It's Called McCain-Kennedy

The Evansville Courier & Press reports on yesterday's House Judiciary Committee hearing in Evansville on immigration debate. The GOP-controlled committee scheduled the hearing in Evansville to highlight embattled Rep. John Hostettler's anti-immigrant position. One of the more absurd arguments that I've heard raised in this debate is one mentioned in this article. It seems that Republicans are trying to rename the comprehensive immigration reform bill which passed the Senate the Reid-Kennedy bill. It is actually called the McCain-Kennedy bill named after its co-authors, Sen. John McCain (R) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D). House Republicans argue otherwise according to the Courier & Press:

Republicans and Democrats have even argued about the proper name of the Senate's bill, known in that body as the McCain-Kennedy bill for co-sponsors Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

But House Republicans routinely call it the Reid-Kennedy bill, inserting the name of Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Democrats charge that Republicans omit the GOP's McCain from the bill's name to make it appear less bipartisan. But Republicans say putting McCain's name on the bill was a Democratic ploy to give it a false sheen of bipartisanship, given that just 23 of 55 Senate Republicans voted for it.

If Republicans and Democrats can't even agree on what to call the bill they are debating, how are they ever going to come together to support a bipartisan immigration reform bill? That's the point. Republicans don't want a bipartisan solution because they think the immigration debate is a winning issue for them this fall because of their hardline anti-immigrant position. Boy are they in for a big surprise.

Regardless of how anti-immigrant Rep. Hostettler tries to position himself, he's not going to be outdone by his Democratic opponent Sheriff Brad Ellsworth. He spoke to the Rotarians across town as Hostettler was feasting on the subject at the House Judiciary Committee. The Courier & Press reports that Ellsworth "call[ed] for a tough stance on illegal immigration."