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On Behalf of the 'American People'

From left, Voice of the American People Jeff Sessions, Rep. Brian Bilbray and Sen. Jim Bunning.
From left, Voice of the American People Jeff Sessions, Rep. Brian Bilbray and Sen. Jim Bunning. (By Chip Somodevilla -- Getty Images)
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"So, Mr. President, how does a bill normally become law?" Sessions inquired.

The presiding officer, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), didn't answer; he was signing letters on his official stationery. All other senators had left the chamber, as had all but three or four staffers. This left Sessions as the sole spokesman for what he repeatedly referred to as "the American people."

"There's no way that we could and should produce this bill after one week's debate," Sessions maintained. "If that's so, the American people can know we've had a railroad job for sure."

Sessions went on to outline an expanded Bill of Rights for the American people. "The American people have a right to be nervous about this," he said. "They have a right to be cynical."

As for the negotiations that led to the immigration compromise, he said, "I will tell you who was not in those meetings: It was the American people." In fact, negotiators "would listen to everybody, I guess, but the American people."

Not surprisingly, Sessions argued that this exclusion "should cause the American people to be troubled." The senator found this all the more disappointing because "the American people, for the last 40 years, have had the right instincts."

"The American people do care," Sessions continued. And public meetings about immigration "might have really made the American people feel better." Instead, there was "an attempt to mislead the American people," and, as a result, "the American people are cynical on this point."

Sessions briefly yielded the floor to others who expanded on the theme. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) asserted that "if the American people fully understood what was buried in this bill, there would be a massive outcry."

Nobody, however, could speak for the American people as well as Sessions could. "It's time for us to listen to the American people," he lectured. "Their heart is right on the subject. They believe in immigration. They believe in a lawful system of immigration that should serve our national interest."

So, will Congress do something about it? The American people are skeptical.


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