Tea party activists are targeting Senate Republicans who voted in favor of a controversial immigration reform bill with plans to pack town hall meetings and jam phone lines over the 4th of July holiday, Politico reports.
"The anger is more intense now than it was in 2010," said Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation. "They are more upset about the amnesty bill than they were about Obamacare."
Amy Kremer, chairwoman of Tea Party Express, predicts some lawmakers will avoid public appearances during the holiday to sidestep embarrassing showdowns with an angry conservative base. Senators don't want a repeat of videotaped town hall meetings in previous years that showed haughty lawmakers in shouting matches with angry constituents.
But Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, whose amendment on border control convinced 14 in his party to support the omnibus bill, thinks those who opposed the measure will face a bigger backlash from voters.
"Once they understand what this amendment really does — in spite of the demagoguing of some of my colleagues — I think they’ll say: 'wait a minute. So people voted against 20,000 border patrol agents?'" Corker said.
The immigration bill approved by the Senate last week on a vote of 68 to 32, would grant amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants. Corker's border security was criticized by Republicans opposing the bill for making half-hearted efforts like authorizing 20,000 new agents, but not authorizing funding to pay the border officials.
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