Immigration Men - Leaders And Cheerleaders

A dubious McCain claim that Obama killed immigration reform sparks a ludicrous rebuttal from the McClatchy News Service.  Here we go:

The [McCain] campaign Friday launched a 30-second Spanish-language television ad charging that Democrat Barack Obama and his Senate colleagues torpedoed meaningful changes in immigration laws.             

"The press reports that their efforts were 'poison pills' that made immigration reform fail," the ad charges. "The result: No guest worker program. No path to citizenship. No secure borders. No reform. Is that being on our side? Obama and his congressional allies ready to block immigration reform, but not ready to lead."

What that's wrong: Media accounts cited two votes as effectively killing immigration reform last year — and Obama was on the same side as McCain in both.

So what does McClatchy say were the key votes that killed immigration reform?

On June 7, supporters failed by 15 votes to cut off a filibuster. McCain and Obama voted to limit debate. The Politico headline the next day: "Senate immigration compromise collapses."

On June 28, another effort to limit debate failed by 14 votes; CNN called it a "crushing defeat." Obama and McCain again voted to cut off debate, but it was largely Republican senators who led the filibuster.

In its review of the 2007 Congress, Congressional Quarterly cited both votes as crucial to killing the immigration measure.

Oh, for heaven's sake - the cloture votes were a symptom of the bill's failure to attract a bipartisan coalition, not a cause of that failure.

Now in my humble opinion Republican hard-liners were going to kill any bill with anything that looked like an amnesty provision.  It is also true that when a bipartisan effort fails there will be people on both sides blaming the other.  However, there was a bipartisan group of Senators who took political risks and offended their own party by conceding points to the other side; McCain was in this group and Obama was not.  In fact, Obama voted for a successful deal-killing amendment backed by Big Labor at a point when the bill was in its death throes. 

Let's start with something more substantial than two cloture votes - here is the Christian Science Monitor measuring Obama's bipartisan rhetoric and practice:

Obama was part of the bipartisan group of senators who began meeting in 2005 on comprehensive immigration reform. But last summer, with the presidential nominating race well under way, Obama backed 11th-hour amendments – supported by labor, immigrant rights, and clergy groups – that Republicans saw as imperiling the fragile compromise.

None of those measures passed. But Obama was part of a 49-to-48 majority that voted to end after five years a temporary worker program that had been a cornerstone of the immigration deal [this was the Dorgan amendment]. The vote, backed by labor, was seen as a major setback to bipartisan negotiations.

"That's great to talk about bipartisanship and change, but to bring us together on big issues, you've got to say no to your base," says Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina, whose approval ratings in his home state plummeted during the debate.

"Bipartisanship that really matters on something big comes at a price," says Senator Graham, a prominent McCain supporter.  "I was disappointed" in Obama.   

Bob Novak, obviously partisan, wrote this about the Dorgan Amendment:

Democrat Byron Dorgan, who seldom has tasted legislative success during 15 years in the Senate, scored a dubious victory last week. He was able to insert a poison pill into the immigration reform bill that aimed at emasculating the essential guest-worker program. The 49 to 48 vote that passed Dorgan's amendment included surprising support from two prominent first-term senators: Jim DeMint, a conservative Republican from South Carolina, and Barack Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate from Illinois.

Dorgan pushed his killer amendment by voicing the Great Plains populism of his home state of North Dakota, but the measure was the product of organized labor. DeMint, normally counted on to oppose anything with the union label, admittedly voted for the Dorgan amendment for the sole purpose of killing the immigration bill. Obama's vote was even more surprising, considering his participation in the closed-door bipartisan drafting of the immigration compromise that had secured a major change.

The Dorgan amendment is a classic poison pill: designed to kill, not improve, the bill. Its passage makes resurrection of immigration reform all the more difficult. Decisive votes by DeMint and Obama were not appreciated by the bipartisan group that had crafted the bargain intended to secure America's borders while permitting an orderly flow of temporary workers.

The politics get tricky. If the votes weren't there for the final bill anyway, Obama was safer backing this valentine to organized labor.  Of course, being safer is not always consistent with being a leader and taking political risks, as McCain did with this bill.

That said, if the votes weren't there then some bill opponent will look for cover by claiming that the Dorgan Amendment was the final straw, which gives short shrift to the rest of the bales of hay that had piled up in opposition.  Well - Obama's vote here may not have been decisive but it certainly hurt instead of helped.

