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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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DREAM ACT
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
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Sat Dec 18, 2010 at 08:56:45 AM MST
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The following article appeared today in the Washinton Examiner. - mk
DREAM Act causes ugly breakup on left
By Byron York
Markos Moulitsas, the influential founder of the lefty website DailyKos, used to love Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. Starting back in December 2004, when Moulitsas first praised Tester, then a farmer-turned-state-legislator, as a Democrat who "naturally speaks the language of rural America," the DailyKos has portrayed Tester as the cutting edge of a movement by which once deep-red western states would become swing states and then, perhaps, permanently blue.
In June 2006, Moulitsas was rhapsodic when Tester won the Democratic primary to challenge then-Sen. Conrad Burns. "What a great night," Moulitsas wrote. "Not only did the best Democrat win, but so did Conrad Burns' worst nightmare. Say hello to the next Senator from the great state of Montana." Electing Tester and other favored progressives would create "a whole new ballgame in Washington DC," Moulitsas added. "Let's do everything we can to make it happen."
Moulitsas certainly did his part, promoting the Tester campaign -- "This is the future face of the Democratic Party," he swooned -- and contributing $1,500 to Tester in October 2006. When Tester defeated Burns, part of a Democratic wave that took over the Senate and House that year, Moulitsas was ecstatic.
Now that's all a bitter memory. On Capitol Hill, Democrats are using the lame-duck session to try to ram through some key unfinished parts of their agenda. Among them is the DREAM Act immigration bill, a favorite of Moulitsas'. And on Friday, Jon Tester, once the darling of DailyKos, announced that he will vote against it.
Moulitsas' reaction was swift and furious. "Jon Tester to vote against DREAM," Moulitsas tweeted Friday night. "Good luck getting re-elected, a--hole." Moulitsas began re-tweeting negative comments about Tester -- one said, "Sen. Tester's active misrepresentation of DREAM act isn't just burning his bridges, it's going at them with a blowtorch." And then Moulitsas added his own final remark: "Anyone who votes to punish innocent kids is a de facto a--hole."
The DREAM Act isn't the only cause of the breach; just a couple of days before, Tester voted to extend all the Bush tax cuts. But there's no doubt the love affair is over. When Tester runs for re-election in 2012, he'll have to do it without some of his most passionate supporters from 2006.
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