Day Sandra Miller Socked it to Senator McCain

The Day Sandra Miller Socked it to Senator McCain

After attending Senator McCain's morning Town Hall
yesterday, I was so disgusted at the way the local
politicians censored citizen questions that I abandoned
the idea of attending the evening session.
The Tempe mayor laid down the ground rules:
only questions and no "speeches" (which obviously included statements that disputed McCain's claims).

It was a royal sham from the word go, just like Bush press conferences. I'm sure it was packed with McCain
toadies, because they started a standing ovation
when he walked in and of course most people joined
in (with a few exceptions like me).

Thanks to my friend Annette, who encouraged me
to accompany her to the evening session, where the
McCain held a real Town Hall rather than the stage
production choreographed by Hizzoner the Tempe mayor.

But the Tempe experience revealed the one-liners and
sound-bytes McCain used to promote his amnesty and
discourage any disagreement. In promoting his bill (that he carefully avoided calling an "amnesty"), he said
there were only 3 options (1) maintain the status quo, (2) allow them to stay or (3) a mass roundup, which he
dismissed as impossible claiming the busses needed
would stretch from San Diego to Alaska. Twice
in the morning at the Tempe session and at least three times in the evening, he challenged the audience,
"If you have another solution, give it to me and I promise to take it to the Senate for review." Of course
that was just another of his ill-advised challenges
used to condescendingly dismiss anyone who disagrees,
secure in his arrogance that no one will dare to call his bluff. The recent "$50 per hour lettuce-picker
jobs" are just another example.

In justifying the need for amnesty, he cited that
the dictionary defined amnesty as "forgiveness" that
required allowing them to remain in the US, dismissing
any disagreement with the one-liner "Then you're
reading a different dictionary than I am."

It was a real achievement to even get a turn at the mike, because the country club ballroom at Sun Lakes retirement community was jammed, at least 1500 people.
Thanks again to Annette and two elderly ladies who
kept poking the aide with their canes to remind him
he promised me a turn at the mike.

Finally my turn came. I took a deep breath and jumped in, determined to keep going even if he tried to interrupt
and talk over me:

"Senator, I'll begin by answering a question you've asked several times this evening, and then I have a question of my own." You've asked for an alternate plan for dealing
with the 11 million illegal aliens in the US, and that plan has been documented by Mark Krikorian of Center for
Immigration Studies in D.C. It's called "Attrition
through Enforcement," and it sets out a 'comprehensive' strategy well known to Congressman Tom Tancredo of
Colorado and the House Immigration Reform Caucus.
The plan has been summarized very succintly and clearly
by Mike Cutler, retired from 27 years' service in
Treasury, Customs and INS, who often says
"Nobody breaks into the amusement park when the rides are closed."

"So Senator, you close down the rides--crack down
on the employers as you promised to do 20 years ago when you voted for the "one time amnesty," end the publicly-
funded benefits to illegal aliens and their families
as we did with Prop 200, end the government grants to agencies who help illegal aliens like Catholic Charities and
Arizona Interfaith, and end the "anchor baby" citizenship nonsense that enables illegal alien families to
"piggy-back" on their U.S.-born children. And Senator, that won't require a constitutional amendment
as you claim--we need only to pass HR 698, introduced earlier in the session by Congressman Charlie Norwood of GA.
If you're not familiar with these provisions, I know that Congressman Tom would welcome the opportunity to outline
the option with you. So that leaves you to show whether
you're a man of your word and will take the option for Senate consideration as you've promised."

"Now for my question, Senator. The agencies that will be responsible for administering and enforcing
your McCain-Kennedy Amnesty
(and it IS an amnesty, Senator)..."

He then interrupted with a condescending one-liner
that he used at the morning session, "..then you're
reading a different dictionary than I am..." to which I replied, "Senator, I don't used dictionaries to read laws. I read this law in United States Code Title 8, Section 1324."

Although I wasn't watching McCain, my friend
Annette told me he'd been pacing up to then,
but when I didn't back down at his dismissive
comments, his face began to get red and she commented
that it was obvious he was mad. She also said
that the room went dead quiet; perhaps the audience
was eager to see how McCain would react. I'm amazed
that he didn't continue talking over me, but perhaps
like most bullies, they back down when they find
someone who isn't intimidated by them.

But I knew that stooping would mean losing control
of the mike, and continued on:

"And Senator, Section 1324 defines illegal presence
in the U.S. and prescribes only 1 penalty for illegal
presence in the U.S.--deportation."

"The two Dept of Homeland Security agencies charged with insuring compliance are CIS--Citizenship &
Immigration Services and ICE--Immigration & Customs Enforcement. Their historical incompetence and
non-performance of their job is well-documented by
the GAO back to 1995, they were charged by Congress to eliminate the three-million applicant backlog by the
end of FY 2006, and their report last November
plainly stated that new laws, such as a guest-worker plan, would seriously hinder accomplishing that objective.
Corruption was added to bungling and incompetence
when the CIS Security Chief resigned, blowing the
whistle on bribes to CIS employees in the form of
money, gifts and sexual favors."

"Senator, these are the same people who mailed automatic renewals of student visas to flight schools for
students killed in the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks
on New York and D.C. Senator, how do you expect
Americans to believe that your promises of enforcement
will be fulfilled by such people?"

When I finished, I was dry and had to find a water
fountain. I heard just enough of his reply to hear
him say he was familiar with "my" plan and wasn't going
to take it back to the Senate. He diverted the subject by
telling how the Irish had difficulties when they first
came to America but eventually assimilated. He never
answered my question of how agencies that can't and won't enforce current laws can enforce new ones.

Several people slapped me on the back as I left the room looking for water, one had even attended the morning
session in Tempe and said, "You said exactly what I wanted to but couldn't."

I returned to the room just as the meeting ended,
and met Annette out in the lobby. But the best part was to come: a couple approached me and the man asked, "Do
you work in immigration because you know about the subject?" When he learned I'm a computer analyst, he asked where I learned what I know, I told him I grew up in Southern California--the best classroom there is.

I learned he was a former ICE chief for their Phoenix
office, so it was a real compliment when a front-line professional says something like that.

On the drive home when Annette told me how mad McCain
had become when I didn't back down from his condescending treatment, the effort in attending that night became worth it.

During the meeting, about 90 percent of the questions/comments were on immigration, maybe even more. Any supporters of McCain's amnesty bill were quiet that night, because everyone speaking on immigration opposed his amnesty. It's clear that despite the overwhelming voter opposition, it didn't change McCain's determination to shove this down our throats, just as he did in 1986.

Arizonans can't vote him out of the Senate for another 4 years, but he has other plans--the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. Americans in other states don't know
the real John McCain like Arizonans do, but we have two years to educate them. I'm sure his stubborn insistence on
this illegal alien amnesty will raise his visibility with Americans on an issue that he probably prefers would have remained "low-profile."

When McCain originally took his "pro-illegal alien amnesty" position several years ago, I'm sure they expected
this amnesty to sail through Congress easily. I doubt he expected to have the issue become the hot and visible
issue it is today.

Let's hope every pro-illegal alien senator experienced
similar confrontations during their recess.


see more at...............
http://www.azconservative.org/Miller_McCain.htm