As August nears and, with it, the month-long Congressional recess, supporters of comprehensive immigration reform are preparing to launch a series of diverse efforts to win over House Republicans, including campaigns tailor-made to fit their districts. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a key member of the Gang of Eight which authored the Senate's comprehensive bill - passed in the Senate but now stalled in the House - told reporters on Thursday that supporters of reform needed to convince House members who have shown themselves reluctant to consider any bill on the issue at all. "Here's the fact," McCain said, "we're not winning, so we've got to wage a campaign."
"You need to respond to things that are said. You need to build support. You need to network," McCain added.
"There are many members of the House that don't want to take up any bill at all, as you know. What our job is, we want to convince them to at least pass legislation, so that we can go to conference and work together."
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August will almost surely see a blitz of persuasive efforts from the diverse coalition of interest and advocacy groups that supports an immigration overhaul - a coalition which includes business and religious groups with close ties to the GOP majority. Those groups are expected to exert pressure from within GOP representatives' home districts. According to the Associated Press, authors of the Senate bill have convened dozens of business lobbyists, officials with religious groups and others with pull among House Republicans and told them they needed to work harder and coordinate better to convince representatives of the need for immigration reform. They even distributed a list of 121 House Republicans who they see as vulnerable to persuasion and instructed those present on how to tailor pro-reform campaigns in their districts.
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Many of the House Republicans who oppose reform say despite talk among senior GOP members about the necessity for action on immigration reform - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said not long ago that Republicans would find themselves in a "demographic death spiral" if not - they aren't feeling that sort of pressure at home. In fact, many say the voices they do hear from their Congressional districts express opposition to the idea. But by most counts, the interest coalitions in support of reform dwarf those against it.
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Charles Spies, a GOP fundraiser and co-founder of the group Republicans for Immigration Reform, told the AP, "We're up against a very shrill minority."
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