McCain is officially off the ticket for the Republican Nomination. From this point out he will become less and less of a factor. Can you say “Guest Worker Program“?

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators reached agreement on Thursday on an immigration reform bill that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants and establish a merit-based system for future migrants, lawmakers said.

The agreement sets the stage for what is expected to be a passionate Senate debate over immigration and lead the way for what would be one of the most significant accomplishments of President George W. Bush’s final term.

Details of the agreement were set to be released at a news conference the group scheduled for 1:30 p.m (1730 GMT). Negotiators, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, worked out the final details on Thursday morning.

When asked after the meeting whether lawmakers had reached a final agreement, Kennedy replied “yes.” Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who attended the morning session, confirmed the group reached agreement.

The legislation would create a temporary worker program that would require laborers to return home after a period of time. Tough border security and workplace enforcement measures would go into place before the temporary worker program, congressional aides said.

The proposal would limit family-based migration to immediate family members and establish a merit-based system by which future migrants could earn points for skills, education, understanding of English and family ties.”

As I said this morning, this was enevitable, not because of any other reason except this is the election looming on 2008 – period. Hugh Hewitt is going into overdrive on the call in to Senators but it’s a waste of time. Unfortunately this is what we get when we don’t show up for elections folks. This is what happens when you want to “punish” the party over a “Harriet Miers” nomination, or even over the failure to get this issue said and done while in the majority.

Again, this is about Washington Politics and a decided lack of character on the part of those who claim the name “Republican”. Let McCain be the first to fall, more to follow.

UPDATE: Capt Ed seems to be defending the indefensible, but he’s right, “This is the best we can expect from this Congress”.

UPDATE II: Senator DeMint:

“May 17th, 2007 – Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator DeMint made the following statement:

‚ÄúI hope we don’t take a thousand page bill written in secret and try to ram it through the Senate in a few days. This is a very important issue for America and we need time to debate it.‚Äù

‚ÄúBut the little we do know about the bill is troubling. According to reports, the bill contains a new ‘Z Visa’ that allows those who entered our country illegally to stay here permanently without ever returning home. This rewards people who broke the law with permanent legal status, and puts them ahead of millions of law-abiding immigrants waiting to come to America. I don’t care how you try to spin it, this is amnesty.‚Äù

Let the battle begin!