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Rob Kailey is a working schmuck with no ties or affiliations to any governmental or political organizations, save those of sympathy.
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Mon Dec 20, 2010 at 16:48:06 PM MST
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Helena attorney Shahid Haque-Hausrath has a response to Matt Singer's "Montana is Montana and Jon Tester is Jon Tester" piece that went up earlier today on the Border Crossing Law Firm's Immigration Blog.
Worth the read.
Haque-Hausrath, a good friend of mine, hits the nail on the head regarding the catalyst for a flood of heated backlash by Montana progressives who supported Tester in 2006:
Not only did Tester vote against the bill, but he issued a statement on Friday to pander to the anti-immigrant crowd, in which he actively mischaracterized the bill as "amnesty." Since his election, Jon Tester has buried his head in the sand about the importance of immigration issues to his progressive constituents and allies. His vote was a calculated attempt to score points with the most racist and xenophobic Montanans - people who would never vote for Tester, but have been flooding his office with calls. Tester believed that this would be a safe vote, and would barely garner any attention from progressives.
This weekend was bittersweet for me. As a member of the gay community, I was pleased to see both my US Senators join in the call for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It was a long time coming, and I personally have friends who will directly benefit from the policy reversal - once it is implemented.
But it was heartbreaking for me to see the DREAM Act stalled. At least for now, the hopes of thousands and thousands of hardworking people who have been living in the US since childhood are crushed.
I knew, from personally contacting both senate offices, how they would vote. What I wasn't expecting was an offensive statement issued by the Tester press shop continuing a long cycle of offensive rhetoric that looked like it was ripped from the websites of right-wing and xenophobic anti-immigrant groups:
"Illegal immigration is a critical problem facing our country, but amnesty is not the solution. I do not support legislation that provides a path to citizenship for anyone in this country illegally."
Amnesty is defined as "a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government." The DREAM Act's full intent and purpose was crystal clear: it provided opportunity to achieve semblance of the "American Dream" to undocumented immigrants moved here, by their parents, at a very young age. As Andrew Simpson simply put it, "It is an extension of grace to a very specific group of people who did not knowingly commit a crime against the United States."
The DREAM Act was quite possibly one of the best pieces of policy that has moved across Tester's desk during his short, and what might be only, term in the US Senate. It is too bad to see it fail to move forward because of five Democrats. If you haven't taken the time to voice your frustration, do! There's been a fair amount of comment that seems to say, "This is Montana, not California" or "Jon Tester is Jon Tester, of course he would vote this way, he's always been bad on proactive immigration policies ever since he was in the state legislature." That sort of thing, none of which is any excuse for either his vote or statement - and all of it is pretty disheartening to see coming from folks on the left who self-identify as progressive or liberal.
Senate switchboard: 202 225 3121
Max Baucus: max_baucus@senate.gov
Jon Tester: jon_tester@senate.gov |
| Jamee Greer :: MT Immigration Attorney & Reform Activist: Progressives Must Hold Jon Tester Accountable |
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