The Dead Dream

"No amnesty for law breakers, not now, not ever."

In this case, the law breakers are the children of illegal immigrants, and the 'amnesty' is the exchange for service in our nation's military for citizenship.  So, had the Dream Act passed, if you were a child of an illegal immigrant willing to put your life on the line to protect our nation, then you would be granted citizenship.  That the GOP managed to successfully filibuster this legislation is truly amazing to me.

Democrats failed to successfully argue that your willingness to fight and die for this country meant you deserved citizenship.  How is that?  Who really believes that your willingness to fight and die for the United States doesn't qualify you to legally pay taxes and vote?  The arguments presented against it were that it might encourage children to move here, and that it rewards illegal behavior.  The winning argument here was that it is bad to encourage young people to come here and fight for our country.

Being born here, is a passive act.  No one chooses where or when they will be born.  Well, I guess I'll say only that I don't recall having the option.   But this is the sole factor the Republicans are willing to consider, when deciding if someone deserves citizenship or not.  That someone is willing to join our military and defend you, me, and our Constitution didn't matter to Republicans.  The only thing at issue for them is the illegal nature of their arrival.  Republicans deem this to be an unforgivable federal crime.  Once you've arrived illegally, any process pointed toward citizenship has been successfully defeated as another "amnesty for illegals".

I too have a dream.  It is that, one day Democrats will stand up and make an argument good enough to convince not only other Democrats that it is a good idea, but half of the reasonable Republican voters, if not their Representatives.  Sadly, it is but a dream, because it seems these days strong convincing liberal arguments are a rarity at best.

How exactly does one fail to convince Americans that those who serve in our armed forces deserve citizenship?