The Great Senate Immigr'A'tion Debate

Democrats, who favor the guest-worker plan, called in a polling firm, Lake Research Partners, to provide talking points to counter the amnesty charge. "Lead with an enforcement message," the firm advised, and propose "reasonable solutions" that are also "tough and fair." Lake continued: "Immigrants have to pay taxes . . . and be learning English."

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) hit all the points: "We need tough and smart enforcement at the border and throughout the country. We need realistic immigration laws that bring immigrants out of the shadows, paying taxes, learning English and contributing to our communities."

Other senators sampled their own buzzwords to counter the dreaded amnesty allegation: "We are a nation of immigrants" and "Bring people out of the shadows."

But these soft and gauzy slogans were no match for the anti-amnesty crowd of House Republicans, who stood in front of a banner with the word AMNESTY in 18-inch letters and a slash through it.

"It would be like a dinner bell" to immigrants, pronounced Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.). "If you are here illegally and want to fly the Mexican flag, go to Mexico," proposed Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.). "I say let the prisoners pick the fruits," said Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), adding, "I would hope that the American people are smart enough to smell the foul odor that's coming out of the United States Senate." Asked if President Bush, who supports a guest-worker plan, has a similar stench, Rohrabacher replied: "No comment."

But King topped them all, asserting that a "ruling class" of Americans have "made enough money by hiring cheap illegal labor that they think they also have some kind of a right to cheap servants to manicure their nails and their lawn."

Over in the Senate, the linguistic dispute continued to rage. "Tantamount to an amnesty program," judged David Vitter (R-La.). "It is not amnesty," said Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). "Some people might perceive that what is granted is an amnesty," posited John Cornyn (R-Tex.). "This does not sound like amnesty to me," chimed in Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).

Only Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) retained his composure. "I think that's a straw dog, to be very honest with you, this argument of amnesty," he observed. "The debate is misfocused in some ways when the word 'amnesty' becomes the hot button, nomenclature versus the more substantive question."

Another remark like that, and Gregg will be wearing the scarlet letter.