Vince Avedon – 5/23/06

This page was last updated on May 28, 2006.

GOP phone chain; Vince Avedon; Beaver County Times; May 23, 2006.

As you read this, remember Mr. Avedon once wrote that a high school student who showed interest in enlisting in the Marines as a “was probably brought up to be a two-faced traitor to his country.”

Given Mr. Avedon’s knee-jerk criticism of all things Republican and President Bush, I can’t take this letter seriously. I believe if we were controlling our borders and enforcing our immigration laws, Mr. Avedon would have written a letter complaining.

As you will read below, Mr. Avedon misrepresents the positions of Rep. Hart and Sen. Santorum for his attack. It’s one thing to bash someone for positions they take. It’s another to lie about the positions take by the opposition.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Ring-ring. ‘Yes sir! Right away, sir!’ said the third highest ranking Republican senator as he clicked his heels and saluted the phone.

“In the distance from the other end of the capital, ring-ring. ‘Yes Mr. President. I’m on my way, sir. Right now, sir. You’re a genius,’ came the voice from the 4th Congressional District representative of Pennsylvania.

“After popping a few Tums and with trembling hands, the House dialed the Senate.

“Ring-ring. ‘Hello Rick? Yeah, this is Missy. What? You got the call, too? This is an election year, Rick. We can’t be seen associating with someone with a 29 percent approval rating. What? Are you nuts? And besides, did you see what the voters did to Jubelirer and Brightbill?’

“And the arrogance continues with disregard to public opinion. Ninety eight percent of the voters want secure borders with no amnesty yet our voices continue to fall on deaf ears.”

[RWC] It’s clear a large majority of us “want secure borders with no amnesty,” but the number isn’t 98%. This is another example of Mr. Avedon making up “facts.” Otherwise, Mr. Avedon would have cited the poll from which he got this figure.

Mr. Avedon wants us to believe Ms. Hart and Mr. Santorum support open borders. Their voting records to date don’t support that position.

When you look at the Congressional Record for Senate Bill 2611 (Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006), you find Mr. Santorum voted the “right” way on the amendments and voted no on the bill’s passage because the bill is a sad joke when it comes to border security and enforcing immigration laws.

What about Mr. Avedon’s Senate pals? Democrats voted 39 – 4 (91%) in favor of S. 2611 on May 25^th. Two Democrats didn’t vote, including Jay Rockefeller (WV). Though too many Republicans defected, Republicans voted 22 – 32 (59%) in opposition.

When you take the time to read House Bill 4437 (Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005), you find it sticks to enforcing current border security and internal immigration laws. Indeed, folks on Mr. Avedon’s side of the political spectrum have been calling the House bill “mean” because it doesn’t get into guest worker programs or grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Ms. Hart voted for this bill back in December along with 202 other Republicans.

What about Mr. Avedon’s House pals? Democrats opposed the bill with a vote of 36 for and 164 against.

Despite the fact they overwhelmingly voted against Mr. Avedon’s alleged position, does anyone care to guess the odds against Mr. Avedon writing a letter bashing congressional Democrats regarding this issue?

“Ring-ring. ‘Hello, Missy. This is Rick. Did you know we get free hearing aids? And by the way, who are Jubelier [sic] and Brightbill?’”

[RWC] I wonder if Mr. Avedon believes he is a clever writer.

Did you notice whom Mr. Avedon didn’t mention? Why Sen. Specter, of course. If you check S. 2611, you will find Mr. Specter is the sponsor and the base bill is pretty much everything Mr. Avedon wants us to believe he opposes. That’s one reason I don’t believe Mr. Avedon really supports the position he tells us he supports. How did Mr. Specter vote on S. 2611? Why in favor, of course.