Update (5:38 p.m.): I’m sure this goes without saying, but I’ll say it. I’m going by my recollections of the calls, so if you actually care about this stuff, listen for yourselves. NZ links to audio, and Wizbang has it on Audioblog.
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I just got off a blogger conference call with Congressman John Shadegg, running for House Majority Whip. After he gave his “Why I’m the right man for the job” speech, I was out of the gate with the first question.
I asked about his position on illegal immigration and the border fence. Shadegg said he voted for the bill that included the border fence, and he wants to stem the flow of illegal immigration.
He does not support George Bush’s amnesty-for-illegal-aliens plan.
This was my chief concern, but I liked all of his answers, including responses to the NSA’s monitoring of suspected terrorist communications. The man sounded sincere and straightforward to me. He sounded a bit nervous, too, which I thought made him seem even more sincere. It showed me that he’s taking the whole thing, including the blogger conference call, seriously. Listen for yourselves.
At 12:30, a conference call with Congressman John Boehner. At 3:00, Acting House Majority Whip Roy Blunt. I’ll echo the sentiments of some blogger I can’t recall at the moment: the most open leadership race yet?
As usual, The Truth Laid Bear’s NZ’s got his stuff together. Check it out.
Conference call participants react: Michelle Malkin, Mike Krempasky, Hugh Hewitt…
Participant James Joyner has a more thorough reaction with questions, etc.
Read An Appeal from Center-Right Bloggers for background.
12:54 p.m.: Still on the call. Notes: Dealing with illegal immigration is a priority, so I asked Congressman Boehner why he voted against the recent immigration bill. The issue, he said, was what he considered an “unfunded mandate†in the bill, which would require employers to verify the legal status of all existing employees, with no provision to fund such a huge task. Boehner said he has no problem requiring employers to verify new hires. (Less of a financial burden, we assume).
Many of you may know that as a matter of policy, unfunded mandates are bad. When the federal government “orders†states and localities to carry out certain responsibilities and duties without providing specific funds for them to do so, it is considered an unfunded mandate.
Boehner insisted that he supports the border fence and asked his colleagues to remove the employer verification provision from the bill, but he was voted down. He chose not to vote for the bill for that reason. In subsequent responses, Boehner said he’s against amnesty and supports sending illegal aliens home. I wonder if Roy Blunt will be so blunt? We’ll see… 
I posed the completely unfair question of, “if you’re not to be Majority Leader – who do you like, Blunt or Shadegg?” Especially considering that when it comes to reform in the House – there doesn’t seem to be too much difference between Boehner and Shadegg. Boehner admitted that when it came to the central issue in the this contest, there’s “not a lot of daylight between us.”
Also see James Joyner’s reaction.
3:08 p.m.: Blunt is pro-enforcement. Well, I think I’m done here. Listen to all conference calls. In case you can’t download the MP3s, Wizbang has the conferences loaded on Audioblog.
Some participating bloggers were not happy about the set-up. The call was short and number of questions very limited. Unlike the first two calls, the one with the Majority Whip was very…controlled. It felt more like an opportunity for him to talk, talk, talk while we just listened in. Only five questions made it through. The other calls were…participatory (Is that a word?).
Blunt is the Majority Whip, so I’m sure the man’s very busy.
More from James Joyner and Tim Chapman blogging at Townhall.com.
John Hawkins: “All 3 candidates are real conservatives, not RINOS…”
Read Open Borders, Closed Minds.
Update II (7:04 p.m.): Ed Morrissey, a blogger with a day job, blogs his impressions of the conference calls.
Matt Margolis responds, too.
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Hmmmm… Shadegg is sounding better and better. I knew nothing about him until you brought up his name, so I’ve been playing catch up.
Former 3 term Colorado Governor Richard Lamm has some AMAZING things to say about America’s immigration disaster – and he is a Democrat. See article at:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp
I had a most interesting exchange of emails with him and can email you some more excerpts if you are interested. Lamm is now a professor at University of Colorado, quite astounding.
Congressman Shadegg is quite impressive and he makes up a whole lot for those of us in Arizona who are not happy with RINO McCain.
Blunt is rather busy, yes – but he’s busy trying to win his race. He could’ve taken a few more questions, considering that Congress is out of session today.
These guys are way ahead of the MSM; they understand the power of the blog and they may even be beginning to figure out that they can not spin their way around the blogosphere using a table spoon and a forked tongue.
Chalk one up for the a return to direct representation.
Shadegg brings the freshest breath of air to the table IMHO.
I’m not sure it really makes a difference who is selected since it appears that keeping the republican reps in line is like the cliched herding cats. Hopefully John Shadegg is sincere and not just saying what he thinks people want to hear and will not become co-opted should he get the post.
The issue, he said, was what he considered an “unfunded mandate†in the bill, which would require employers to verify the legal status of all existing employees, with no provision to fund such a huge task.
“…verify the legal status of all existing employees…”
I’m pretty sure this is already a ‘law’- and I’m thinking that the Feds could perhaps maybe possibly consider enforcing it once in a while?
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