"This will be a test for voters: Are Republicans capable of governing?"
An Immigration Vote Today,
Then the Real Fight Begins
By JOSEPH SCHUMAN
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
The Senate today is finally set to vote on an overhaul of U.S. immigration law that combines tighter border security with a new guest-worker program and a route to citizenship for millions of immigrants who have lived in the country illegally. But the bipartisan support it enjoyed so far belies a rocky legislative road ahead.
The Senate voted 73-25 yesterday to head off what the Washington Post describes as "endless debate" on the bill, though today's margin may not be as wide since some of its Republican opponents also backed the cloture, saying they'd had a fair amount of time to air their concerns. Yesterday's backers nonetheless included 31 Republicans, 41 Democrats and one independent. Since the bill was revived a few weeks ago, conservatives managed to add fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border and a reduction in the number of annual guest-worker permits, among other measures aimed at appeasing some Republican opponents, The Wall Street Journal notes. But the underlying plan remains intact. And hostility to this multifront approach to immigration has only increased in the House, where the immigration bill in play is one passed last fall that makes it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally and holds no prospect for changing the status of the estimated 12 million such immigrants in the country now.
President Bush continues to back the Senate bill, but House Republicans made clear in a meeting yesterday with White House political czar Karl Rove that they will fight it. The experience of Republican Rep. Mark Souder helps illustrate where that antagonism comes from. Mr. Souder, hammered by constituents for taking a moderate stand on immigration, recently got 7,100 fewer votes in the GOP primary than in 2004, when he had the same challenger, the Los Angeles Times reports. And he represents the far-from-the-border state of Indiana. "The mood is so angry, we can't hold the House with any bill" like the one in the Senate, Mr. Souder said. "The Senate bill would be worse than nothing." Other Republicans worry the larger national risk to the party would come from producing nothing after such a long, emotional debate on the subject. "At the end of the day, 'no deal' doesn't work," Rep. Thomas M. Davis III tells the Times. "This will be a test for voters: Are Republicans capable of governing?"
The larger turmoil among Republicans in Washington isn't helping the immigration issue. One lawmaker the White House must court is Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a fierce opponent of the Senate's compromise but whose influence on the matter -- as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee -- is key for any deal. Yet he is also among the lawmakers who have shown the most pique over the FBI's weekend raid at the Capitol Hill offices of Democrat William Jefferson. Yesterday, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a joint demand that the Justice Department return the papers of Mr. Jefferson, who is accused of accepting bribes. And Mr. Sensenbrenner, the New York Times reports, scheduled a hearing on the subject for next week that he has titled "Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?"
Then the Real Fight Begins
By JOSEPH SCHUMAN
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
The Senate today is finally set to vote on an overhaul of U.S. immigration law that combines tighter border security with a new guest-worker program and a route to citizenship for millions of immigrants who have lived in the country illegally. But the bipartisan support it enjoyed so far belies a rocky legislative road ahead.
The Senate voted 73-25 yesterday to head off what the Washington Post describes as "endless debate" on the bill, though today's margin may not be as wide since some of its Republican opponents also backed the cloture, saying they'd had a fair amount of time to air their concerns. Yesterday's backers nonetheless included 31 Republicans, 41 Democrats and one independent. Since the bill was revived a few weeks ago, conservatives managed to add fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border and a reduction in the number of annual guest-worker permits, among other measures aimed at appeasing some Republican opponents, The Wall Street Journal notes. But the underlying plan remains intact. And hostility to this multifront approach to immigration has only increased in the House, where the immigration bill in play is one passed last fall that makes it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally and holds no prospect for changing the status of the estimated 12 million such immigrants in the country now.
President Bush continues to back the Senate bill, but House Republicans made clear in a meeting yesterday with White House political czar Karl Rove that they will fight it. The experience of Republican Rep. Mark Souder helps illustrate where that antagonism comes from. Mr. Souder, hammered by constituents for taking a moderate stand on immigration, recently got 7,100 fewer votes in the GOP primary than in 2004, when he had the same challenger, the Los Angeles Times reports. And he represents the far-from-the-border state of Indiana. "The mood is so angry, we can't hold the House with any bill" like the one in the Senate, Mr. Souder said. "The Senate bill would be worse than nothing." Other Republicans worry the larger national risk to the party would come from producing nothing after such a long, emotional debate on the subject. "At the end of the day, 'no deal' doesn't work," Rep. Thomas M. Davis III tells the Times. "This will be a test for voters: Are Republicans capable of governing?"
The larger turmoil among Republicans in Washington isn't helping the immigration issue. One lawmaker the White House must court is Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a fierce opponent of the Senate's compromise but whose influence on the matter -- as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee -- is key for any deal. Yet he is also among the lawmakers who have shown the most pique over the FBI's weekend raid at the Capitol Hill offices of Democrat William Jefferson. Yesterday, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a joint demand that the Justice Department return the papers of Mr. Jefferson, who is accused of accepting bribes. And Mr. Sensenbrenner, the New York Times reports, scheduled a hearing on the subject for next week that he has titled "Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?"
posted by Rusty @ 5/25/2006 08:54:00 AM
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