Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk: Another Anti-DREAM Act Ally

Patriotic Americans got an emotional boost over the weekend when South Carolina Republican Lindsay Graham said on Fox News Sunday that: “If we bring up the DREAM Act in the lame duck that’s going nowhere.” Not only is Graham’s comforting bottom line message that the DREAM Act is unlikely to pass a relief but also, by using “if,” he indicated that it may not even get to the floor. Since Senator Harry Reid and House Leader Nancy Pelosi promised to push the DREAM Act through Congress as part of their post-election hoopla, Capitol Hill insiders have been skeptical. Those in the know sense that the DREAM Act, promoted for more than ten years by the Hispanic lobby as a humanitarian bill for the most deserving and innocent high school students, is really a Democratic vehicle to mobilize Latino voters in 2012. Whether the insiders correctly interpret the Democrats’ maneuvering or not, the DREAM Act’s long shot chances are getting more remote with every passing day. Earlier this month Senator Jeff Sessions, the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,  distributed among his colleagues a fact sheet titled “Ten Things You Need To Know About S.3827, The DREAM Act” that outlines the bill’s most egregious offenses and is certain to raise eyebrows among the fence-sitters. To further diminish the DREAM Act’s prospects, on November 29, recently elected Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk will be sworn in to finish the remaining 35 days of appointee Roland Burris’ term. The back story regarding Kirk is that in a major election coup he won the Illinois seat once held by President Barack Obama by campaigning, in part, against the DREAM Act while his opponent Alexi Giannoulias was one of its biggest advocates. Giannoulias toured Illinois with DREAM Act’s most influential supporters President Barack Obama, Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez and promised that the bill would be one of his priorities. Giannoulias: “I am in favor of the Dream Act, I am in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. We can’t afford to tear these families apart, these are young men and women, who want a chance, a shot at the American dream.” Kirk about the DREAM Act: “This is not the time to do that.” Kirk, during his five-term career in the House, strongly favored reducing immigration. By replacing Burris, a certain “yea” vote, Kirk’s probable “nay” will help defeat the DREAM Act again—and hopefully send it to its grave.