Words to Live By Since 1993 A SPIFF Publication Vol. 2, No. 35 You're the crime, Bill. One Adam 12, One Adam 12 In one of those oh-so-common moments we have become accustomed to in the past year and a half, the Senate passed the long-debated and fully porked crime bill last Thursday night. (Ok, we know it's not a crime bill, but to save space, that's what we'll call it for now.) This time, however, there was a disturbing difference. Instead of the usual party line vote with Owl Gore standing by to break any tie, several very wrong-minded Republicans decided to join with the liberals and break the filibuster lead by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. If you need any example of why the Republican party lost the White House in 1992, you need look no further than the rouges' gallery that joined with the Democrats to pass a $30 billion fraud on the American people which was last year's Clinton "stimulus package" with a gun ban. They were the usual suspects: James Jeffords of Vermont, who is the only Republican to sign on to the Clinton Comprehensive Care Plan (CCCP); John Warner Taylor Todd Hilton Wilding Burton Burton Fortensky, who spends more time bashing the Republican nominee for Chuck Robb's seat than he does on the nation's problems; Arlen Specter, who has begun a one-man crusade to shift the Republican party to the radical left; John Chafee, who rather than stand for mandates that force companies to buy insurance, he proposed that the government force people to buy insurance; and, of course, Nancy Iscariot Kassebaum who decided in the waning hours of debate to switch sides and vote liberal (again). They were wrong. They know they were wrong. We know they were wrong. The only thing we don't know is why they did it. If you like you may ask them why they did it. We're giving you their phone numbers and, in some cases, their fax numbers. Yes, we know you have a fax, so if you want to you can send one to them and ask why they voted for midnight basketball and crafts classes in a crime bill. Once the deed was done, some Senators, like Daffuhzit Jim, jumped and ran from the building, terrified that the C-SPAN cameras would catch him in the act. Some stayed to yammer on about things which had absolutely no relevance to the crime bill, such as Harlan (I am not a political crony) Mathews' discussion of a food processing plant in East Tennessee. (Come to thing of it, there might have been some money for it in the bill.) And some chose to remain and pontificate for the cameras on how great they are. Joseph Biden of Delaware spoke about his adept handling of the bill for over twenty minutes, although he did take about five of those minutes to recognize the efforts of his staff--many of whose names he forgot-- including the staffer he credited with writing the bill. She is still a college student, he noted. We don't understand why those Republicans sided with people like Daffuhzit Jim, Ted Kennedy, and Joe Biden. When you look at how these libs vote and what they believe, it is unfathomable that any "Republican" could ever vote with them. But, they did. We promised you a list of phone numbers. Unlike President Clinton and Bill.... Traitor State Phone John H. Chafee R.I. 202-224-2921 John C. Danforth Missouri 202-224-6154 James M. Jeffords Vermont 202-224-5141 Nancy L. Kassebaum Kansas 202-224-4774 Fax: 202-224-3514 Arlen Specter Penn. 202-224-4254 John W. Warner Virginia 202-224-2023 Fax: 202-224-6295 "Give me your tired..." From the time Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba, that country has been a thorn in America's side. But we have always known that the leadership of Cuba was our enemy, not the people. For thirty years, the United States stood as a beacon of hope to those brave enough to flee the communist regime in Cuba. We came to the brink of war with the Soviet Union over Cuba and The President fought off Soviet and Cuban designs on nations such as Grenada and Nicaragua. Our country's leaders' commitment to see the Cuban people free has never wavered--until now. When the current misinformed administration announced that Cuban refugees would be placed in the same category as those from Haiti, they broke a contract our nation has kept for three decades. For all of those years, we offered Cuban refugees asylum in our nation and the opportunity to start a new life in freedom. The Clinton administration has broken that promise. But what's one more broken promise? Those of us who rightly opposed the administration's Haiti policy (the one that said we should let them all in. Yes, we know it is difficult to keep track of the policies.) based our argument on the fact that the Haitians were economic, not political refugees. We always said if those boats were coming from Cuba, it would be a different story. Well, now they are, and Clinton says they are no different. This president has made liars of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush. The promise of thirty years has been yanked away from these people just when they need it. We are not arguing logistics here. We know that there are great difficulties in finding places for the Cubans to stay and jobs for them to do. You will find, however, that there are many Cubans living good lives in south Florida who will help their fellow countrymen, regardless of the Clinton Administration. What we are arguing here is the need to honor your word, something this president knows nothing about. Now this administration has made liars of us all. Shame. A Change of Pace In case you've been searching the countryside for a Democrat who knows what he's doing, at least some of the time, you don't have to look as far as you may have thought. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama is the only Democrat who is smart enough to know that 20,000 cops are not 100,000 cops, and honest enough to admit it. You may want to thank him for trying. His phone number is 202-224-5744. Quote of the weak: "...Send these, the homeless, tempest-toast to me...." Tommy Burnett, trying to read the inscription under the Statue of Liberty Quote of the strong: "My colleagues are very sincere in spending your money." Sen. Orrin Hatch Words to Live By is published every week at about this time by Spiff. You can send a fax to us here in the Spiff Executive Plaza, towering over beautiful downtown Donelson, Tennessee at 615-883-0435.