Immigration split still hangs over McCain and Republicans


While John McCain was being coronated as the heir apparent at a highly publicized White House meeting with President Bush, his colleagues on Capitol Hill couldn’t resist rolling out what could be described as a Lou Dobbs dream package of immigration bills.

It was one of those moments where one had to wonder if the right hand of the Republican Party was talking to the left, er, moderate hand.

Immigration is the preeminent issue that has divided McCain from his party, as he has supported an ill-fated comprehensive immigration overhaul, including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Since that debacle, he has been chastened, saying he believes in border security first.

Yet while Bush was passing the torch to McCain as the party’s standard bearer, a half dozen conservative GOP senators were unveiling proposals dealing with deportation, making English the official language, revoking funds for “sanctuary citiesâ€