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Wikio
Get exclusive travel deals and book discount cheap flights
Comments from an AP history
and government teacher in Raleigh, NC.
e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com
Commissions earned from selling items through Amazon will go towards buying materials for my classes. Thank you.
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Friday, June 08, 2007
Is the failure of the immigration bill a sign that our system is working or failing?
Dan Balz bemoans the failure of the immigration bill as a sign that our political system has failed. He says that it is evidence that our politics is so polarized that the "center could not hold."
Well, that is one interpretation. But another is that the system is performing just as the Founders anticipated. They set up the Senate which soon developed rules that protect the minority. Nothing can pass in the Senate unless it has broad support throughout the country. So, did the immigration bill have such broad support? For example, Rasmussen recently found that only 23% of those polled favored passage of the Senate bill.Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters prefer no bill over the Senate bill. Just 32% prefer the legislative compromise over inaction.With numbers like these, should a representative government pass such a bill? Is it really the failure of the center that concerns Dan Balz or the fact that such a creaky compromise didn't make anyone happy. Perhaps if the bill had had real measures for strengthening the border and then addressed amnesty for the illegals who are already heere, there might have been more support. But it was so transparently clear that the bill wasn't going to stop illegal immigration. As long as the border is still so porous, it doesn't make sense to grant the amnesty. All that would do would be to incentivize more and more illegals to come here to take advantage of our legalization procedures.
For those in Congress who believe that passing the Senate bill will get the issue behind them, the data suggests otherwise.
If the current bill passes, 69% of voters say that it will “still be necessary to pass another law that focuses on securing the borders and reducing illegal immigration.” The perceived need for further legislation is felt by 78% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats, and 66% of those not affiliated with either major political party. Only 11% of all voters say that additional legislation will not be needed.
Voters have consistently viewed immigration reform as meaning improving border security and reducing illegal immigration. Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters believe it is Very Important for “the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration.” Adding pressure to Congress is the fact that voters see this objective as achievable --68% of Americans believe it is possible to reduce illegal immigration. Just 20% disagree. A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 82% believe the federal government could do more to reduce illegal immigration.
So, depending on how you look at it, our system has either failed miserably at solving a major policy problem, or our system has worked to prevent a miserable compromise bill from passing.Labels: Congress
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Dan Balz bemoans the failure of the immigration bill as a sign that our political system has failed. He says that it is evidence that our politics is so polarized that the "center could not hold."
Well, that is one interpretation. But another is that the system is performing just as the Founders anticipated. They set up the Senate which soon developed rules that protect the minority. Nothing can pass in the Senate unless it has broad support throughout the country. So, did the immigration bill have such broad support? For example, Rasmussen recently found that only 23% of those polled favored passage of the Senate bill.
So, depending on how you look at it, our system has either failed miserably at solving a major policy problem, or our system has worked to prevent a miserable compromise bill from passing.
0 comments
Dan Balz bemoans the failure of the immigration bill as a sign that our political system has failed. He says that it is evidence that our politics is so polarized that the "center could not hold."
Well, that is one interpretation. But another is that the system is performing just as the Founders anticipated. They set up the Senate which soon developed rules that protect the minority. Nothing can pass in the Senate unless it has broad support throughout the country. So, did the immigration bill have such broad support? For example, Rasmussen recently found that only 23% of those polled favored passage of the Senate bill.
Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters prefer no bill over the Senate bill. Just 32% prefer the legislative compromise over inaction.With numbers like these, should a representative government pass such a bill? Is it really the failure of the center that concerns Dan Balz or the fact that such a creaky compromise didn't make anyone happy. Perhaps if the bill had had real measures for strengthening the border and then addressed amnesty for the illegals who are already heere, there might have been more support. But it was so transparently clear that the bill wasn't going to stop illegal immigration. As long as the border is still so porous, it doesn't make sense to grant the amnesty. All that would do would be to incentivize more and more illegals to come here to take advantage of our legalization procedures.
For those in Congress who believe that passing the Senate bill will get the issue behind them, the data suggests otherwise.
If the current bill passes, 69% of voters say that it will “still be necessary to pass another law that focuses on securing the borders and reducing illegal immigration.” The perceived need for further legislation is felt by 78% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats, and 66% of those not affiliated with either major political party. Only 11% of all voters say that additional legislation will not be needed.
Voters have consistently viewed immigration reform as meaning improving border security and reducing illegal immigration. Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters believe it is Very Important for “the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration.” Adding pressure to Congress is the fact that voters see this objective as achievable --68% of Americans believe it is possible to reduce illegal immigration. Just 20% disagree. A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 82% believe the federal government could do more to reduce illegal immigration.
So, depending on how you look at it, our system has either failed miserably at solving a major policy problem, or our system has worked to prevent a miserable compromise bill from passing.
Labels: Congress
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