I'm not usually one to applaud the actions of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. But his little quarrel with President Bush this week over the immigration reform bill produced at least one pleasing exchange. Choosing not to keep his hand out of the finger-pointing battle between Reid and Senator Bill Frist over who was responsible for blocking the bill, Bush foolishly accused Reid of "single-handedly thwarting" the bill's passage. Reid's response?
"President Bush has as much credibility on immigration as he does on Iraq and national security. . . If the president is serious about moving forward, then he should join me in calling on Sen. Frist to bring immigration reform back to the Senate floor when we return" from a two-week recess, Reid said. "Hopefully, by then, President Bush and his majority leader will have found the backbone to stop the extreme elements of the Republican Party from blocking improvements to America's security," Reid said.
Nice.
Unfortunately, this battle highlights the failure of Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill on which both sides had reached a compromise. It would have been nice if Reid had followed his jab at the president with a statement on just why the bill could not escape deadlock. Reid could have shone the spotlight on Republican confusion over how to deal with the issue of immigration with the midterm elections fast approaching. Hopefully when the Dems come back from their vacations, they'll be organized to mount a full-court press on the Republicans, forcing them to choose between appealing to their Latino base, or safeguarding themselves against charges of providing "amnesty" to millions of undocumented illegal aliens.
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