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Well the amnesty bill has been defeated….again. And so I’m writing a post-mortem post….again. For the most part, I think alot of what I wrote in my original post-mortem is still valid, actually probably more so than before.

Repeatedly cited as a prime reason for the resurrection of this atrocious bill has been how critical it is to our national security. If we are to believe the words of this bills supporters the world was literally going to end if this bill was not passed. Flaws be damned, it had to pass. No time for debate, it had to pass. Cost be damned, it had to pass.

Ok so if that is true, then shouldn’t immigration still be your priority??

The aftermath of this bill reveals its supporters for the con-artists they are. I’ll be the first to admit that this is a critical issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. However, not in the manner this bill would have done so. Start by enforcing current laws. While we are doing that we can beef up some of those laws by increasing penalties on employers and providing more funds for enforcement. These are all issues that have overwhelming support in the public and should be easy to pass. These are all issues that would have an immediate positive effect on our national security. Yet none are being done….remember that the next time a politician tries to pretend national security is a priority for them.

Even more sad is that this bills supporters are still deluded on why many of us opposed this bill. I’ve listened to quite a few speeches by it’s supporters after the cloture vote. I’ve read messages from Senate staffers on “inside baseball” type forums. I’ve read editorials by it’s supporters. And it’s almost depressing how clueless they still are. Many of them still believe it was all just a bunch of racists calling for the deportation of 20 million people. Given the outpouring from the public and the massive outcry from the internet and radio sources, I’m at a loss of how to make them understand. Especially considering it is my opinion that they really don’t want to understand, they’d prefer to think we’re racists than that we might have a logical reason for our views.

Now while this bill was defeated the fight is not over. I know most of you are tired of the issue and really apathetic at this point but it’s still one that needs action. There are some in the House that are proposing legislation on some of the more popular parts of immigration. Namely employment enforcement and border security. We need to let those House members know that we support their legislation. We need to let our legislators know that we didn’t just want them to do nothing, we just didn’t want what was in that piece of crap bill.

So take a few days off, relax, enjoy your victory….heh, even enjoy the long holiday weekend, after all, Congress isn’t in session anyway. But when they return, so must we. Call your legislator and let them know.

UPDATE : This article at NRO gives some great ideas on future legislation that would be worth pursuing.