One last gasp - Earl Ofari Hutchinson evaluated McCain's charge that Obama killed immigration reform when McCain made it last July, writing this:

This much is clear in looking back at the Senate immigration debate in the spring 2007, Obama did vote for five amendments dubbed "poison pill" amendments. They badly threw out of whack the carefully crafted, but always fragile, compromise package that Democrats and Republicans cobbled together to get a bill passed. The Amendments lowered the visa quota for guest workers, put a severe time limit on the temporary guest worker program, and the temporary worker visa programs, revised the system for evaluating immigrant citizenship claims, and changed the time limit on the renewal of visas for some immigrants.

The amendments were backed by liberal and labor groups. The intent was to make the bill more expansive, balanced, and fair. But it was also the classic case of noble intent clashing with political practicality and a very tenuous Senate Democrat and Republican consensus on the type of immigration reform bill that realistically could pass, and that Bush would sign. The amendments predictably were rejected. Both Senator Ted Kennedy and McCain turned thumbs down on them (McCain did not vote on one of the amendments). The time delay, energy expended and wasted debating the amendments (and others), upset the delicate balance and helped dig the hole deeper for the bill.

...The immigration reform bill killing amendments, and Obama's vote on them, give McCain the hook he needs to lambaste Obama as an immigration reform spoiler. Worse, it allows him to try to plant the idea among some Latino voters that if Obama can't be trusted to do what it takes to get immigration reform through, than why expect him to do what it takes on other issues such as affordable health care that are vital to Latinos.

No mention here of the Dorgan Amendment, which did pass, but his gist is clear - Obama played it safe leading cheers from his partisan sideline and did not attempt to lead a bipartisan push for compromise, unlike McCain.

Let's add some cryptic reporting from the Times on the Dorgan amendment.  From June 9:

Although they rarely publicly voiced their opposition, the muscle of organized labor worked vigorously behind the scenes to defeat the measure. A key concern was the guest worker program.

Although dozens of amendments from senators were never called, Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, had three chances to offer amendments to eliminate or set an end date on guest workers, because the leadership wanted to balance the scales after the Republicans had won major changes.

The proposal to end the guest worker program after five years passed just after midnight on Thursday morning.

And from June 7:

In addition to the Republicans, there are a handful of certain Democratic votes against the immigration bill but lawmakers in both parties say there has been little coordination or effort to mount a bipartisan effort to defeat the measure.

“I was here in 1986 and heard all the promises about border security and am hearing the same things now,” said Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota. “But I am just voting and offering amendments on my own.”

One might infer that Dorgan knew perfectly well that his amendment was a killer - certainly DeMint, a bill opponent, was able to figure that out and support Dorgan.  So why wasn't Obama able to grasp the politics - didn't he realize that backing the Dorgan amendment sought by Big Labor would kill the bill?  Or was he simply unwilling to buck Big Labor, especially in what looked like a fight that bill supporters (ostensibly including Obama) were going to lose anyway?

Well - the progressive line is that racist Republicans blocked a noble and empathetic immigration reform.  Weaving opposition by Big Labor into that story is a bit awkward.  Maybe the comprehensive reform had no hope, but Obama did not take nearly as many risks as McCain in keeping hope alive.

PRETTY FUNNY:  This is all too subtle for Hilzoy, who provides this "analysis" after dismissing the McCain charge as another lie:

Just for the heck of it, I went looking for analyses of the bill's failure at the time. They don'tmention any amendments by Obama.

Her sources are the NY Times, the LA Times, and the WaPo, none of which hastened to blame Democrats generally or The One specifically for the bill's collapse.  Imagine my surprise.

Some free advice - someone actually interested in Obama's role in the immigration debate and the question of whether he offered or supported any killer amendments could try a Google search like this - "obama amendment immigration reform".  Hilzoy could just stick with Andrew Sullivan and the Daily Kos.

KIND OF LIKE REPORTING:  The San Fran Chronicle blog offers an education on bipartisan compromise:

Not content to pack the LHC barn in English only, the McCain dropped a Spanish-language ad Friday that accused Obama and the Dems of killing comprehensive immigration reform. One pro-immigrant comprehensive immigration reform advocate said Johnny Mac's ad "misrepresents history."

The 30-second spot states that "Obama and his Congressional allies say they are on the side of immigrants. But are they? The press reports that their efforts were 'poison pills' that made immigration reform fail."

Not exactly. It was the lack of Republican support that killed immigration reform last time around.

