Immigration hissy fit

Believe it or not, like Marc Amber, I'm willing to cut Sen. Hucleberry a little slack on pulling the football away and backing away from his own energy legislation. Energy use reform is, in the grand scheme of things, a much more pressing issue than immigration reform. But it does strike one as a little odd than Graham would react so strongly. It's a given that he's a walking hissy-fit, but he was working on an immigration bill as well, and suggested late last year that immigration was a "priority."

It's clear that Reid sees immigration reform as a means of improving Hispanic turnout this November, something he'll desperately need if he's going to keep his seat. But that's not the only reason. Immigration reform is perilous, but the issue is much simpler to understand, most voters are already pretty set in their mind -- for everyone who supports the Arizona measure, there are many others who want to see some sort of combination of increased enforcement, path to citizenship, and a better means of documenting workers. That applies to both sides of the aisle. And it's a reality of daily life. Everyone can see the men hanging out in the parking lot, waiting for work. But everyone also knows an undocumented worker, living in fear while raising a family here and paying taxes.

And the AZ bill was a big espresso shot of immediacy in this debate, something Reid and the Democrats certainly didn't ask for.

Energy, on the other hand, is another big, complex legislative tangle. It would be subject to the same misinformation campaign that was the health care "debate." It's easy to turn it into a screaming match over "taxes" and "intrusion" and, of course, the Prius Mandate.

So, Graham may not like it, but it's the past and current behavior of his conservative colleagues that forced the political calculus on this.

UPDATE: Maybe, energy legislation isn't quite as dead as was thought.