bushman06
11-09-2010, 05:30 PM
Bush book slams Reid on Iraq and immigration
Bush book slams Reid on Iraq and immigration - The Political Eye - ReviewJournal.com (http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/politics/Bush_book_slams_Reid_on_Iraq_and_immigration.html? ref=113)
Excerpt:
On immigration reform, Bush blamed Reid for failing to seize the moment when bipartisan reform was most likely to pass.
Shortly after the 2006 elections, Bush approached Sen. Ted Kennedy with a proposal to work together - as they had on education reform - to forge a bipartisan solution to immigration.
Kennedy turned to the two Arizona Republican senators - John McCain and Jon Kyl - to try to produce a bill that would secure the border, provide a temporary worker program and set up a tough but fair path to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants who had been in America for a number of years.
“Passions ran high on both sides of the issue,” Bush said, and had reached a frenzy when a deal seemed at hand.
In late June 2007, Kennedy asked Bush for assistance in getting him a few more days to get a bill passed. Kennedy wanted him to reach out to Reid and request that he delay the Fourth of July recess a few days for the negotiations to proceed.
On page 305, here is Bush's take on the immigration reform defeat:
“Given the importance of the legislation, I thought it would be worthwhile to allow them a little extra time for the bill to pass. Apparently, Harry Reid did not.
I made the pitch, but it was too late. Harry had made his decision. He called a cloture vote, which failed, and then adjourned the Senate. Senators went home and listened to angry constituents stirred up by the loud voices on radio and TV. By the time they came back to Washington, immigration reform was dead.”
The Senate on June 28, 2007 fell 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to advance the immigration reform legislation that President Bush backed.
At the time, Bush said he was disappointed that Congress failed to approve the bill but did not lay the blame at anyone's feet. The New York Times, Associated Press and Reuters noted that Bush had failed to gain support from Senate Republicans.
“Mr. Bush placed telephone calls to lawmakers throughout the morning, but members of his party abandoned him in droves, with only 12 of the 49 Senate Republicans sticking by him on the key procedural vote that determined the bill's fate,” the Times reported.
Reid also blamed the failure on Republicans, saying “there just was not enough Republican support for the president's approach.”
On the Senate floor, Reid forcefully argued for Congress to act on immigration reform and blamed radio and television commentators for ginning up public opposition to the bill.
Summers added that Reid had devoted more floor time to addressing illegal immigration than ever before.
Bush book slams Reid on Iraq and immigration - The Political Eye - ReviewJournal.com (http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/politics/Bush_book_slams_Reid_on_Iraq_and_immigration.html? ref=113)
Excerpt:
On immigration reform, Bush blamed Reid for failing to seize the moment when bipartisan reform was most likely to pass.
Shortly after the 2006 elections, Bush approached Sen. Ted Kennedy with a proposal to work together - as they had on education reform - to forge a bipartisan solution to immigration.
Kennedy turned to the two Arizona Republican senators - John McCain and Jon Kyl - to try to produce a bill that would secure the border, provide a temporary worker program and set up a tough but fair path to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants who had been in America for a number of years.
“Passions ran high on both sides of the issue,” Bush said, and had reached a frenzy when a deal seemed at hand.
In late June 2007, Kennedy asked Bush for assistance in getting him a few more days to get a bill passed. Kennedy wanted him to reach out to Reid and request that he delay the Fourth of July recess a few days for the negotiations to proceed.
On page 305, here is Bush's take on the immigration reform defeat:
“Given the importance of the legislation, I thought it would be worthwhile to allow them a little extra time for the bill to pass. Apparently, Harry Reid did not.
I made the pitch, but it was too late. Harry had made his decision. He called a cloture vote, which failed, and then adjourned the Senate. Senators went home and listened to angry constituents stirred up by the loud voices on radio and TV. By the time they came back to Washington, immigration reform was dead.”
The Senate on June 28, 2007 fell 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to advance the immigration reform legislation that President Bush backed.
At the time, Bush said he was disappointed that Congress failed to approve the bill but did not lay the blame at anyone's feet. The New York Times, Associated Press and Reuters noted that Bush had failed to gain support from Senate Republicans.
“Mr. Bush placed telephone calls to lawmakers throughout the morning, but members of his party abandoned him in droves, with only 12 of the 49 Senate Republicans sticking by him on the key procedural vote that determined the bill's fate,” the Times reported.
Reid also blamed the failure on Republicans, saying “there just was not enough Republican support for the president's approach.”
On the Senate floor, Reid forcefully argued for Congress to act on immigration reform and blamed radio and television commentators for ginning up public opposition to the bill.
Summers added that Reid had devoted more floor time to addressing illegal immigration than ever before.