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Don't want to miss out on the latest buzz in politics? Start each day at wonk central: The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Washington Post Congressional reporter Shailagh Murray was online Monday, April 3, at 11 a.m. ET .

The transcript follows.

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Shailagh Murray: Good morning everyone. Let's hear your thoughts on immigration, WH staff changes, Cynthia McKinney, how the 2006 elections look from your cities/states, and whatever else is on your mind.

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Concord, N.H.: If Snow is the next to leave the administration, that will mark still more disruption and uncertainty in the area (at least pre-9/11) that this Administration was supposed to be best at -- economic and tax policy. Is there something fundamentally schizophrenic about the administration's policies in these areas, or is it just a run of people (O'Neil, Lindsey, Snow, etc.) who were simply not up to the job?

Shailagh Murray: Snow didn't get his job because he's an independent thinker, he got it because he was an agreeably bland face who wasn't likely to embarrass the administration, a la Paul O'Neill or Larry Lindsey, by saying what he really thought. So it's not like he's let them down! Rather, I think one reason Snow's name is in the mix is that the Treasury secretary often doubles as one of the administration's key Hill lobbyists/spokesmen, and Republicans on the Hill are clamoring loudly for more muscle in that department. Snow is a non-entity on the Hill. While he hasn't hurt Bush, he's done nothing to help him, either.

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Blue Ridge, Ga.: Ah the Cynthia McKenney kerfluffel...Would a Video of the altercation at Congressional Security exist? And it seems to me that people are lining up on this not on the (sometimes confusingly reported ) facts in the case, but on how they feel about lighting rod McKenney. What say you?

Shailagh Murray: We are all DYING to see the video which surely MUST exist, because how could it not??

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Washington, D.C.: Shailagh,

I know Cynthia McKinney loves the spotlight, but is she really insisting that there is some racist intent by having her go through security when an officer doesn't recognize her and she has no Congressional pin on?

Shailagh Murray: I love this issue because no matter how dire world events become, whether in Iraq or Sudan, no matter how pressing the national crisis, i.e. New Orleans, there are celebrities for every cause.

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Waterville, Maine: How likely is the current political climate going to affect GOP moderate Senators and Reps? Here in Maine, both Olympia Snowe (up for re-election) and Susan Collins are very popular despite Bush's unpopularity and the democratic trend in the state. If a relatively liberal state like Maine doesn't consider switching sides, what does that say about the chances of a Democratic turnover in 2006?

Shailagh Murray: I think the reason that Snowe and Collins have remained so popular is that their views seem authentic -- especially so with Snowe, who has taken more difficult votes than Collins. But other moderate Republicans are in trouble, such as the three Connecticut GOP House members, Shays, Simmons and Nancy Johnson, and Gerlach of Pennsylvania, because they are perceived as having put party loyalty first. House moderates are going to be more vulnerable than their Senate counterparts because senators are expected to go their own way, whereas in the House, especially in the DeLay era, discipline was king.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Do you think that it is possible that we will see an immigration bill come out that is even less meaningful than the lobbying reform bill?

Shailagh Murray: At this point I would be shocked if Congress produced a meaningful immigration bill, because members are all over the place on this issue. Lobbying reform was cooked up as a reaction to political news events; immigration is one of the most complex and emotional issues I have ever seen Congress address. It's the sort of thing that tends to take a few years to work out -- and is best dealt with after an election, as opposed to just before it.

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Rochester, N.Y.: Last week Murray was reported in the National Journal that Bush was explicitly warned that portions of the case for WMD was likely faulty -- specifically the part about the infamous aluminum tubes. This seems important, because it strengthens the argument that Bush intentionally misled the country about this issue. Is The Post planning on following up on this? Or do you have your hands full with puff pieces about how the President's new, more open style is winning audiences over?

Shailagh Murray: Just a sec, let me check with the White House reporters -- nope, they're working on profiles of the twins and that cute dog Barney.

Readers are herein instructed to check out the National Journal piece.

Does anyone out there really doubt at this point that Bush had some indication that the intelligence on the tubes was faulty?

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El Segundo, Calif.: I'm generally not a supporter of many of George W. Bush's ideas, but after discussing the illegal immigration issue for a number of years with various acquaintances of differing political beliefs, I'm inclined to support the proposal put out by the Senate Judiciary Committee and supported by Mr. Bush. An article on Sunday in the Los Angeles Times by Peter W. Alston really help clarify Bush's thinking and my own. My only concern is that I don't believe businesses that will continue to hire illegal immigrants will have any reason to stop. That to me is the big problem.

Shailagh Murray: Ah yes, those slippery business people.

Anyone who doubts market forces, supply and demand, competitiveness and all those other radical WSJ editorial page notions, consider the history of illegal immigration and what drives it.

As far as I'm concerned, it's not how high they build the fence, it's how high they set the fines that employers will face for hiring illegals. That'll tell you who wrote the final bill.

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Sewickley, Pa.: Why, in your opinion, has there been so little talk of the role that big businesses play in the immigration situation? I am thinking specifically of the meat packers who rely on illegal immigrants and have a terrible record with respect to worker safety. There seems to be very little appetite to take on the big interests who benefit from powerless low wage workers.

Shailagh Murray: Think about why so many members (from both parties) want a guest worker program. Because it's the decent thing to do, tethering millions of low-skilled workers to an employer for five years? I totally get your frustration -- this issue has so many tentacles it's been hard to give every aspect of it a thorough vetting. But you're right, the business community has been a huge force in this debate.

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Austin, Tex.: What has the reaction on the Hill been to the Democrat's new national security plan?

Shailagh Murray: No reaction. They released it in the middle of one of the busiest weeks in recent memory -- and got almost no attention as a result. Then came the Cynthia McKinney episode -- enough said.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Okay, which arguments did you find convincing or interesting in the censure resolution hearing?

What is the meanest thing you can think of to say about Dana Milbank?

Shailagh Murray: What's interesting about the censure resolution is that Democrats propose crazy things all the time, but this one has struck a nerve with Republicans. They went batty. And I think that's because a lot of voters are annoyed that they've challenged Bush on almost nothing. They're willing to make an issue on the little stuff (budget cuts for education) but not on the big stuff (whether lies were told, laws were violated).

As for the meanest thing I can say about Dana Milbank: He's friends with Tom Edsall. Really.

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Charleston, S.C.: Shailagh,

Civics 101 question for you. Why are Senators not elected in the same election cycle? Was this something that was set up from the beginning or did it become this way after elections went directly to the people and not the state legislators? Perhaps it has evolved form special elections due to deaths and resignations?

Shailagh Murray: I conferred with my esteemed colleague Dan Balz and between his reading of the federalist papers and my viewing of the Daily Show, we can tell you that the Senate was at least originally viewed as the steady force, the tea cup for cooling the tea, a more permanent and stable force than the populist House. And that's exactly how it's worked out, right!

On that note, have a great couple of weeks, and thanks to all for writing.

Cheers, Shailagh.

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