Thread: McConnell :Immigration Doesn't Hurt Lawmakers' Re-Election

McConnell Says Immigration Doesn't Hurt Lawmakers' Re-Election

By James Rowley

May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the controversial immigration bill in Congress won't cost ``a single member of either party'' at the polls next year and predicted the bipartisan compromise will win Senate approval next month.

Most Americans want Congress to fix a system they regard as broken even though they have reservations about the proposed legislation, McConnell said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt.'' Public opinion, he predicted, will trump such specific concerns as whether it amounts to amnesty to grant eventual legal status to the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

``This is a divisive issue'' for both parties, said McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. But, he said, ``I don't think there's a single member of either party next year who is going to fail to be re-elected over this issue.''

The Senate this week debated the Bush administration-backed compromise, defeating proposed amendments that could have undermined the agreement, and will return June 4 after a week- long break for the Memorial Day holiday. McConnell predicted Senate passage soon after the lawmakers reconvene. The measure's chances in the House remain uncertain, he said.

McConnell, who last year was among 23 Republicans who voted for a Senate-passed immigration bill that died in the House, said he probably will vote for the latest version.

``It's a big improvement over the bill that passed the Senate last year,'' McConnell said. ``I would rather act than not act, and I am not looking for an absolutely perfect piece of legislation.''

Iraq Frustration

On Iraq, he voiced frustration over the lack of progress by the government there to achieve political stability, including enacting legislation to share oil revenue among various ethnic and religious groups.

``Time is running out,'' McConnell said. ``Both Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate are out of patience with the Iraqi government. They haven't done anything that everyone knows they need to do.''

McConnell, who has denounced Democratic calls for a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq as a ``surrender date,'' today embraced the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group which calls for most combat troops to leave by 2008.

McConnell said Iraq's government must be responsible for the future of the nation. ``It's time for them to step up,'' he said.

$100 Billion Appropriation

The Iraq Study Group report was delivered in December by a group headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Representative Lee Hamilton.

U.S. congressional approval this week of a $100 billion appropriation for continued U.S. troop deployment in Iraq will send a message to the Iraqi government that ``the time has come for them to be able to deliver,'' he said.

The legislation removed troop withdrawal timelines after President George W. Bush vetoed an earlier version of the measure. The current legislation requires Bush to provide regular reports to Congress on the Iraqi government's progress on meeting its goals. Bush could authorize the aid regardless of the findings.

McConnell said lawmakers hope the addition of 26,100 troops ``will quiet Baghdad down enough to give the government a chance to function in a relatively normal environment.''

While declining to say whether he is optimistic about the Iraqi government's ability to meet benchmarks for progress, he said, ``I can just tell you they haven't done anything yet.''

He said a prediction by Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska that U.S. forces would face ``tough sledding'' after Saddam Hussein was toppled ``has proven to be true.''

Remaining in the Region

McConnell also predicted that U.S. troops will ``probably be in the Middle East for many, many years'' to ``keep the pressure on al-Qaeda.'' U.S. allies in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have ``changed their mind'' about the presence of U.S. troops ``not only because of al-Qaeda but because of Iran,'' he said.

After five months as leader of the Republican minority, McConnell, 65, said he works well with Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been criticized by Bush aides for being overly partisan.

``I like him,'' McConnell said, adding that Democrats ``can't run roughshod'' over Republicans with a 51-49 majority. ``So we're working together every day trying to broker arrangements to move the Senate forward. We get along just fine. I think he does a fine job.''

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley at jarowley@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 25, 2007 15:20

EDThttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p ... r=politics

-- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the controversial immigration bill in Congress won't cost ``a single member of either party'' at the polls next year and predicted the bipartisan compromise will win Senate approval next month.

Talk about thumbing your nose at the electorate.