Generally speaking, the reaction of most proponents of the recently defeated Amnesty/Immigration Surge Bill has been venomous outrage. So it was pleasant to come across a courteous and respectful assessment by Carlos Sanchez, Editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald:

I have long supported Bush’s philosophy on immigration...And I supported his recent attempts to pass immigration reform...

But, alas, the opponents of the bill prevailed and did so in a grand manner that I had to respect. It was democracy at its best — and an instructive lesson for anyone remotely interested in politics...I’m certain there were people who supported the legislation, but I never saw a single shred of evidence that they were out there. But countless times a day, I received messages from a variety of groups that had Freedom or American or Liberty as part of their title. All of them deplored what they called the amnesty legislation.

The discipline of these groups was a sight to behold. Someone created a set of talking points that declared opponents need only focus on one word — amnesty —to denounce the legislation. And every group that came out against it did precisely that.

So my hat is off to those mostly conservative groups who won this debate. It was textbook democracy and they deserve the victory.

Skilful immigration word games Sunday July 8 2007

But what makes this editorial stand out is not good manners but a startling anecdote. Sanchez reports that a former Mexican Government official, Juan Hernandez (whom we have had occasion to notice before)

was the keynote speaker at a Mission Waco dinner and he urged everyone to get in touch with a member of Congress and support the immigration legislation. So intent was he to demonstrate the message that he pulled out his cell phone, held it up to the microphone and called Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s 'office, only to hear a recording that her voice mail was full.

Would an American public figure have dared to do the same in Mexico? Will it always be a one way street?