Let him change his heart. Let him open his eyes to a reality that is larger than what just one man can do.
These are among the words spoken by the priests who held vigil and fasted outside Hastert's office last month. With their words, they delivered 100,000 postcards from parishoners across Illinois asking Hastert to oppose the punitive Senbrenner immigration bill, and suppor the bipartisan Kennedy/McCain bill.
This month, Hastert responded.
Boehner on Tuesday was upbeat in addressing a breakfast forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which supports a guest worker program. He indicated he would resolve differences between the restrictive House bill and the much more liberal Senate bill by the Fourth of July.
But at a closed luncheon Wednesday at Charlie Palmer's restaurant, attended by financial contributors to House Republicans, Boehner declared that the immigration bill was all but dead. That change followed Boehner's conversation late Tuesday with Hastert, who made clear he did not want to pursue the issue that splits the Republican Party.
And so a bill supported by the Senate, the president of the United States, the House Majority Leader, and a coalition of House members was destroyed unceremoniously by one man because of election-day jitters. That man is Dennis Hastert.
So let it be known that Dennis Hastert has made his record clear.
Hastert will make no effort to help struggling immigrants find a path through the morass that is our current immigration process if it costs him anything. He will make no attempt to truly strengthen our border security beyond border photo ops with President Bush. He will not tell the priests, ministers and charitable workers that he stands with them in their desire and mandate to do the work of Jesus Christ by helping everyone regardless of their legal status, and won't allow others to make them felons. Jesus did not refuse to heal and serve those who the Roman law denied status.
Dennis Hastert has closed his eyes to the reality that is larger than what just one man can do. I am disappointed in you, Mr. Hastert.