Something absolutely appalling took place this week in the United States Senate. The so-called 'world's greatest deliberative body' had a choice between protecting American citizens ... and utter lawlessness. Lawlessness prevailed!

44 Democratic senators and one Republican blocked a bill that would punish cities that give sanctuary to illegal aliens, even those wanted for a serious crime. The sanctuary city bill was attached to Kate's Law, which mandates prison terms for illegal aliens who return to the USA after committing aggravated felonies.

Meanwhile, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors proudly voted to retain its insane sanctuary policies. That is the very city, of course, where 32-year-old Kate Steinle was murdered by an illegal alien who simply should not have been in this country.

One of the supervisors, Malia Cohen, displayed her great bravery by declaring, 'I am not afraid of Fox News.' The audience cheered like trained seals brought in from San Francisco Bay. Ms. Cohen has another reason to be extremely proud - last year she sponsored a bill prohibiting employers and landlords from asking about an applicant's criminal history.

She also voted against a measure that would have prevented people from lying about on city sidewalks, although presumably not in front of the $581,000 condo she owned before it was foreclosed. This woman has a real knack for protecting the criminal class.

During an appearance on The Factor after those votes, Kate Steinle's parents expressed their utter disgust with what happened in San Francisco and Washington. Disgust, but not surprise. Sadly, we are accustomed to being slapped around by liberal politicians who never pay a price for their votes.

Juan Francisco Sanchez-Lopez, charged with the murder of Kate, is a career criminal who has used more than 30 aliases and has been deported to his native Mexico time and again. During his most recent return to the USA, he picked San Francisco because that city is known for leniency toward illegals. That's where he broke into a car, stole a handgun, and recklessly fired that gun in a public place, killing Kate Steinle.

Astoundingly, the New York Times portrays this repeat criminal as a choir boy who apparently got lost on the way to church: 'Mr. Lopez-Sanchez was a homeless man,' the Times tearfully lamented, 'with drug convictions but no record of violent crime; the bullet he fired was found to have ricocheted off the pier, suggesting that he had not targeted anyone.'

So the Times, rather than worrying about cops being shot and killed in Harlem, is actually defending this felonious thug in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the odious supervisor Malia Cohen had the audacity to claim that her city's sanctuary policy played no role in Kate Steinle's death. And another supervisor, David Campos, worried about 'scapegoating immigrants.' These lefty loons genuinely care more about killers than victims, and it is utterly sickening.

But don't wait for President Obama to criticize his party's decision to side with sanctuary cities and counties, which now number more than 300. He doesn't hesitate to weigh in when a boy designs a clock that resembles a bomb, but he is conspicuously silent when localities protect ticking human time bombs. President Obama is sworn to uphold the law of the land, but he does not uphold immigration law.

It is inevitable that another innocent person will be killed or raped or maimed by an illegal felon who has returned to the USA after being deported. Those are the miscreants who would be targeted by Kate's Law - we are not talking about gardeners and chambermaids and plumbers. When it happens, Malia Cohen and her pals might want to answer a few questions.

Right now the political establishment is pulling out its hair, wondering how a guy like Donald Trump could be leading the race for the Republican nomination. Perhaps they should look to Capitol Hill in the East and Telegraph Hill in the West. Democrats in the Senate, led by Harry Reid, endorse laws that protect violent felons. And city 'leaders' in San Francisco express great pride in doing the same thing.

Yes, things in much of America are totally out of control. Some liberal precincts resemble Tombstone, Arizona, that infamously lawless town in the Wild West. And many people find themselves wondering when a new sheriff will finally show up to restore some order. Wyatt Earp, a nation turns its frightened eyes to you.