Washington Watch: Gingrey heads for the border; Bishop's Super Bowl Bash

By Bob Keefe

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON -- With the Georgia Legislature debating tough new restrictions on illegal workers and Congress considering immigration reform, Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey of Marietta went straight to the epicenter of the immigration issue.

Gingrey and several other members of Congress just returned from a nearly three-day trip along the U.S.-Mexico border, stopping in Tucson and Nogales in Arizona and Columbus, N.M., where they talked to Border Patrol agents, residents and others.

Gingrey is a staunch proponent of tougher immigration laws. He has introduced or co-sponsored bills that would restrict how many family members a legal immigrant can sponsor for citizenship and eliminate the automatic birthright citizenship of children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States, which currently is guaranteed by the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

Gingrey said he last visited the nation's southern border in 2006. A lot has changed since then -- including Georgia's rise to become the state with the seventh-largest number of illegal immigrants.

Gingrey told me that his most recent visit to the border did nothing to soften his thoughts on getting tougher on immigration. If anything, he said, increased incidents of violence along the border have made him more determined.

"The big difference I see is the violence," Gingrey said. "The border is much more secure than it was in 2006, but it also is a much, much more dangerous situation.

"I see the level of violent activity on the border, and I worry about some of that ending up in Atlanta," he added.

Accompanying Gingrey on his border trip were fellow Republican Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Ed Royce of California.

Rep. Bishop's Super Bowl Party

No plans for the Super Bowl?

You might consider heading to southwest Georgia for Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop's Second Annual Bishop Super Bowl Bash -- but only if you have some cash to spare.

Bishop's party at the Occasions Event Center in Columbus is a fundraiser designed to raise money to pay off debts from his 2010 re-election campaign and prepare for what could be another tough campaign in 2012.

Given that Bishop came close to losing re-election in November and that Republicans are expected to heavily target his district again in 2012, it's not too surprising the 10-term congressman is already trying to raise campaign cash.

Suggested contributions at his Sunday event: $500 per individual or $750 per couple or $1,000-$1,500 per political action committee.

Kingston: ‘I came from God, not from a monkey'

Republican Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah went on liberal comedian commentator Bill Maher's HBO show recently and walked away with a monkey on his back.

In response to questions by Maher and others on the show, Kingston repeatedly denied he believed in evolution.

"I believe I came from God, not from a monkey, so the answer is no," he said at one point.

Later, he added sea life to the mix.

"I don’t believe a creature crawled out of the sea and became a human being one day," Kingston said.

He added that while he didn't accept the idea of animals evolving, "I think there's adaptation -- and I think that's actually what you're talking about."

If evolution is true, Kingston asked, "where's the missing link? I just want to know what it is."

Not surprisingly, left-leaning media outlets immediately picked up on the congressman's comments and took him to task.

The Huffington Post was among those that were quick to write about Kingston's comments -- pairing up pictures of him and a chimpanzee.