No Congressional Representation for Illegal Aliens (proposed Ammendment)

[maxrandb]

Thought this was breaking. It was released on Rep Candace Miller's website today, and I got it via e-mail.

She's proposing that Congressional apportionment not count "estimated" illegal immigrants.

Would result in fewer seats in CA, NY and TX.

http://candicemiller.house.gov/cgi-data/press/files/151.shtml

Congresswoman Proposes Amendment to United States Constitution

WASHINGTON - United States Representative Candice Miller today announced a bold proposal to change the way Congressional Districts are apportioned to the various states. The Congresswoman is calling for an amendment to the United States Constitution to ensure only legal citizens of the United States are counted and considered when Congressional Districts are allocated.

"I find it absolutely outrageous that people who are not in our country legally are having such a profound impact on our political system," Miller said. "Every 10 years the census determines the number of Congressional districts allocated to each state and how those districts are drawn. If we continue to include illegal aliens in that count, we'll allow non-citizens to steal the Congressional voice of Americans. This is about fundamental fairness and the American ideal of `One Man; One Vote."

Congresswoman Miller has formally introduced the proposal on the House floor. It will now be referred to the House Judiciary committee.

Numbers Tell the Story:

Skewed Congressional Representation:

• 50% of all non-citizens live in 3 states (CA, NY, TX)

If Amendment had been adopted before 2000:

• California would have 6 fewer seats in U.S. House of Representatives

• New York, Florida, Texas would have 1 fewer seat

• Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Utah would have 1 additional seat

[neverforget]

1. I'm shocked! Another plan to screw blue states.

:eyes:

[davidinalameda]

2. and how is someone going to prove that they're legal

and who's going to be in charge of this

the current administration which has already demonstrated that it will do anything to increase the number of Repukes in Congress

[damntexdem]

3. Do you think she'll compromise:

counting undocumented workers at 3/5?

[Bill McBlueState]

4. ah, you beat me to it!

[DBoon]

5. even slaves counted for 3/5 a person!!

apparently, the illegal immigrants doing all all hard, menial, low paying work aren't even worth the consideration that slaves got

[maxrandb]

7. Makes You Wonder What Would Happen If

they all quit working for a day or two!!

[DBoon]

8. I'd love it!

the thought of seeing a bunch of xenophobic rascists having to mow their own lawns fills me with glee.

I bet they couldn't even figure out which end of the lawn mower is up!

[Hobarticus]

6. For a nation of immigrants, we've got one hell of a short memory...

[Mechatanketra]

9. Fair enough.

Strictly speaking, Miller's right: since illegal aliens can't vote, they're inflating the representational weight of the voters they live among without actually getting a voice themselves -- in short, this is directly comparable to the old system that gave Southern states extra congressional consideration for their slaves.

HOWEVER ...

If we're gonna go "one man, one vote", let's be TRULY fair about this ... and UNCAP THE HOUSE. If California has 68 times the population of Wyoming, why then, they should have 68 representatives (rather than 53) to Wyoming's 1. My own state has 25 times more people than Wyoming, so we should have 25 representatives (rather than 19).

Whatya say, Miller? It's about fundamental fairness, right?

[maxrandb]

10. Don't Hold Your Breath

That would never happen unless CA turned red, and the state you talk about living in were Texas, or Mississippi.

My concern is that they have been laying the groundwork for this for quite some time now. It's part and parcel of the Republican game-plan.

Step 1: Demonize a segment of the population. Like Liberals, Blacks, or "illegal" immigrants.

Step 2: Pound it home emphasizing on the Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity shows, and Faux News, how these demonized people are costing tax-payers millions of dollars from "Amurika's hard "werking" people.

Step 3: Throw in a couple of disgusting commercials that you only have to spend a couple hundred K on. Feature them in South Carolina or Mississippi showing a "dark-skinned" hand reaching into a wallet.

Step 4: Cable News, desperate to inflame the next controversy will play the ad over, and over, and over, again; of course, "solely" for the purpose of "reporting" on it and giving some income to the paid pundits.

Step 5: Introduce a Constitutional Amendment, and claim that anyone that does not support it, "supports the terrorist". Emphasize that 17 or so of the 9/11 hijackers were "illegal" immigrants.

In todays world, I'm not too sure that you couldn't get 2/3 of the states to ratify it.

[Mechatanketra]

11. Sorry if I wasn't being clearly satirical.

That would never happen unless CA turned red, and the state you talk about living in were Texas, or Mississippi.

Well, yeah, I know. I know it's not going to happen, because of the great catch-22: the party in power is in power largely because of disproportionate representation of Empty Quarter states. But I felt it makes a good counter-illustration to portraying this as some kind of "fairness" issue rather than what it really is: another cheap attempt to pre-rig the vote (before Diebold ever gets a crack at it).

As far as what you could get the states to ratify ... in this country? Hell, I don't trust a majority of Americans not to sign off on a Soylent Green program. Even a sizable hunk of "our" officed Democrats fail to display the necessary combination of brains, heart, and nerve to effectively recognize a gross injustice and move to oppose it; how much less can I trust Joe Sixpack who's job doesn't (in theory) directly depend on a competent grasp of political realities.

[maxrandb]

12. No. I Got the Satire Out of Your Post

I think I was "re-satiring" your satire. Just wanted to point out that the party in power would NEVER do anything in the name of "fairness" if it somehow led to more people voting for the other side.

That's why whenever I hear Republicans using the word "fair", I ask; "Fair to Who"?

or is it whom? I could never get that right.

[progressivebydesign]

14. They are actually costing tax dollars...

But that is no reason to demonize them. Instead, unlike that woman's proposal, the Feds need to step up and help the states that have been impacted by this. The Feds have been steadily bouncing all the responsibility for educating and caring for the immigrants, back to the States. It's no secret, and it's not racist to accept that illegal immigrants do cost States money. It's a fact.

[Massacure]

16. The House is only is so big.

You cannot have 40,000 representatives in there.

It would probably be easier to make it so that representative districts can cover more than one state.

[progressivebydesign]

13. The states bearing the burden SHOULD have good represenation!

Her argument is ridiculous. My my accounts, I'd say the States that are bearing the financial and social burden of illegal immigration should have a BIG say in the government.. considering they've been continually screwed by the Feds in trying to recoup losses from providing services to the immigrants.

[AFSCME girl]

15. ARGH!! I heard this this morning on NPR...

She used to be my township's clerk....how she got where she is is beyond me!! :banghead:


AFSCME girl

[lynne]

17. Call me silly -

- but I do believe that ILLEGAL is the operative word here. They cannot and should not vote and should not be counted if they are here illegally.

To resolve this, we need to focus on a way to help the illegals become legal. Once they are citizens, they can be counted AND vote.

[LifeDuringWartime]

18. absolutely

if they're here and they're working, they might as well be legal, right?

[fob]

20. You're right they can't vote (with the probability that there are some

that might find a way to anyway) so they have NO REPRESENTATION already, COUNTED in a census or not!

[Endangered Specie]

19. I have a better idea, why dont Candice try cleaning shit for a month...

16 hours a day, Im sure the republican bathrooms need extensive maintenence... :grr: