Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Flop Flipping Texas Style

Isn’t it amazing what a looming election does to your politics? Last week my congressman, Nick Lampson, voted away my 4th amendment rights against unreasonable, warrantless search and seizure because he needs to be viewed, in his home district, the former district of Tom DeLay, as conservative.

It’s a new definition of conservative. Giving up a right that has been guaranteed to Americans since 1791.

At about the same time we had Texas Senator John Cornyn alternately voting for the construction of a border wall and then adamantly voicing his opinion against the self same wall. Waffling on the wall, as State Rep. Rick Noriega put it.

And now we have Mr. Cornyn coming out in favor of the federal version of the DREAM Act. A Texas state version of this idea that Rick Noriega pushed through a six years ago, makes it possible for the children of undocumented immigrants to attend a Texas institution of higher education and not pay the prohibitive out of state tuition.

According to Noriega’s just issued press release:

“In May of 2001, Rick Noriega passed a state version of the federal legislation with overwhelming bi-partisan support. Signed into law by Governor Rick Perry, the DREAM Act allows Texas high school graduates who lack the proper citizenship papers to pay in-state tuition, if they stay out of trouble and have lived in-state for at least three years — three times longer than the requirement for out-of-state students to gain in-state residency. This pastlegislative session, in a wave of anti-immigrant fervor, several Republicans attempted to repeal the DREAM Act, despite its success in taking young teenagers off the streets”

My, my. John Cornyn is now in favor of making it possible for the children of illegal immigrants receive a college education? Isn’t it amazing what some adverse numbers in the polls will do to your politics?

Next thing you know he’ll be coming out in favor of universal health insurance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There's actually a word that describes what Cornyn and Lampson are doing: "Mugwumpery." The American Heritage Dictionary explains:

"mug'wump n. 1. Often capital M. A Republican who bolted his party in 1884, refusing to support James G. Blaine as candidate for the U.S. presidency. 2. Any person who acts independently, especially in politics. [Natick mugquomp, mugwomp, 'captain.'] --mug'wump'er.y n."

Of course the Republicans had other words for them, including "Political Hermaphrodites."