Democrats Demand Bush Deliver Republican Votes on Immigration

James Rowley
Thu Jan 25, 12:07 AM ET



"Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Democrats are demanding President George W. Bush deliver significant support -- likely more than a quarter of all House Republicans -- to ensure passage of a bipartisan overhaul of U.S. immigration law.

Democrats say they won't shoulder the responsibility alone for any comprehensive and politically sensitive plan that includes Bush's proposals to give 12 million illegal aliens a chance at citizenship and to create a guest-worker program. The president made his latest pitch for the plan in his State of the Union address this week.

Substantial Republican support is ``a prerequisite,'' said Democratic Representative Howard Berman (news, bio, voting record) of California. Key Democrats and congressional aides from both parties suggest 50 to 60 of the House's 202 Republicans is the minimum backing to guarantee passage. ``I would hope the number would be closer to 100,'' said Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez (news, bio, voting record), a sponsor of immigration reform.

Last year, the Republican-controlled House thwarted Bush's drive to revamp immigration as members of his own party decried what they said was an amnesty program for illegal aliens. Instead, they approved a 700-mile fence last year to tighten the U.S.-Mexico border.

The president and the new Democratic-controlled Congress now find themselves uneasy allies on the issue."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070 ... rgpenv3a_1


We could look at this three ways. A. the Democrats are trying to muscle the Pres. B. they're not so confident that they can pass a faux amnesty after all. or C. the libertraitors are too chicken to take responsibility for they're nations betrayal, perhaps the nations last betrayal.