Unfortunately, the ‘Pubbies are going to the blame for the bill; it was pushed by a Republican President and championed by the Republican Senate Minority Leader, and by serveral high-profile Republican Senators. The bill would never have stood a chance if the ‘Pubbies had opposed it in a united fashion.
It may be a Democrat bill, but the ‘Pubbies are going to get the blame.
And who is going to get the credit for stopping it? If you were to ask the public, which party represents more closely your position on immigration and securing the border, the majority would say the GOP. It was the Rep House last year that passed an enforcement only bill with most of the Dems voting against it. Last year's senate bill was voted 32-23 AGAINST by the Reps.
I strongly believe that this can be a winning issue for the Reps. Hillary, Oabama, Dodd, and Biden voted for cloture and are supporters of this amnesty bill as they were in 2006. Only McCain among the GOP candidates has supported this bill and it has effectively killed his candidacy. There is a clear difference between the two parties on this issue despite the WH's efforts going against its own party.