Posted on 06/28/2007 1:25:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
With his caucus bitterly divided and the Senate descending into procedural warfare, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) stayed away from the Senate floor as the most sweeping overhaul of immigration laws in 21 years hung in the balance.
Facing the biggest challenge of his leadership tenure, McConnell has largely chosen to work behind the scenes and instead allow a bloc of conservatives to spar with Republican supporters of the bill.
Conservatives also railed all day on the process used by Senate leaders to bring the bill to the floor. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democrats wasted no opportunity to point out that the arcane procedural tactic, which limited debate to a pre-negotiated list of 27 amendments, was worked out with McConnell.
“It wasn’t done by me, it was done by us,” Reid said, referring to the Republican leader.
Yesterday the Senate moved methodically through the list of amendments in advance of a decisive vote today to shut down debate and move to a final vote on the bill’s passage. The success of today’s vote depended largely on how many amendments were considered and which were agreed to during yesterday’s debate.
Since the bipartisan negotiators and the White House reached a deal on the bill last month, opposition on the right has been growing. That has put Republicans who are up for reelection, including McConnell, in an uncomfortable position as the White House has launched an all-out push to give President Bush a major victory in his final months in office.
McConnell’s absence from the fight highlighted his lukewarm feeling on the bill. He is neither an advocate nor a staunch critic of the bill, and has not said how he would vote on the underlying bill. The senator voted against efforts to shut down debate earlier this month, but voted Tuesday on a motion to proceed to debating the bill. Last year he voted for the measure that passed the Senate but failed to clear Congress.
Publicly, McConnell has tried to limit talking about the issue. Reporters who pepper him with questions about immigration legislation often are greeted with silence. And recently he cut short a news conference on energy issues once questions turned to the immigration bill.
Analysts note that McConnell — who recently said next year’s reelection race will be the toughest of his career — is in a “lose-lose” situation. If the Senate passes the bill, they say, conservative critics will argue that McConnell helped facilitate its passage. If the bill stalls, Democrats will use the bill’s failure to aid in their characterization of the senator as an “obstructionist.”
McConnell was absent as several of his Republican colleagues highlighted the stark differences within the caucus over the process and the contents of the bill. In a heated argument, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), an opponent of the bill, yelled at another critic, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), for objecting to an amendment authored by the Iowa Republican. Sessions, in turn, blamed Reid for standing in the way. Reid said he was trying to allow people to debate their amendments all day.
Then Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) took the floor and blasted the Grassley amendment: “If you want to make sure the bill does not work, then adopt the Grassley amendment.”
Despite his absence on the floor, McConnell was engaged closely with the floor proceedings, holding member-level meetings through the course of the day, his aides said.
That was enough to infuriate conservative critics of the bill, who say he was not doing enough to stop Democrats from railroading the bill through the Senate. The conservative opposition, led by Tom Coburn (Okla.), Jim DeMint (S.C.) and David Vitter (La.), argued they were not given ample time to review substantive changes to the underlying bill before they had a chance to vote.
“It’s patently unfair,” Vitter said. “We have the right to understand what is before the Senate. We have the right to read it.”
McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said the senator wanted to move the bill through the regular channels.
“For whatever reason, the Senate Republican leader is not playing an active role in protecting the rights of his caucus,” said Brian Darling, director of Senate relations at the Heritage Foundation. “I think he’s staying out of the fight, and allowing others in leadership to cut deals.”
Still, some Republicans concerned about the process came to McConnell’s defense yesterday.
“He’s doing the best he can with a divided conference,” DeMint said.
If you can't stand up for what you believe in....then you stand for nothing!
>>Scary Harry Reid is threatening to resurrect the beast from the dead yet again. What will Mitch do, huddle in the closet with the democrats once more to bring it back or tell dingy to get lost? Only the shadow knows.<<
I suppose that’s just an opinion, not anything Reid has said? It’s possible that Reid has actually “bowed to reality” as Chertoff said.
However, I would not be surprised to see bits of the amnesty bill appear in WOT appropriations bills.
McConnell “played” Reid & Kennedy masterfully.
No did Reid did say it, I’ll try to find the article and post a link but he mentioned that we’re only 6 months into this Congress and the “bill” could be coming back soon. Kennedy also said the same thing. It can’t go anywhere though without the cooperation from Lott and McConnell again. I do agree they’ll try slip their scamnesty one piece at a time but they will be watched like hawks now that they openly boasted they’ll be attempting it.
I don’t trust McConnell. He’s too sneaky. If he was totally against the bill, he would have said so. I have no confidence in this dude...he’s too cozy with Reid and can’t be trusted. We’ll regret it.
Are you complimenting McConnell? I hope not.
Sitting on the sidelines, AWOL from the floor, was wrong. He should have been like Sessions.
And I’m not talking just about today....it’s about his refusal to do what’s right for the American people all along, refusing to speak out against it, or make comment on it, as Sessions has been, all along. Even Byrd has done right by this.
It would, if the minority leader had actually BEEN LEADING.
Sessions was doing that, gloriously.
McConnell was “neither hot nor cold”. Like the Laodiceans he deserves to “be spit out of the mouth”!
Wish I knew who first wrote that, but I remember it from Body Heat
Proverbs 3:32
In which case loyal American conservatives have no use for you. Mitch ought to seek other employment.
Of the 53 votes to kill this atrocious bill only 11 were Democrats. Now, tell me how Mitch failed us.
Lets see, that means 42 were Republicans. Now, tell me specifically what Mitch did, personally, to get those 42 votes.
Outwitted and outmaneuvered Reid/Kennedy. And delivered enough Republican votes to kill the bill! That’s leadership!!
Now, answer my question.
It would be, if true. All you have done here is to assume facts not in evidence.
Ping me when you have some substantive proof that McConnell was not doing everything possible to deliver "Yes" votes for El Presidente or, at minimum, was simply not sitting on his hands hoping the entire career-ending mess would go away.
If all you have is some more generalities and unsubstantiated claims, don't bother.
Under what premise do you willingly credit such a thing to mute on all fronts McConnell?
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