William Kristol, the conservative editor and former Republican strategist who was credited with the defeat of the 1993 Bill Clinton health care proposal after he wrote a widely influential memo urging the party to "kill it and start over", is suggesting that Republicans "kill the bill" again. This time, he's talking about immigration reform, and he's joined by fellow editor Rich Lowry of the National Review. Both write, in an op-ed published by Lowry's magazine on Tuesday, that despite past disagreements on immigration reform - Kristol says he's been disposed toward it, while Lowry is skeptical - they can agree on one thing: passing the Senate's bill would be "worse than passing nothing".
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The editors give three reasons for their opposition to the bill: it doesn't "solve the illegal-immigration problem", its changes in legal immigration are "just as ill considered", and the size of the 1,200-page bill as well as the "hasty manner in which it was amended and passed". They emphasize that their opposition does not necessarily reflect opposition to legalization measures for the undocumented and increases in "some categories of legal immigration", though the prospect of a path to citizenship, specifically, is never mentioned by the two.
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They also object to the idea that no action on immigration would spell doom for the GOP - calling it "silly" for Republicans to believe that the future of the party is at stake in whether it is perceived as having obstructed efforts to pass reform - and point to "working-class and younger voters concerned about economic opportunity and upward mobility" as the demographic Republicans should be focused on winning.
"There's no rush to act on immigration," they write. "The Democrats didn't do anything when they controlled all of the elected branches in 2009 and 2010. The Gang of Eight tells us constantly that we have a de facto amnesty for illegal immigrants now. Fine. What's the urgent need to act immediately, then?"
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The editors conclude by urging House Republicans to either do nothing at all on immigration or pass piecemeal legislation (the latter a path they've taken recently, churning out four single-issue bills reflecting conservative priorities). In either case, they say, House Republicans should not consider the Senate bill. "Passing any version of the Gang of Eight's bill would be worse public policy than passing nothing. House Republicans can do the country a service by putting a stake through its heart."
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