The GOP Goes to the Mats to Protect the US Chamber of Commerce

The GOP has gone to such a new level of low in showing its heartless contempt for suffering Americans that stuns even a TV anchor for FOX "News," also known as the propaganda arm for the Republican Party. One has to wonder what drives the real motivation behind the GOP efforts to block health care benefits for the 9/11 responders. It always comes down to the money. Republican lawmakers are willing to send 9/11 responders to an early death, if need be, in order to protect, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is the agency that houses and funnels millions upon millions of dollars from secret donors to prop up their political puppets of choice in Washington. The US Chamber of Commerce lobbied to kill a bill that would have helped cover medical expenses and compensation for first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to documents available online. The Chamber's aim was to keep open a tax loophole benefiting foreign corporations that the $7.4 billion bill would have closed to provide funding for the American emergency workers

Libby Shaw :: The GOP Goes to the Mats to Protect the US Chamber of Commerce

The money indeed. While the disingenuous and hypocritical Republicans like John Cornyn stuff bills in the U.S. Senate with hundreds of millions of dollars of earmark spending, while railing against earmarks, these very same Republican scam artist shills for billionaires say we cannot afford to take care of the 9/11 responders. In an email message that I had sent to Senator John Cornyn I posed the very same question as did Shep Smith. How do you sleep at night, Sir? His response. Crickets continue to chirp because Republican politicians know no shame. It should be very clear to all by now that Republicans will do whatever it takes to grab as much power as possible for the sole purpose of serving themselves and their uber wealthy masters. Meanwhile the Party of the Mean and Heartless, along with some help from a handful of truly wretched and unprincipled Democrats also wielded a crippling blow to the DREAM Act. This bill would grant an opportunity for legal permanent residency and potential U.S. citizenship for the children of immigrants who were brought to this country illegally. Students in graduation caps sat in the gallery to watch the vote, most of whom have spent months advocating for the DREAM Act. To be eligible for the act, undocumented students must have entered the country when they were 15 or younger and graduated high school or obtained a GED. To receive a green card, the bill requires them to complete two years in the military or two years of college -- plus a 10-year waiting period. Only six years later would they be eligible to apply for citizenship. Some DREAM Act-eligible students face deportation -- despite clean criminal records -- and hoped the DREAM Act could help them gain legal status. Others will now be unable to attend school, join the military or serve in certain jobs if they are not eligible to work in the United States. What a lovely Christmas gift to give children who want to become legal residents of the U.S. For many this is the only country that they know. The DREAM Act was first introduced in 2001 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and came closest to passage in 2007, when it fell eight votes short of bypassing a filibuster. But previous Republican supporters, most notably Hatch and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have since made a radical shift to the right on immigration. Coming off of a harsh anti-immigration law in Arizona, SB 1070, and a campaign season with numerous Republicans ads stoking fear about the border, the current Republican message is "secure the borders first." A $600 million border security bill passed by the Senate in August did not silence these complaints. Debate on Saturday was no different, with most Republicans claiming it would be wrong to pass the DREAM Act when illegal immigrants can still enter the country. (An estimated 50 percent of illegal immigrants did not enter the country illegally, but overstayed their visas.) "To those who have come to my office, you're always welcome to come but you're wasting your time," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). "We're not going to pass the DREAM Act or any other legalization until we secure our borders. It will never be done stand-alone. It has to be part of comprehensive immigration reform." Democrats criticized Republicans' statements on the floor about the DREAM Act, decrying them for calling the bill "amnesty" and claiming it would lead to a flood of illegal immigrants entering the country. "They're preying to peoples' worst fears," Reid said of Republicans. "The DREAM Act couldn't be further from amnesty. It's hard work. It gives so many the incentive to contribute to our nation and its economy." Good old flip flopping Republicans like Orin Hatch and John McCain have no qualms about letting the children of immigrants twist in the wind forever, if need be. The Senators desire to keep their jobs in Washington outweighs everything else. I think one can safely assume that the Republican Party is truly rotten to its core. And so are certain Democrats, specifically those of the blue dog variety.

Tags: Orin Hatch, John McCain, the DREAM Act, The Huffington Post, Think Progress, Fox Cable TV News, Shep Smith, The Republican Party, 9/11 responders, John Cornyn, John Thune, the Omnibus bill, Republican scam artistry, Republican hypocrisy, the 9/11 responders, Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, John Tester, Mark Pryor, Kay Hagen, the US Chamber of Commerce, (All Tags)