So much for the dim one's legacy...
http://public.cq.com/docs/cqm/cqmidday110-000002536040.htmlTwo Georgia Republican Senators Say They Will Oppose Cloture on Immigration Bill
Georgia Republicans Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss will vote against moving the Senate’s immigration overhaul measure forward, the senators said today.
“I think everybody did a noble effort to try to deal with the problem in a comprehensive way,” Isakson said. “But it became apparent that the confidence level was not there.”
Isakson said he and Chambliss had heard from voters back home that they didn’t have faith in another measure that promises border action because past promises have yet to be fulfilled.
Neither senator was viewed as a must-have vote by bill supporters, but losing them makes the task of getting the 60 votes needed to end debate that much harder.
The Georgians were part of negotiations that led to a fragile bipartisan deal that was unveiled on May 17. At a news conference that day, both expressed optimism that the negotiations between Republicans, Democrats and Bush administration officials produced a positive step toward solving the problem.
But in the weeks that followed, both GOP senators expressed concerns about past promises to secure the border and pay for enforcement measures.
The two sent a letter to President Bush on June 12 — the same day Bush attended a GOP policy lunch — urging him to request an emergency supplemental spending measure for border security.