The HAT People

It started in the deep dark recesses of Washington, in a place average Americans are not allowed. A handful of men representing the majority of the Senate and the White House gathered to do the impossible; construct a bill that would grant amnesty to 12 million plus illegal immigrants while pretending to close the borders. The mission parameters; hammer out the deal in secret to avoid the scrutiny of the American people, ram it through congress before momentum could build to make passage difficult and make it possible for every senator to vote in such a way as to pass the bill but not endanger his position with his constituents.

What the old, out of touch with the current America, senators did not understand was the power of the new mediums. Until it was too late. Within hours of announcing their Grand Bargain, the blogosphere and talk radio were in full swing. Millions of Amercians, real Americans, those who live by the laws of this country, pay ALL their taxes and want their government to work for them not against them, these Americans started reacting to the amnesty bill. And make no mistake about it; the bill was all about giving amnesty to lawbreakers with little or no penalty. At first, the senators failed to understand the sleeping giant they had awakened. Career politicians, even those on the anti-amnesty side, thought the bill was a slam-dunk. Conventional political wisdom said that the bill would whip through the Senate, or what passes for speeding in that cumbersome establishment, and move on to the House. Opponents believed the bill would have to be defeated there or watered down. No one counted on the American people.

And why should they? Americans have rolled over for years and taken the abuse of their leaders while returning them to office again and again. There was nothing to tell the politicians that they would do less this time. Wrong! Like an angry parent pushed too far by a disobedient child, they rose up and said, “I have had enough!” They took off their belts, cut switches from the lilac trees or pulled the wooden punishment spoons from the drawers. Using all the tools of the new medium, email, blogs, the Internet, and the old tools, letters, faxes, talk radio and the telephone, they proclaimed their message loud and clear.

Real Americans, the true voters, showed their power the last few weeks and especially Thursday 6-28-07. Politicians running in 08; be afraid, BE VERY AFRAID!