QUOTE
Kentucky Senator Says He Will Leave GOP
30 minutes ago U.S. National - AP
FRANKFORT, Ky. - A state senator whose party switch 5 1/2 years ago helped the GOP take control of the chamber said Wednesday he will leave the Republican Party over its actions in a disputed election.
Sen. Bob Leeper said he will register as an independent later this week.
His protest came after Senate Republicans voted to seat the GOP candidate who received the most votes in a Jefferson County election in November, even though courts have ruled Dana Seum Stephenson did not meet constitutional residency requirements.
A court hearing is scheduled Friday on whether Stephenson should continue as a senator.
The GOP has solid control of the Senate, but would need to keep both Leeper and Stephenson to have a "super-majority" needed to pass constitutional changes. In odd-numbered years, super-majorities are also needed to pass budget and tax measures.
Leeper earlier said he would resign, but reconsidered because he didn't want to leave his district without representation. He said on WHAS-AM radio that his objection is not with the party itself, but with the way Senate Republicans conducted business.
"I don't feel comfortable staying in the caucus," Leeper said. A phone call to his home was not answered, and he did not return a call made to his Paducah business Wednesday morning.
The 2005 legislative session resumes on Feb. 1 and is scheduled to end March 22.
30 minutes ago U.S. National - AP
FRANKFORT, Ky. - A state senator whose party switch 5 1/2 years ago helped the GOP take control of the chamber said Wednesday he will leave the Republican Party over its actions in a disputed election.
Sen. Bob Leeper said he will register as an independent later this week.
His protest came after Senate Republicans voted to seat the GOP candidate who received the most votes in a Jefferson County election in November, even though courts have ruled Dana Seum Stephenson did not meet constitutional residency requirements.
A court hearing is scheduled Friday on whether Stephenson should continue as a senator.
The GOP has solid control of the Senate, but would need to keep both Leeper and Stephenson to have a "super-majority" needed to pass constitutional changes. In odd-numbered years, super-majorities are also needed to pass budget and tax measures.
Leeper earlier said he would resign, but reconsidered because he didn't want to leave his district without representation. He said on WHAS-AM radio that his objection is not with the party itself, but with the way Senate Republicans conducted business.
"I don't feel comfortable staying in the caucus," Leeper said. A phone call to his home was not answered, and he did not return a call made to his Paducah business Wednesday morning.
The 2005 legislative session resumes on Feb. 1 and is scheduled to end March 22.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._immigration_dc
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Republican to Lead Immigration Revolt Against Bush
53 minutes ago Politics - Reuters
By Alan Elsner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican member of the House of Representatives vowed on Wednesday to lead a revolt against President Bush (news - web sites)'s immigration reform proposals and predicted that up to 180 party members would support him.
Bush in an interview with the Washington Times published on Wednesday said he plans to force a debate in Congress this year on his proposal that would allow some illegal immigrants to obtain legal work permits in the United States.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, who heads the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said he was determined to block the legislation. The caucus, which had 71 members in the last Congress, argues for stronger action to stop illegal immigration and a reduction of legal migration.
"Why is this so important to the president?" Tancredo said. "Is it just the corporate interests who benefit from cheap labor? Do they have such a strong grip on our president so that he is actually willing to put our nation at risk, because open borders do put our nation at risk?
"Is it petulance, because we were able to stop it in the last Congress? Why is it so important to give amnesty to people who have broken the law?" Tancredo said.
"I'm willing to lead a fight against this and I would say there are at least 180 members of our Republican caucus who are willing at least to stop amnesty for illegal immigrants," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Bush has repeatedly said he views immigration reform as an important issue for his second term. In the Washington Times interview, he said it was near the top of his agenda.
"Look, whether or not you agree with the solution or not, we have a problem in America when you've got 8 million undocumented workers here," he said.
BUSH CONFIDENCE
Bush expressed confidence he could win over opponents, as he did in passing tax reform during his first term. "Initially out of the box, some people said, over my dead body would they pass tax relief ... If I listened to all that, I'd just quit, you know. But that's not the way I think."
But analysts agree that immigration reform could be much more divisive for Republicans since growing numbers of rank-and-file voters are becoming concerned at the continued influx of illegal immigrants across the Mexican border.
"No issue, not one, threatens to do more damage to the Republican coalition than immigration," said David Frum, a former White House speech writer in Bush's first term.
"There's no issue where the beliefs and interests of the party rank-and-file diverge more radically from the beliefs and interests of the party's leaders," he wrote in the National Review last month.
Bush insists he is not offering amnesty to illegal immigrants but Tancredo said that was a "manipulation of language, the kind of thing (former President) Bill Clinton (news - web sites) would have done. There is an issue of integrity here and an issue of honesty," he said.
53 minutes ago Politics - Reuters
By Alan Elsner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican member of the House of Representatives vowed on Wednesday to lead a revolt against President Bush (news - web sites)'s immigration reform proposals and predicted that up to 180 party members would support him.
Bush in an interview with the Washington Times published on Wednesday said he plans to force a debate in Congress this year on his proposal that would allow some illegal immigrants to obtain legal work permits in the United States.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, who heads the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said he was determined to block the legislation. The caucus, which had 71 members in the last Congress, argues for stronger action to stop illegal immigration and a reduction of legal migration.
"Why is this so important to the president?" Tancredo said. "Is it just the corporate interests who benefit from cheap labor? Do they have such a strong grip on our president so that he is actually willing to put our nation at risk, because open borders do put our nation at risk?
"Is it petulance, because we were able to stop it in the last Congress? Why is it so important to give amnesty to people who have broken the law?" Tancredo said.
"I'm willing to lead a fight against this and I would say there are at least 180 members of our Republican caucus who are willing at least to stop amnesty for illegal immigrants," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Bush has repeatedly said he views immigration reform as an important issue for his second term. In the Washington Times interview, he said it was near the top of his agenda.
"Look, whether or not you agree with the solution or not, we have a problem in America when you've got 8 million undocumented workers here," he said.
BUSH CONFIDENCE
Bush expressed confidence he could win over opponents, as he did in passing tax reform during his first term. "Initially out of the box, some people said, over my dead body would they pass tax relief ... If I listened to all that, I'd just quit, you know. But that's not the way I think."
But analysts agree that immigration reform could be much more divisive for Republicans since growing numbers of rank-and-file voters are becoming concerned at the continued influx of illegal immigrants across the Mexican border.
"No issue, not one, threatens to do more damage to the Republican coalition than immigration," said David Frum, a former White House speech writer in Bush's first term.
"There's no issue where the beliefs and interests of the party rank-and-file diverge more radically from the beliefs and interests of the party's leaders," he wrote in the National Review last month.
Bush insists he is not offering amnesty to illegal immigrants but Tancredo said that was a "manipulation of language, the kind of thing (former President) Bill Clinton (news - web sites) would have done. There is an issue of integrity here and an issue of honesty," he said.
