I just got off a conference call with Matt Spalding and Jim Carafano of the Heritage Foundation, on the topic of Immigration reform.
Their bottom line is that passing nothing is better than passing the current bill. The obvious deal-breaker is that any bill which takes illegals and makes them "legal" is amnesty.
They began the call discussing how Ronald Reagan and his team ended up regretted the 1986 bill (Former Atty. Gen. Ed Meese’s New York Times op-ed says it better than I could).
The call also illustrated the fact that this is fast becoming a litmus test for conservatives -- and that getting too far off the reservation will come with a price tag.
For example, Senator Jon Kyl -- who is normally well-respected among conservatives (but helped broker this deal) -- drew the ire of Carafano, who said of him: "Kyl thinks he's smarter than Reagan."
(And he's the Arizona Senator conservatives tend to favor ...)
Special thanks to Rob Bluey for organizing the call.
For more info ...
The Heritage Foundation’s 6 requirements for comprehensive immigration reform.
Matt Spalding’s piece on the 10 worst provisions in the amnesty title of the bill.