Reid On Birthright Crowd: 'Taken Leave Of Their Senses Or Their Principles'

[cal04]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/reid-on-birthright-crowd-taken-leave-of-their-senses-or-their-principles.php

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked today about growing calls from Republicans to hold hearings about the 14th Amendment and whether children born to illegal immigrants can rightfully be citizens.

Reid (D-NV) quoted extensively from a column written by Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson on Friday. Reid read this portion from the podium of his press conference: (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/07/on_immigration_lindsey_graham.html)


The authors of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed citizenship to all people "born or naturalized in the United States" for a reason. They wished to directly repudiate the Dred Scott decision, which said that citizenship could be granted or denied by political caprice. They purposely chose an objective standard of citizenship -- birth -- that was not subject to politics. Reconstruction leaders established a firm, sound principle: To be an American citizen, you don't have to please a majority, you just have to be born here.

Then Reid said of Republicans pushing the issue, "They've either taken leave of their senses or their principles."

[BrklynLiberal]

1. More like 'Taken Leave Of Their Senses AND Their Principles'

[opihimoimoi]

2. Tehy seem unable to comprehend reality....

[pinboy3niner]

3. That was my first reaction, too, but on second thought...

...it's just their principles. They haven't lost their senses. They have an agenda, and they know EXACTLY what they're doing.

[zipplewrath]

4. That train has long passed.

"Graham and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were once examples of conscience on the issue of immigration. McCain, in a tough Senate primary, has backed off his convictions. Graham has now abandoned them. Their political fortunes may recover. Their reputations may never fully recover."

I think that train passed a long time ago for McCain

[cilla4progress]

5. I'm going to get reamed here, but ...

can we have a discussion of both sides of the issue? Pro and con? For my edification... Thanks!

[damntexdem]

7. Hey, in post #6, I have argued 'the other side':

that the GOP has not taken leave of its principles because it has embraced racist principles.

[damntexdem]

6. Then it must be their senses -- because the GOP has made racism one of its principles.

;-)

[quiet.american]

8. I wonder what demographic Rove has discovered will put the GOP over the top.

Because they have long jumped the shark on the Hispanic vote, and from what I've heard, the honeymoon is also over with evangelicals. So now I wonder, what demographic is the GOP counting on to bring them mid-term election victory. On the face of it, they seem to be very satisfied that rabid bigots are representative of a big enough number of voters to be worth aggressively courting.