I was on a plane today so just catching up…This was kind of a bizzaro vote–from the Wall Street Journal…

WASHINGTON — The Senate fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on immigration overhaul, dealing a near-fatal blow to the landmark bill and one that could very well dash President Bush’s hopes of ever achieving this goal before leaving the White House.

The 46-53 roll call evolved into a blowout as a strong majority of Republicans sought cover and lined up against the administration once the outcome became apparent. Having invested substantial time in the effort, Senate Majority Leader Hary Reid (D., Nev.) was prepared to pull the bill in favor of beginning debate on a defense authorization measure for the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

    Check out the votes…all over the ideological map.

    Progressives like Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders voted to effectively kills the bill, primarily because of the guest worker provisions. And, then, you had Lindsey Graham and Judd Gregg voting along with Ted Kennedy to move the bill along.

    I understand the objections to the guest workers program. But, I also am worried about two things. First, how the defeat simply strengthens the voices of hate and bigotry because let’s face it–a lot of the opposition to the bill came from people who are racists and bigoted. Disgusting. I also agree with the comments made in The New York Times today by Eliseo Medina of SEIU:

“The price of failure will be hundreds of more people dying in the desert,” said Eliseo Medina, an executive vice president of the service employees union. “The price of failure will be more workplace raids and families separated as breadwinners are arrested and deported. The price of failure will be more public anger at the broken immigration system. More states and cities will pass punitive laws that target immigrants.”

    Now, this is dead probably until after the 2008 elections. Sad.