Nothing about Dorgan and Big Labor?  Nope:

Comrade Tyche Hendricks, who has written extensively on the U.S.-Mexico border for The Chronicle and (for an upcoming book), contacted Doris Meissner, who is a senior fellow at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

"I don't know that you can say 'poison pill' because things hadn't gotten far enough so that anything would actually rise to that level (of poisoning the bill's chances)," Meissner said.

"I know there were people who were disappointed by the amendment that Obama put in," Meissner said. "But it's disengenuous because at that point McCain had backed away from the bill, which he had sponsored the year before, and he was not to be found in the debate because it was dividing the Republican party in the Senate. It was the lack of Republican votes that sank the bill."

AND FOR LINK FOLLOWERS:  The McClatchy story includes a link to The Politico's coverage of the failed June 7 cloture vote, which includes this:

The immigration overhaul bill collapsed on the Senate floor Thursday night, the victim of partisan bickering over procedure that reflected a broader national divide over how to deal with millions of illegal immigrants.

The failure to limit debate and move the bill toward final passage was a stunning defeat for President Bush, as well as Democratic and Republican senators, who have invested significant time and political capital into fixing the immigration system.

“This is a victory for sanity in this country,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), one of the bill’s top critics.

Rising tension and partisanship:

The tensions that had been building for months — starting with the private negotiating sessions that involved only a small group of senators and culminating Thursday with the legislative maneuvering that frustrated both parties — could no longer be contained.

Senators could be compared to children cooped up inside on a rainy day, acting out at every opportunity.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) exchanged sharp words (by the standards of the decorous Senate) late Wednesday over an amendment, and continued their argument outside the chamber.

Graham accused Obama of playing presidential politics because he proposed a change that key negotiators said would tank the bill and undercut senators, particularly Republicans, who have endured harsh criticism for supporting it.

“So when you’re out on the campaign trail, my friend, tell them about why we can’t come together,” Graham said on the floor. “This is why.”

Obama later told The Associated Press: “It’s a matter of too much coffee and people being on the floor too long.”

And that was just the beginning of the end.

The Dorgan Amendment attracts bill opponents and Obama:

Partisan demands became deal breakers

A short time later, bill managers lost control of it, failing to prevent the adoption of two amendments — one Democratic, one Republican — that had been deemed deal breakers.

Four Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, rebelled around midnight Wednesday.

Menendez and Republican Sens. DeMint, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, and Jim Bunning of Kentucky voted for an amendment to the temporary guest worker program from Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) that they initially opposed two weeks ago, raising questions about their intent to stall the bill.

Frustrated by the process, DeMint acknowledged that was part of his motivation. “If this vote helped to derail it, I would support it,” he said Thursday.

Bunning, a vocal critic of the bill, said Dorgan won his vote by making changes to the amendment. Despite being pressed several times by reporters, Bunning could not detail the changes.

“An additional thing that I wanted to make sure was included,” Bunning said. “Well, you saw the amendment. It was one-page. It wasn’t very complicated.”

So what was it?

“You caught me at a bad time,” he said, stepping back and explaining that he had strep throat.

So bill opponents knew what to do on this vote.

Comments

[Semanticleo]

The greater the need for anal CYA, the longer the post, eh Maguire?

I will say there is a fleck of courage, or is it a premature victory lap, which enables you to address McCaine AND immigration reform, within the same set of grafs.

Of course, the CONTEXT is missing......

" Doris Meissner, who is a senior fellow at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

"I don't know that you can say 'poison pill' because things hadn't gotten far enough so that anything would actually rise to that level (of poisoning the bill's chances)," Meissner said.

"I know there were people who were disappointed by the amendment that Obama put in," Meissner said. "But it's disengenuous because at that point McCain had backed away from the bill, which he had sponsored the year before, and he was not to be found in the debate because it was dividing the Republican party in the Senate. It was the lack of Republican votes that sank the bill."

Indeed, McCain said at this GOP debate in January that he wouldn't vote for his own immigration bill: "

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=30233

Ahab was FOR immigration reform, before he was against it.

[bard]

Hilzoy has serious BDS, combined with PDS now. It's sad really.

I read something the other day over there about Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere. The conversation was really a Bridge to Nowhere.

They can't take off their blinders long enough to realize that both Obama and Biden voted for the Bridge to Nowhere and McCain voted against it.

And we all know what Palin did... she killed it completely.

[boris]

So Obama shouldn't get any blame for poisoning a pill that wouldn't have been swallowed anyway. Gosh how unfair that must seem.

[Danube of Thought]

RCP Average: McCain +2.3

[MarkO]

Does anyone have the CliffsNotes on this?

