◼ As expected, the Senate has invoked cloture on the Hoeven/Corker substitute amendment, paving the way for final passage later this week. - Guy Benson/Townhall
I must say that some of the analogies drawn between this bill and Obamacare are overstated. For one thing, the 'Gang of Eight' plan isn't nearly as unpopular as the "Affordable" Care Act was (and still is), nor does it approach the same level of expense. But there are some eerie similarities: Hurried votes, unread legislation, cynical buy-offs, new discretionary powers for cabinet secretaries, unseemly waivers, and wasteful spending. In 2009, the Democrat-held House narrowly passed the Senate's atrocious healthcare bill. Today, Republicans control that chamber. Will they kill this bill, or at least offer a better alternative?
◼ ObamaCare, ObamaPhones, Now Maybe ObamaCars!? - FOX News Insider
Laura Ingraham, this week's guest host of The O'Reilly Factor, stopped by Fox and Friends this morning, discussing a range of topics with Steve Doocy, Peter Johnson Jr. and Dana Perino, including how "Obamacars" have made their way into the Senate's immigration bill.
She said we're now finding out that the 1,190-page bill is laden with "poison pills" like "giveaways for Hollywood," a $1.5 billion youth unemployment stimulus to satisfy Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and "the salmon sweetener" for senators from Alaska. Part of the Sanders provision could even provide for free cars, motorcycles, or scooters for young people to use as transportation to jobs.
"This immigration bill does not do what it says it does," said Ingraham, saying the process in Washington is "astoundingly bad." Then, she gave some advice to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on how he can score big points with conservatives in the coming weeks.
"If I'm John Boehner I look at this [bill] and say, you know, we do have border priorities, we're gonna act on those. We are completely done with what just happened in the Senate. It's an insult to the middle class of this country, African-Americans, Latino Americans, hard working Americans across this country are going to be hurt. It should be DOA, and he should give a phenomenal speech about why this process was polluted from the beginning and how the middle class could be served by the conservative agenda. He would be a winner across the board if he did that," she said.
