Do-nothing Congress

 

With the immigration problems in this country, surely Congress should have done something. They did….by ending discussion about it.

It’s interesting how differently this is being reported in different media. Look at the lead for MSNBC’s article:

The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush’s plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections.

Responding to a stinging political setback, President Bush sounded resigned to defeat.

Now note how the Wall Street Journal reported it:

The Senate fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on immigration overhaul, dealing a near-fatal blow to the landmark bill and one that could very well dash President Bush’s hopes of ever achieving this goal before leaving the White House.

The 46-53 roll call evolved into a blowout as a strong majority of Republicans sought cover and lined up against the administration once the outcome became apparent. Having invested substantial time in the effort, Senate Majority Leader Hary Reid (D., Nev.) was prepared to pull the bill in favor of beginning debate on a defense authorization measure for the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1…

Beyond this summer, the political and legislative calendars don’t favor a quick turnaround, and House Democrats will be reluctant to act given the continued stalemate in the Senate. Already the 2008 presidential elections have begun to intrude on the debate, and Republican lawmakers, worried about their own political survival, are more reluctant to take risks for the president.

So….now what? I heard a news report estimate that immigration overhaul probably will not come back up for discussion until ’09. Is that a victory for anybody?

The forces that pushed for guest worker status and path to citizenship failed to get that. The forces that pushed for a security wall or fence and stricter crackdowns on illegal immigrants failed to get that. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for everybody?

Sen. Jon Kyl (R, Ariz.), who opposed last year’s failed proposal but then joined in crafting the new package, appealed to his party: “In order to enforce the law we have to have an enforceable law…Doing nothing is not acceptable.”

But that’s just what they did.