[Rick Ballard]

DoT,

If Palin could just drop him from the ticket she'd jump to a 10+ lead. H & R highlighted a Steven Hayward's piece that should stay on top for a bit.

The important thing to remember about McCain and immigration is that he will have no more influence as President than he does as a Senator. He can and will exercise the veto rather vigorously but he will actually have less sway with promoting and passing legislation than he did while hugging Feingold and Kennedy.

MarkO,

The real CliffNotes say that the problem was exagerated from the beginning and that current strengthened enforcement is clearing it away with the exception of the SoCal illegal enclave that represented 30-40% of the problem in the first place, of course. That won't be solved until Arnie finds a backbone.

[clarice]

Very good, TM--Now write this in a couple of grafs in Spanish so McCain can use it.
My point is not to make fun of you but rather to show how hard it is to push back against lies especially when those lies involve legislative records and Senate shenanigans.
Persuading me you're right is child's play--persuading those McCain wants to influence may be another matter.

[Sue]

Does anyone have the CliffsNotes on this?

I thought the same thing.

[Elliott]

That won't be solved until Arnie finds a backbone.

We'll see Obama's unicorn first.

[Danube of Thought]

Nice excerpt from the Hayward piece:

"The establishment is affronted by the idea that an ordinary hockey mom--a mere citizen--might be just as capable of running the country as a long-time member of the Council on Foreign Relations. This closed-shop attitude is exactly what both Jefferson and Adams set themselves against; they wanted a republic where talent and public spirit would find easy access to the establishment."

The people are going to elect an ordinary, public-spirited citizen as Vice President, and it's going to drive the elites absolutely nuts. And the nuttier they get, the more fun it is.

By the way, for you OODA freaks, Michael Barone has a column out today in which he details how McCain has got inside Obama's OODA loop. Not sure I buy all this stuff, but I'll go along with the gag.

[matt]

why is a news service acting on behalf of Obama? If they're going to react, shouldn't they research the issue more deeply? Perhaps what they might do is to illustrate the games that get played with bills like this. Proposed for political purposes and then warped or morphed into something completely off message and unacceptable to just about everyone.

The workings of the Senate are as powerful as they are mysterious.....

[kim]

Cliff's Notes: Leo's wrong and Tom's right. Quiz in the AM.
=====================================

[kim]

More notes for a quiz the Obama Team will flunk: McCain wouldn't dare approach the Latina vote in this fashion if he hadn't solidified the base with Palin. Take that, Axelrod.
================================

[J Verner]

More notes for a quiz the Obama Team will flunk: McCain wouldn't dare approach the Latina vote in this fashion if he hadn't solidified the base with Palin. Take that, Axelrod.

Yep Kim, and they can kiss NM NV and CO goodbye...

As I recall, they were quite a few unhappy latino Hillary supporters who were not very fond of the O man. And I doubt Hillary will be phoning them to GOTV.

[M. Simon]

I have said for years that the only way to solve the illegal problem is to make it easier for our Southern friends to get in and get out.

Right now because of our laws we have a one way valve.

Of course none of my R friends like hearing that. Nor do they like hearing about supply and demand in the labor market. Or the illegal Drug market.

[Tom Maguire]

Does anyone have the CliffsNotes on this?

It seemed short and sweet until I hit "Post". Ooops.

[ian cormac]

Our local South American correspondent Mr. Oppenheimer, begs both running mates as negative; because Biden has a strongly protectionist record and Palin, doesn't have a record; but Laura Ingraham; the daughter of polish immigrants, does like
her. Solid logic there. The local political reporter Beth Reinhardt, insists on tying
Palin to the "Jews for Jesus" founder and
her former preacher whose church she left
years ago; who has apocalyptic sermons, unlike those nice men, Plueger and Wright.

[JM Hanes]

I'll I have to say is that I'm glad McCain did his immigration ad in Spanish. I'm enjoying myself immensely right now, and would rather hold off on remembering shamnesty just a little bit longer.

[Ralph L]

Obama killed immigration reform? Hey, a positive accomplishment! (for all the wrong reasons). I haven't noticed fewer Mexicans in NC, but there are too many to count.

[lonetown]

Man, I never thought I'd be thanking Byron Dorgan!

I was kind of hoping the right side of the blogoshere helped.

Whoever wins this time, we're in for it. Welcome your new guest workers.

[M. Simon]

lonetown,

What we need to do is to deal with reality.

Let us turn them into Americans. Not Mexican Americans - Americans.

The world can always use more Americans.