Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

— Emma Lazarus, 1883

I’m ashamed of our nation today.

I’m ashamed that the U. S. Senate had the chance to do the right thing.

And instead, the U. S. Senate could not muster 60 votes to bring the DREAM Act to the Senate floor for a vote.

It would have cost nothing, in fact, in a very short amount of time, it would have contributed to the national economy.

It would have allowed thousands of kids who believe that America is their home to have the chance to live the American dream.

It, simply, was the right thing to do.

I am proud of Senator Dick Durbin who said,

I want to make it clear to my colleagues, you won’t get many chances in the United States Senate, in the course of your career, to face clear votes on the issue of justice…. Thousands of children in America who live in the shadows dream of greatness. They are children who have been raised in this country. They stand in the classrooms and pledge allegiance to our flag. They sing our Star-Spangled Banner as our national anthem. They believe in their heart of hearts this is home. This is the only country they have every known.

These are the names of the senators who voted against it or – in an even more cowardly fashion, chose not to vote at all. These are the senators who do not believe that those who were brought to this country through no choice of their own do not have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are the men and women who denied children the chance to live a dream. I want every person on the list below to have to sit down and listen to a group of students who lives were affected by their vote. I want them to listen to the stories that so many of us in schools hear day after day, year after year. I want them to look at them and try to justify their vote. This vote was abut moving past politics. It was, simply, about doing the right thing.

Every Senator on this list should have to answer for their vote. Our students whose lives would be profoundly changed by the passage of the DREAM Act should, simply, ask, "Why did you vote against giving me a chance at the American Dream." They can’t, of course, because to do so would be to put themselves at risk. So I will ask for them. And I call on everyone who reads this blog to do the same.

"Senators, why did you deny innocent children the chance at the American Dream?"

No Votes – 41
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (R-MA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagan (D-NC)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
Kyl (R-AZ)
LeMieux (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wicker (R-MS)

Not Voting – 4
Bunning (R-KY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)