Even if, as Annie Lowrey reports, the Senate delays and/or shortens its August break, the Senate schedule remains at the whims of nihilistic Republicans who still have the filibuster. Yesterday WaPo's Shailaigh Murray wrote about the logjam they face, without actually reporting that it's largely the fault of those aforementioned obstructionist Republicans.
Bills to extend unemployment benefits and impose new regulations on the financial industry have yet to be resolved. An emergency war funding bill, loaded up with unrelated spending, faces a White House veto threat. The Senate must still approve Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court.
Add to that coming debates over campaign finance legislation, long-awaited food-safety rules and a contentious defense authorization bill that would end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
As if that's not enough, the Senate could add to the list. Sensing opportunity in the public's outrage over the BP oil spill, Democrats are considering reviving the dormant climate-change debate. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is assembling legislation that would expand alternative energy incentives and overhaul offshore drilling standards, while requiring BP to assume full liability for damages in the Gulf of Mexico. If Reid decides to do it, the bill could reach the Senate floor as soon as July 19.
With all this, there's a lot that's going to give. At the top of the list of issues for which there is next to no political will, even if there were time in the schedule for immigration reform. TPM's Christina Bellantoni has a comprehensive run-down of where things stand.
Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod, appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," seemed to blame the lack of action on Republicans, even though many Democrats from red-leaning states and districts are squeamish about tackling a measure that critics say would grant "amnesty" to illegal immigrants.
"[W]e are not going to get it done without bipartisan support. ... [W]e have to do it together ... we have not seen much movement," Axelrod said.
"The last time this debate occurred in the Senate, there were 11 Republicans who joined in, and, of course, President Bush helped to lead the effort. And most of those Republicans are not willing to move forward," he said. "And we are calling on those folks on the other side of the aisle, who said in the past that they thought this was an important issue to solve, to join us. And when they are willing, then we will be able to move forward."
But anyone looking at the numbers game in Congress with fewer than 120 days until voters go to the pools thinks that's highly unlikely.
"They don't want to deal with it before the election," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said on CNN.
Sen. Jon Kyl, who in 2006 opposed the bipartisan, comprehensive bill that provided a pathway to citizenship for some, blamed labor unions for the collapse of political willpower for a new immigration measure.
"We do need a temporary worker program. But the labor unions in this country that -- at least some of whom were willing to support that three years ago are no longer willing to do it," Kyl (R-AZ) said on Fox News Sunday.....
And if Senate Democrats have an end game, it hasn't surfaced yet beyond the informal talks Obama held with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
As we've reported, Graham says there is no way immigration will get done this year.
Graham has doubled down on his opposition by coming out in strong opposition to the administration's suit against the Arizona immigration law, despite the fact that he has called the state law unconstitutional. He's also now saying that "border security must be addressed before comprehensive immigration reform that would put an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship." With Graham playing his usual role, there's really no Republican for Dems to turn to on this one. As usual.