Update: NumbersUSA declares victory for grassroots activism, they are on the record now!
Update #2: Breitbart News on Senator Sessions’ reaction last night, here. Thanks to Cathy.
The first thing this morning I see a Washington Post story on what happened in the House last night as the Republicans went on record with two votes to stem the “crisis” on the border. I’ll post commentary later from those who know what happened perhaps better than the Washington Post.
Here is the news I’m seeing at 5 a.m. Of course, we all know that since the Senate had adjourned and what the House passed is anathema to Obama, this isn’t going anywhere.
There are a couple of snippets from the Post worth noting:
The bills would provide emergency funding to deal with the crisis, speed the deportations of most border-crossers and rescind President Obama’s authority to decide whether to deport certain illegal immigrants.
[….]
Obama continued his recent habit of castigating congressional Republicans….
[….]
The votes held late Friday — a rare occurrence any time of the year on Capitol Hill — capped a week of turmoil in the GOP ranks prompted by fierce opposition from the party’s conservative members to doing anything that could be perceived as an endorsement of Obama’s current immigration policy.
[….]
The collapse of the original border security plan offered by House GOP leaders was a triumph for conservatives in the Republican caucus, who saw it as a high point in their troubled relationship with Boehner and his more centrist leadership team.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), one of those conservatives, described the retreat by Boehner as one of the highlights of her career, because the leadership was forced to mostly capitulate to the conservative demands.
“Leadership knew they couldn’t pass their bill,” Bachmann said, and as a result were forced to agree to revisions offered by tea party members, led by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a vocal opponent of Obama’s immigration policy….
[….]
Ultimately, members voted 223 to 189 to approve $694 million in additional funding for federal agencies dealing with the influx of immigrants — a sum far lower than Obama’s original $3.7 billion request. The bill would tweak a 2008 anti-trafficking law and make it easier for the government to deport Central American minors who have entered the United States illegally. It also would provide $35 million to border-state governors, who would be given broader legal authority to deploy the National Guard.
For me, this is the part of the story that makes my blood boil! Shame on the Bishops! (and the Post).
How dare the US Conference of Catholic Bishops lecture about morality and “American values” when their “immigration” work is almost completely funded with your tax dollars (with Caesar’s silver) and they are too conniving to admit it.
In a sharply worded statement, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, who leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ work on immigration issues, called passage of the legislation “a low point for our country. It eviscerates American values of justice and due process and stains our record as a defender of human rights globally.”
How dare they speak of “American values of justice” when they receive federal money (your money) for every refugee they resettle and every illegal alien they house, but never tell the public the truth!
And, shame on the Washington Post and other mainstream media for not figuring out (or refusing to report) who exactly fills Bishop Elizondo’s church coffers!
All of our posts on ‘unaccompanied minors’ invading our border are here. They extend back several years and include posts on how the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have been one of the greatest recipients for federal cash for years.