'touch back' scheme to the bill. Then, she'll vote YES.

Posted by NahnCee | June 21, 2007 5:13 PM

...I do have a lot of sympathy for illegal aliens since I have worked in a church ministry to teach them English as a second language. Mexico is a horrible place and, if I lived there, I would get the US as quickly as I could.

Two comments:

1. what would happen if they worked as hard at making Mexico a decent place, as they do trying to get here to fleece Americans out of whatever they can get?

2. how many of the people you are working with to teach English are still sending money "back home"? As long as they're doing that, it tells me that they don't consider themselves to be American, so why should I?

Posted by ReynoldsSterling | June 21, 2007 5:47 PM

I like Fred and Kay for the POTUS and VP in 2008.
Glad she has decided in a way that would make that combo a nice package!

Posted by msr | June 21, 2007 8:24 PM

Senator Hutchinson's statement is posted at http://hutchison.senate.gov/pr062107c.html

To NahnCee's comment above, "what would happen if they worked as hard at making Mexico a decent place" - would that they could! Remember large slices of this immigrant population is among the poorest of the poor in Mexico. Five hundred years of entrenched and corrupt autocracy have not been displaced by the trappings of democracy.

This is why I have written my congressional representative and told her that if some sort of amnesty is to be enacted that the political price for it must be paid by Mexico. My recommendation is that, as a minimum, we annex 20% of Mexico's territory. If we're going to get that "North American Union", whether we want it or not, it needs to be under US law.

Posted by PJM | June 21, 2007 11:54 PM

I'm confused. I thought Dubya was pushing for this stupid bill because it would help big business back in Texas to meet their cheap labor requirements. So that when he goes home after he's done being President, he will be *welcomed* in Texas as a good old boy looking out for their best interests.

So now you're telling me that Texans are just as pissed off about this stupid legislation as everyone else is?"

Yes we are!! 99% of us Texan conservatives/Republicans are American patriots and rule-of-law conservatives who are grealty offended by this bait-and-switch same that pretends to improve immigration enforcement but actually undermines it completely with this costly and dangerous Z visa amnesty/legalization.

This amnesty repeats the mistakes of 1986 on a grand scale, as Senators Cornyn and Hutchison have warned.
It undermines rule of law in immigration, invites huge fraud in amnesty applications and further illegal
immigration via weak document requirements and a mere 24-hour turnaround on provisional acceptance;
it crowds out higher-skill legal immigrants, and creates a massive increased burden on taxpayers
($2.5 Trillion estimate from Heritage) and huge unfunded mandates on states and local Governments.
And for what, exactly? CBO has indicated that illegal immigration in the next 10 years
will still be significant with this bill, reduced only 25% - a huge amnesty, but more illegal immigration. Pathetic!

The Z visa amnesty program is a slap in the face to legal immigrants, taxpayers,
and anyone who cares about the rule of law.

That leaves a remaining 1% of people who are hooked like addicts on the cheap illegal immigrant labor (not to mention the la raza leftists who want this to create an ethnic leftist powerbase in "La Reconquista"/Aztlan zone - but zero of them are Republicans). ... Oh, and George W Bush, who favors it because he once had an amazing mexican nanny and thinks he owes one for mexico (I cant imagine any other reason that makes more sense).

I am glad to see Hutchison line up with the 99% and not the %1 (who donate more than 1% of the money, hence the problem for the GOP).

PS "HOLD on....Is she voting NO on Cloture, just so she can get her amendment added? " NO NO NO... THE REAL VOTE FOR/AGAINST THE BILL IS THE CLOTURE VOTE. EVERYONE WHO VOTES "AYE" ON HARRY REID'S CLOTURE MOTION IS BUYING INTO REID'S SCUMMY SCAM PROCESS AND THE BILL. To vote AYE on cloture is to move this bill forward and to be a sellout to America.

Posted by Carol Herman | June 22, 2007 12:33 AM

Trent Lott is proving yet again that he's an idiot.

First off, how does he know there are 60 votes? You mean ALL the Bonkey senators are suicidal?

Or, isn't it possible that Trent Lott LIES A LOT!

How did Trent Lott get to be minority whip? Well, he wanted the minority chair; and he didn't get it. So there was a deal. And, McCain PUSHED for Lott.

Yes, McCain is going down. Today his "express bus" got newly named THE DOUBLE-SPEAK. Isn't quite the same trip he took at his lat go-round.

But, ya know what? McCain still has more people who'd vote for him, than Hillary happens to have.

And, we keep looking at this as if everything moves along ONE PATH. No upsets. Sorry. The future is full of haphazard upsets.

But you'd think senators on the GOP side wouldn't have been so fast seating Trent Lott where he attracts attention, again.

He's got 60 votes; and I'm Miss America.

Posted by Maverick Muse | June 22, 2007 7:47 AM

Friday

RE: KBH
"HOLD on....Is she voting NO on Cloture, just so she can get her amendment added? Or, is she dropping her 'touch back' scheme amendment and announding she'll vote NO against the Bill?"
Posted by: kgibsong at June 21, 2007 2:45 PM
--That's my concern as well.

RE: Lott
"He's got 60 votes; and I'm Miss America."
Posted by: Carol Herman at June 22, 2007 12:33 AM
LOL. Lott is a vaudeville pro--he can sing and dance his way through and out of anything, even while the hooked cane drags him off stage amid the loud audience boo and hiss of rejection. His problem today is that American voters won't swallow his camel or kiss his bedonkeydonk pig, no matter his "finesse" presentation.

RE: VOTERS for Cornyn or any politician--
A bird in hand is better than two in the bush.

BTW
At least one Congressman's official online government website omits "immigration" as a topic of concern for communication with his constituents.