There is going to be a major lobbying push next week to convince the House of Representatives to pass some kind of comprehensive immigration reform. The wrinkle is that many of the lobbyists will be conservatives. Perhaps, most prominently, evangelical Christians will be making a pitch. But some big donors and bundlers will be speaking with Republican lawmakers, and coupling their speech with threats and promises to withhold funding until they get their way. Even some Tea Party members will be making the trip.
Terry Jones, a dairy farmer from Idaho who considers himself a member of the Tea Party movement and who will be in Washington next week, said he considered passage of the legislation an urgent matter.
“You wake up and it is 25 degrees, and a cow that is giving birth, and you have 400 cows to milk that day, and you don’t have the help you need — that stinks,” Mr. Jones said, citing a shortage of labor that he says could be eased through a new immigration law. “I bet not one of those legislators back there have been in that position.”
There are plenty of votes to pass the reforms, but not enough to make up a majority of the majority. Once again, John Boehner is proving too cowardly to stand up to the crazies in his party. He should be replaced.