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By Suzanne Gamboa

A co-founder of the Tea Party Express announced support for immigration reform Wednesday.

Sal Russo, co-founder of the organization that uses national bus tours to spread its political views, said Wednesday "conservatives should be leaders in the immigration reform movement."

"There are so many bad ideas about immigration reform that too many conservatives have become satisfied with just saying no The time has come for conservatives to step up and be leaders," he said in a call with reporters. Russo also expressed his support in an opinion article.

Russo said he wants to change the vocabulary on the issue because conservatives equate immigration reform with "amnesty." "We need to get conservatives to the (House) floor. Too many conservatives have not been," Russo said.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., immediately lauded Russo in a statement. "It is clear that conservatives understand that we cannot continue to have a system with porous borders that hurts our economy and threatens our national security interests," said Diaz-Balart, who has been trying to build support among his GOP colleagues.

Also Wednesday, the pro-immigration reform groups Partnership for a New American Economy and Americans for Tax Reform released a national survey of 400 Republican primary voters who identify with the Tea Party.

The survey found 71 percent thought Congress should act on immigration this year and 76 percent support improved border security and enforcement, as well as a way to let immigrants remain in the U.S.

Also, 70 percent support providing legal status or U.S. citizenship for immigrants illegally here. Sixty-nine percent said they'd support a candidate who backs broad reform.

The survey has a margin of error of 4.9 percent and was done May 9-12.

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Tea Party Leader Calls for Conservative-Led Immigration Reform

After months of being on the receiving end of criticism that theyre not doing enough on immigration, Senate Democrats are aggressively pushing the focus back to House Republicans.

Liberal activists and lawmakers have largely concentrated on President Barack Obama recently, urging his administration to ease deportations. Now, some of those same voices are training their fire on the GOP lawmakers in the House taking seriously threats from congressional Republicans that major executive action could kill the prospects of reform altogether.

The rhetorical pressure was on full display Wednesday with twin speeches on the Senate floor, as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took turns blasting House Republicans for not moving on immigration reform so far this year and warning them that time is running out.

I want to be clear what our window is for the House to pass immigration reform it is the window between early June and the August recess, said Schumer, a member of the Senates Gang of Eight that produced a comprehensive reform bill that cleared the chamber nearly one year ago. If Speaker [John] Boehner, [Majority] Leader [Eric] Cantor and other Republican leaders refuse to schedule a vote on immigration reform during this window it will not pass until 2017 at the earliest.

(Also on POLITICO: Tea party leader backs immigration reform)

Reid noted that Wednesday marked 321 days since his chamber passed a sweeping comprehensive reform bill.

We need to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform, he said. We can only do that if the Republicans in the House, led by Speaker Boehner, do the right thing.

The strategy reflects a renewed hope that at least some type of immigration reform legislation is still possible after the issue has stalled on Capitol Hill for the past year amid intense opposition from conservatives in the House.

Buzz about a potential reform effort is growing this week. Speaking in San Antonio on Monday, Boehner said he still wants to do immigration reform and noted that lawmakers in both parties are getting closer on the policy side.

But the window for a new law or even smaller pieces of a comprehensive bill is rapidly closing. Obama noted on Tuesday that lawmakers have just two, three months to get the ball rolling.

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House pressed on immigration

David Allen Legal Tuesday: Flashing Automobile Lights and the First Amendment
Michael Elli drove his vehicle through a speed trap. He warned an oncoming vehicle of the speed trap by flashing his lights. The Missouri town in which this occurred had an ordinance which...

By: David Allen

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David Allen Legal Tuesday: Flashing Automobile Lights and the First Amendment - Video

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wholeheartedly endorsed a constitutional amendment to limit campaign spending on Thursday, putting the Senate on course to vote on the matter as early as July.

Reid said that the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the amendment on June 3, which allows Congress and the states to limit fundraising and spending on federal campaigns and gives lawmakers the ability to regulate outside groups. From there, the amendment will go to the Senate floor, where it has little chance of passing due to broad GOP opposition to meddling with campaign finance laws.

But Democrats believe the failed vote on the amendment, which needs the backing of 67 senators, will still pay dividends in the run-up to the midterm elections, painting Republicans as supporters of big money in politics and Democrats as on the side of ordinary voters.

(On POLITICO Magazine: Democrats have a Koch problem)

Let me pose a question to everyone, including my friend the Republican Leader [Mitch McConnell]. If this unprecedented spending is free speech, where does that leave our middle-class constituents? The poor? Reid said Thursday morning. It leaves them out in the cold. How could everyday working families afford to make their voices heard if money equals free speech?

Republicans quickly rebutted Reid, accusing him of moving to limit Americans First Amendment rights.

Todays proposal by the Senate Majority Leader represents an all-out assault on the right to free speech, a right which undergirds all others in our democracy. Its also a clear sign of just how desperate elected Washington Democrats have become in their quest to hold onto power, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Washington Democrats have shown again and again how determined they are to shut down the voices of anyone who disagrees with them, whether its targeting groups through the IRS or looking over the shoulders of reporters at local newspapers and on news radio. But this latest proposal goes beyond everything theyve attempted previously.

(Also on POLITICO: American Bridge starts Koch project)

Even John McCain, a previous supporter of campaign finance reform, said in an interview that he will vote against the amendment, calling it as exercise in hypocrisy for Democrats.

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Reid backs campaign spending limit

By Matt Ward

Three new council members were elected and the first amendment to the city charter was passed by 25 votes Saturday in the City of Fredericksburg election held at Fredericksburg Middle School.

Of the citys 7,512 registered voters, only 16 percent (or 1,212 voters) actually cast their ballot in this years election.

I think that this election was more about the incumbents than it was about the amendment, charter amendment organizer Isabel Wertz said. I hope that the city will be more thoughtful in the future of how the revenue of the city is being spent.

Former mayor Linda Langerhans defeated current mayor Jeryl Hoover 687-494, while Jerry Luckenbach and Bobby Watson were elected to replace current council members Tim Dooley and Kathy Sanford.

Luckenbach led the council candidates with 683 votes, with Watson in second with 657 votes and incumbent Dooley in third with 513 votes. Sanford chose not to run for re-election.

Its going to be incumbent on the three new council members to get updated as soon as possible because theyre going to be dealing with these issues in the next several months, City Manager Kent Myers said Monday. There are a lot of things going on and so Im going to have to spend a lot of time with the three new council members bringing them up to date.

Agendas for the next two council meetings slated for May 19 and June 2 will likely be lighter than usual as the new council gets acclimated. The first council retreat with the newly elected officials is tentatively set for June 13.

I think the councils positions on certain issues will change with three new council members. The message Ive sent to staff is that Youll have to be adaptable to that change and understanding of that, Myers said. Whenever you have a majority of the council that turns over, there could be a new direction on some of these issues, whether its lighting standards or property tax collection. We want to try and get a feel for that as soon as possible so we dont go down the path even further if the majority of the council doesnt agree with that direction.

For more on this story, read this weeks print and online editions of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. If you are a print subscriber, your full online subscription is free. All you need to do is call 830-997-2155 to get a password. If you are not a subscriber, call 997-2155 or click on the Subscribe button on the left side of the home page and sign up today!

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City Charter amendment passes 581-556