Nothing personal, George, we just don’t dig you

Mickey Kaus touches on various points related to the extremely difficult to understand modus operandi of the U.S. Senate as seen in the collapse of the immigration bill. But his first point is the best:

Don’t calm down: The White House says Bush is going to keep pushing the “grand bargain” in a Capitol Hill meeting next week. This could mean he’s planning a surge-like effort, or it could just be part of the gradual let-down-easy process in which he learns that it’s not really about the amendments—the Senate is just not that into him….

And here’s another puzzler for those who would like to understand the brain of Sen. Harry Reid:

First, Sen. Dorgan, a Democrat, knew full well that if his amendment won it would probably derail the “grand bargain.” Republicans had said that it would. Yet he pressed ahead, aided and abetted by Majority Leader Reid who as the vote was being plotted “tapped Dorgan on the back” and said “excellent,” according to Politico’s Carrie Budoff. This suggest that Dorgan, and maybe Reid, preferred “no bill” to the bill as grandly bargained.

If the relationship is really and truly over, then the only thing left for Bush is revenge. David B. writes:

I predict that Bush wishes to do one of three things. One, he will bring the bill back next year. Two, he will try to do it by executive order. Or, he may be such a lame duck that he can’t propose much of anything.

Another thing that Bush wants is to find an issue on which he can stick it to conservatives again before he leaves office. His favorite would be if a Supreme Court vacancy opens up. Bush will find the most liberal Hispanic possible to nominate. I wonder if his erstwhile supporters will “understand.”

LA replies:

Kathryn Jean Lopez will. She made it clear today at the Corner that he’s still her man, notwithstanding everything.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at June 08, 2007 07:54 PM | Send