Immigrant legislation puts House in a bind.
Republicans, facing re-election, must take a tough stand on issue or face voter backlash.

____________________________________________________________________
Representative Gordon,
Enclosed is a newspaper article that should be a wakeup call to the House members. Do not compromise with the Senate and do not delay action on a House bill addressing the SECURING OF OUR BORDERS and illegal immigration. We will accept a delay from the House until after the November elections as a YES vote for the Senate passed trashed. We will vote according if the House delays action on SECURING OUR BORDERS.

Thank You,
David A. Bess
Murfreesboro, TN.
http://workerbees.blogspot.com
http://legalamerica.blogspot.com

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Immigrant legislation puts House in a bind
Republicans, facing re-election, must take a tough stand on issue or face voter backlash

By Janet Hook
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., just got a wake-up call about the political risks of Congress' immigration debate. Having been hammered by constituents for his moderate stand on illegal immigration, Souder this month received 7,100 fewer votes in the GOP primary than in 2004, when he ran against the same challenger.

His experience helps explain why so many House Republicans adamantly oppose any compromise that would allow illegal immigrants to earn legal status. They have concluded it could be political suicide to give ground to the Senate immigration bill, passed Thursday, which would do just that.

"The mood is so angry, we can't hold the House with any bill like that," Souder said. "The Senate bill would be worse than nothing."

But other Republicans are fearful of a different political risk: that the party would suffer if it came up empty-handed after the long, emotional debate on immigration that has spilled from Capitol Hill into the streets of major cities.

"At the end of the day, 'no deal' doesn't work," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va. "This will be a test for voters: Are Republicans capable of governing?"

House leaders have to navigate those crosscurrents as they prepare for a conference committee to iron out the vast differences between the House and Senate bills. Responding to a growing outcry about illegal immigration, the House late last year passed a bill that focused solely on tightening border security and cracking down on employers. The Senate bill, which is backed by President Bush, also would establish a program of temporary work visas and open a route to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

The clash between House and Senate Republicans' approaches to the issue reflects, in part, their institutional differences. Because most House members come from small, homogeneous districts, pleasing their partisan base is paramount. Senate lawmakers, who represent larger and more diverse populations, have a political incentive to be more sensitive to growing Hispanic populations.

The House-Senate conflict also pits the GOP's long-term political calculations against its short-term interests. For Bush, a more welcoming approach to immigrants might further his goal of luring Hispanics to the Republican Party.

But with all House Republican seats up for grabs in November -- and with their majority considered more at risk than the Senate's -- House lawmakers worry that Bush's approach will undercut their short-term objective: Getting re-elected by voters who are clamoring for action to better secure the borders.

"It is the hottest issue out there," said Davis, who for years was the House GOP campaign committee chairman. "Everybody's talking about it."

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