Second Attempt At Cloture Fails

UPDATE: Reid has pulled the bill off the floor of the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just pulled the immigration overhaul bill from the floor after it failed to clear a procedural hurdle.

"We bent over backwards" to accomodate Republicans who disliked the bill, Reid said. "We have to figure out a way to get this bill passed."

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), one of the top GOP critics of the bill, said: "This is a victory for sanity in this country."

Harry Reid sought to force the immigration "reform" bill to cloture again for the second time today. He failed yet again, this time the tally was 45-50. Debate remains alive, unless Reid carries through on his promise to kill the bill.

WASHINGTON - A broad immigration bill to legalize millions of people in the U.S. unlawfully failed a crucial test vote in the Senate Thursday, a stunning setback that could spell its defeat for the year.

The vote was 45-50 against limiting debate on the bill, 15 short of the 60 that the bill's supporters needed to prevail. Most Republicans voted to block Democrats' efforts to bring the bill to a final vote.

The legislation, which had been endorsed by President Bush, would tighten borders, institute a new system to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers in addition to giving up to 12 million illegal immigrants a pathway to legal status.

By the way, notice anything about the reporting on this vote? The Associated Press reports the cloture vote for what it is - a failure to cut off debate. Compare that with their histrionics (and flat-out lies) when the debate was over Iraq timetables. Then they told the world that the Republicans had "cut off" debate by stopping cloture. Funny how that works, isn't it?

Once again, I'll point out that if they secure the border first, they can get everything else settled. I will also repeat my advice: break the entire border security part out as a companion bill with massive poison pills that will keep it from getting gutted by stealth and this thing can pass. But it doesn't look likely right at the moment.