Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

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Soontir C'boath
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Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Soontir C'boath »

Let me pre-face this. Almost every article I have seen coming out have said that the GOP blocked this bill. The GOP this time did not. At least not in the normal sense of completely letting a bill fail. Three Republicans voted yes and should have been enough but there were FIVE Democrats who could have made it 60 and passed it but voted no.

They were Baucus-MT, Hagan-NC, Nelson-NE, Pryor-AR, and Tester-MT.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised given the states they're from.
CBS News wrote:(CBS) The DREAM Act, a bill to provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who entered the United States before age 16, died on the Senate floor on Saturday morning.

The failure of the bill - amid widespread opposition from Senate Republicans - is a major disappointment for Hispanic activists, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress on immigration reform under President Obama.

The vote to end debate on the Dream Act and move to a final vote received only 55 votes, short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican-led filibuster. Forty-one senators voted no.

Three Republicans - Indiana's Dick Lugar, Utah's Bob Bennett and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski - were among the yes votes. Six Democrats voted no: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Max Baucus and John Tester of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. The bill had already passed the House and is supported by President Obama.

Dream Act Passes House, Likely Doomed in Senate

The Dream Act would have allowed illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship if they entered the United States as children, graduated from high school or gotten an equivalent degree, and have been in the United States for at least five years. They must also have no serious criminal record and agree to complete two years of college or military service. Applicants would have had to wait ten years for citizenship, pay any back taxes and undergo background checks before gaining legal status.

While Democrats cast the bill as providing opportunity for upstanding young people who are not at fault for their illegal status, Republicans hammered it as offering "mass amnesty" that will encourage more illegal immigration.

The bill has little chance of passage under the new, more Republican Congress taking office in January.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed to move on comprehensive immigration reform this year, saying in April there were "no excuses" for failure. Mr. Obama also called for movement on comprehensive reform this year. That didn't happen, but Hispanic groups, a growing and crucial voting bloc that largely backs Democrats, pushed for passage of the DREAM Act as a first step in that direction.

Republicans say they are unwilling to take action on comprehensive immigration reform or any other immigration bill until America's borders are secure. They accused Democrats of moving forward on a Dream Act vote now for political purposes.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, a leading proponent of the measure, strongly denied that claim before the vote. He showed photos of successful young people who could gain citizenship under the bill, including the leader of the UCLA marching band, and argued that the bill was about providing opportunity to those who deserve it. He also called for Republicans to back the bill in what he said would be an "act of political courage" for members of the GOP.

"This is our moment in history to show our courage," Durbin said, referring both to votes on the DREAM Act and on repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that was also taking place Saturday. Young people who had traveled to Washington in hopes of convincing senators to vote for the bill looked on from the Senate gallery as he spoke.

The failure of the DREAM Act gives more ammunition to Hispanic leaders who have begun to publicly wonder why Democrats have failed to move forward on their priorities. It appears unlikely that many will move toward Republicans, however, in light of widespread support in the GOP for the controversial Arizona immigration law as well as the rhetoric from some Republicans on "birthright citizenship" and other immigration-related matters.

Democrats say comprehensive immigration reform should include provisions to improve border security and include stiff fines for those that hire illegal immigrants. They say illegal immigrants applying for citizenship should be forced to learn English, pay a fine and "get to the back of the line," in the words of Mr. Obama.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Chaotic Neutral »

5 Democrats voting no is nowhere near the same thing as 46 Republicans voting no.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Soontir C'boath »

Uh, it is when those 5 votes could and should have passed this bill.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by eion »

The 46 Republicans could and should have passed the bill too.

Even leaving aside the moral reasons, there are purely selfish reasons for Republicans to support the Dream Act. Their own political survival depends on making nice with the Hispanic community, and making these new citizens (many of home will go through the military, which is well known as a conservative voting bloc) feel beholden to Republicans would have been a smart tactic.

And my brain still aches at the fact that even though 55 out of a 100 Senators support this bill, a clear majority, it still didn't fucking pass. Every day in the Senate is further proof that they are in need massive legislative surgery to prevent a whole-sale metastasizing of this cancerous filibuster.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

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There are not 46 Republicans in the house. There are 41 Republicans, fifty seven democrats and two independents.

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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Soontir C'boath »

It would have to be a game of numbers giving the question: How many newly minted Hispanic voters in their state will vote Republican and what is the potential loss of voters who oppose the Dream Act if they vote yes?

Let's take a look at Montana where Baucus and Tester are from. According to the Census, 90% of the population is white and 3% Hispanic. I'll say this again, I should not be surprised even with a D next to their names but it still sucks.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by LadyTevar »

I am currently coming up with a nasty letter to send to Manchin (D-WV), who decided he'd rather be at a family get-together in WV than in DC doing his job. :finger:
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Dominus Atheos »

Are you sure he wasn't there? He's listed as on of the Dem no votes:
Six Democrats voted no: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Max Baucus and John Tester of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Soontir C'boath »

Senate Roll Call Votes: No, he did not vote.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Ritterin Sophia »

LadyTevar wrote:I am currently coming up with a nasty letter to send to Manchin (D-WV), who decided he'd rather be at a family get-together in WV than in DC doing his job. :finger:
Did you vote for him? I know I have the defense that I voted for Jesse Johnson.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Alyeska »

Lovely. BOTH of my senators voted against this bill as Democrats. *sigh*
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by MKSheppard »

Aw, both of Maryland's senator's voted for the bill.

I wonder how far a bill, titled the MENG act, giving preferential treatment to Asian students (Read CHINESE) would get in the Senate?
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by SCRawl »

Mr Bean wrote:There are not 46 Republicans in the house. There are 41 Republicans, fifty seven democrats and two independents.
The current count is actually 42 R, 56 D, 2 I. Recall that Kirk in Illinois has already been seated.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

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MKSheppard wrote:Aw, both of Maryland's senator's voted for the bill.

I wonder how far a bill, titled the MENG act, giving preferential treatment to Asian students (Read CHINESE) would get in the Senate?
What parts of the DREAM act give 'preferential' treatment on racial grounds? I wasn't aware that this was also an affirmative action bill! No wonder it was so difficult to pass. Image
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by eion »

SCRawl wrote:
Mr Bean wrote:There are not 46 Republicans in the house. There are 41 Republicans, fifty seven democrats and two independents.
The current count is actually 42 R, 56 D, 2 I. Recall that Kirk in Illinois has already been seated.
My apologies for the typographical error. The point stands whether the count was 46, 41, or 42 Republican Senators.
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Re: Dream Act Fails 55-41: 5 Democrats Voted No

Post by Mr Bean »

eion wrote:
SCRawl wrote:
Mr Bean wrote:There are not 46 Republicans in the house. There are 41 Republicans, fifty seven democrats and two independents.
The current count is actually 42 R, 56 D, 2 I. Recall that Kirk in Illinois has already been seated.
My apologies for the typographical error. The point stands whether the count was 46, 41, or 42 Republican Senators.
Eh it's okay, if you notice I said "house" not Senate.

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