Migrating Clay Pigeons and Lame Ducks

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

What does Immigration, Clay Pigeons and Lame Ducks have in common? Well we have a Lame Duck President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid attempting to Clay Pigeon an Immigration Bill through the Senate. What you say?

It is said the U.S. Senate is the greatest deliberative body in the world. So why is the most important bill in at least the last 20 years, a bill that will determine the flow of immigration in this country for decades, why is that bill being “Clay Pigeoned” through the Senate instead of being debated?

What is Clay Pigeoning you ask? Clay Pigeoning is a very complicated Senate maneuver, an attempt to ram a bill through the Senate in a very controlled protected way which will limit debated on the Bill. The bill S.B. 1348 the 790 paged Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act is the legislation that the Senate is not debating, the Senate is not calling in expert witnesses for pro or con arguments on this bill as to the impact that this legislation would have on the people of the United States of America instead the most powerful man in Government Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev is doing what he does best, he’s controlling the discussion around this issue.

The Senate tactic, “Clay Pigeon” gets its name from the target used in skeet shooting, which explodes into bits as it is hit. In the Senate, an amendment is the target, and any one senator can demand that it be divided into separate fragments to be voted on piecemeal.

Ironically, the move is usually used by mavericks - not leaders - to slow down legislation, not in the opposite manner that Senator Reid is using it.
Usually this procedure used to stop a bill but the master tactician that Harry Reid is, he has conceived of a plan to use this maneuver to the favor of proponents of this bill. Because usually, "It's a brilliant way to gum up the works," said Robert B. Dove, a Senate rules expert who was the chamber's referee for 36 years.

The maneuver appears to be a relatively modern innovation; Dove said he first became aware of it in the early 1970s, when then-Sen. Jim Allen, D-Ala., a master of parliamentary procedures, used it against a bill pushed by the then- majority leader, Sen. Mike Mansfield, D-Mont. "I remember people being dazzled when he did this," Dove said.

Reid's plan has its risks, chief among them further inflaming the vocal conservative opponents who have vowed to do whatever they can to kill the immigration measure.

Reid said he would revive the bill to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants late this week. To do so, though, he needs backing from 60 senators, and a way to guarantee votes on a tentative list of 22 Republican and Democratic amendments whose consideration is seen as vital to satisfying key waverers.

The so-called clay pigeon is how he's expected to do it, under a strategy that was still taking shape Monday.-- JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Washington, AP

Edwin Meese, III
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies explains the complicated immigration bill.

Senator Harry Reid is no stranger to complicating thing in the Senate and coming out on top. As the Minority leader Senator Reid gave Senate Majority leader Bill Frist fits.

Accusing Republicans of ignoring questions about pre-war intelligence, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session in 2005, igniting anger from GOP leaders.

Before making the rare motion, which was seconded by his assistant minority leader, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Reid said his colleagues across the aisle "have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why."

Michael Franc, Vice President, Government Relations explains how present procedure to rush S.B. 1348 is not normal procedure for complicated Senate legislation.

An exasperated and outdone Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was reduced to shouting out in the halls of the Senate, the Senate "has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership."

"They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas," he said.
Frist said the Democratic Party leadership did not warn him in advance of the move, which Republicans called a "political stunt."

"It means from now on, for the next year and half, I can't trust Senator Reid," the Tennessee lawmaker said. –Worldnetdaily, November 1 2005

Duh, Senator Frist that’s why Republicans lost control of the senate in 2006, Democrats were better politicians than Republicans. Much better! Democrats were controlling the Senate way before 2007 before they had official control of the body because of incompetent Republican leadership. The same leadership with Trent Lott as second in authority that will lose in 2008.

And what about the first month of official control of the Senate, Reid used, a Senate tactic called "filled the tree" a tactic meant to block any amendments to the continuing resolution and twice attempted to block votes on alternatives to his Iraq resolution to set deadlines and timetables for withdrawal. So much for real debate.

By filling the tree and filing cloture on the latest Iraq resolution, he brings the Senate in for a Saturday cloture vote - trying to break the minority by forcing Republicans to vote for cloture or else suffer media spin that they are blocking a vote on Iraq. Nice senator Reid real nice.

If S.B. 1348 is passed it will be done on the planning and political maneuvering of a superior political party, the Democrat Party, but not because the legislation is good for America.

If Republicans are going to stop this clay pigeon from migrating through the Senate they will have to overcome incompetent Republican leadership, disregard the lame duck in the White house and the Harry Reid controlled Senate to do the right thing for America.

The only question is, are Republicans good enough politicians to get the job done. Truth is they haven’t been for quite a while.