Hastert Deals Blow to Immigration Bill…

OK…this one is pretty simple to decipher even for those of us outside the Beltway…
BREITBART.COM – Hastert Deals Blow to Immigration Bill

Hopes for a quick compromise on immigration were dealt a blow Tuesday after House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he wanted to take a “long look” at a Senate bill offering possible citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants.
Hastert said hearings on the Senate bill should be held before appointing anyone to a House-Senate committee to negotiate a compromise immigration bill. Later, he said he was unsure what the House’s next move would be.
“We’re going to take a long look at it,” Hastert said late Tuesday.

When the Speaker of the House says, “we’re going to take a long look at it,” he might as well say “this thing will never make it out of the House alive.” Anything other than the Speaker’s outright endorsement on this couldn’t be read any other way. The only thing he didn’t do was declare it DOA. The House and the Senate just appear to be so far apart on the immigration issue. Any bill that comes to the House with proposed citizenship for illegals will most likely meet the same fate as this one.
With mid-terms coming up in less than five months, I don’t know that Hastert is making the wrong decision here. I don’t think he’ll be able to stonewall the Senate much longer, though. People want some kind of clear direction on this issue soon—and a clear direction that doesn’t include amnesty. (Myself included, thanks.)
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com