The Immigration Bill that would not die

It appears that the rumors of the death of the Immigration Bill were exaggerated. It is coming back. The Senate leadership has agreed to reschedule the bill, something they would only do if they had some reason to believe that some Senators who had voted against the bill last week were going to change their vote. Apparently some of those who voted against the bill because there was so much public pressure against it have had second thoughts and are now going to side with the business interests and their own long-term career interests and against the strong passions of their party’s voter base.

This might be a good time for those members of the public who have been opposing the bill and creating such a public furor that they got ¾ of the Republican Senators to vote against it to think about the implications of the brevity of their victory. If you create a big enough noise you can influence some votes in the short term, while passions are high and people and the media are paying attention, but over the long haul the money interests and the professional interests of the party insiders are going to win out against public pressure and voter opinion every time.

Republicans who have been opposing this bill might want to ask themselves why they ever felt they belonged in the same political party with the business people who have such different priorities and are undermining all their efforts. Your supposed common cause with these people has been a mirage. What are you going to do now?