WASHINGTON (By Tom Curry, MSNBC) October 25, 2007 — The Senate rejected Wednesday an attempt to move ahead with a bill to allow illegal immigrants under age 30 to remain in the United States and gain legal status if they attend college or join the military.

The vote to move ahead on the Dream Act (the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), got 52 votes, eight short of the 60 needed.

Among those voting against moving ahead with the bill were eight Democrats, even though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appealed to his majority to back him.

But this was yet another case when the Democratic majority was not a true working majority. Senate rules require a supermajority of 60 to advance most bills.

The vote was a significant leading indicator for 2008 of the potency of illegal immigration as an election issue.

Implications for 2008

Illegal immigration remains at a legislative impasse — and that may be a good thing for GOP chances since the party’s base in the South and West tends to be vehemently opposed to any accommodation with illegal immigrants.

In his post-vote assessment, the Dream Act’s chief sponsor, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said, “In a campaign year, it is a very difficult issue. If it’s tough this year, it’s tougher next year.”

Some senators, he said, “are running scared” on the illegal immigrant issue.

“Switchboards light up, the hates starts spewing, and people get concerned, to say the least,” Durbin told reporters.

Twelve Republicans joined most Democrats in voting to proceed.

Two of the Republican senators in competitive races next year, Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Susan Collins of Maine, voted to push ahead with the bill.

But two other GOP senators in tight races, John Sununu of New Hampshire and Gordon Smith of Oregon, voted against it.

People in Montana 'outraged'

Sen. Max Baucus of Montana — who is up for re-election next year — said the Dream Act was “huge, huge” as an issue on the minds of people in his state.

“People are very upset, they’re outraged; it’s like amnesty, it’s virtually the same” he said after casting his “no” vote. 

Mail, phone calls, and e-mail on the issue pouring into his office were “off the wall,” Baucus said.

Most Montanans, he said, believed the bill would have given an unfair benefit to illegal immigrants.

Baucus’s freshman Democratic colleague from Montana Sen. Jon Tester also voted “no,” as did another freshman Democrat, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

Southern Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Robert Byrd of West Virginia all voted against the Dream Act.

Most analysts see Landrieu as the most endangered Senate Democrat up for re-election next year.

Pryor, too, is up for re-election in 2008.

Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona was absent for the vote, even though he’d been present for a vote just an hour earlier on the nomination of appeals court judge Leslie Southwick.

The bill would have allowed illegal immigrants, if they passed background checks and became permanent legal residents, to qualify for lower in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities, a point cited by Sen. Kent Conrad, D- N.D, who voted “no.”

Conrad explained that from his constituents in North Dakota, “I was hearing, ‘wait a minute, this is more generous than what we’re doing for people who were born in this country.’ And it’s certainly commendable to want to give this kind of educational assistance to people. But how can you justify that when we don’t do it for people who were raised in our country?”

From North Dakotans, Conrad said, “What I hear is, ‘look, you’ve got to secure the border. That’s got to be priority number one.’”

Fellow North Dakotan, Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan, joined Conrad in voting “no.”

Penalizing children for their parents' actions

To be eligible for the bill, the illegal immigrants would have to have been 15 years old or younger when they arrived in the United States.

Reid argued that “children should not be penalized for the actions of their parents. Many of the children come here when they’re very, very young; many don’t even remember their home countries or speak the language of their home countries.”

“Why good does it do anybody to prevent these young people from having a future?”

But the Dream Act’s foes said illegal immigrants did have a future — outside the United States.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., urged those in the United States illegally “to go home and sign up for a legal program. We can do that in an orderly way.”

Assessing Democrats' motives

DeMint said the American people had delivered a message last year when the Senate scuttled a broader immigration bill that they did not want any legalization for those in the country illegally.

“I think it will make people even madder if we’re trying to sneak this through under the guise of ‘doing something for the children,’” he said Tuesday.

DeMint’s assessment of the vote was that Democrats “were just trying to go through the checklist” for their constituency groups.

“They are probably hoping Republicans will stop it,” he mused Tuesday. “I think they’d like to take credit for trying,” but not actually pass the bill.

Then he added, “Maybe I’m too cynical.”

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session Vote Summary Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider S. 2205 ) Vote Number: 394 Vote Date: October 24, 2007, 12:27 PM Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Rejected Measure Number: S. 2205 Measure Title: A bill to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes. Vote Counts: YEAs 52   NAYs 44   Not Voting 4 Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), Yea Alexander (R-TN), Nay Allard (R-CO), Nay Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Baucus (D-MT), Nay Bayh (D-IN), Yea Bennett (R-UT), Yea Biden (D-DE), Yea Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Bond (R-MO), Nay Boxer (D-CA), Not Voting Brown (D-OH), Yea Brownback (R-KS), Yea Bunning (R-KY), Nay Burr (R-NC), Nay Byrd (D-WV), Nay Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Cardin (D-MD), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Clinton (D-NY), Yea Coburn (R-OK), Nay Cochran (R-MS), Nay Coleman (R-MN), Yea Collins (R-ME), Yea Conrad (D-ND), Nay Corker (R-TN), Nay Cornyn (R-TX), Nay Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Nay DeMint (R-SC), Nay Dodd (D-CT), Not Voting Dole (R-NC), Nay Domenici (R-NM), Nay Dorgan (D-ND), Nay Durbin (D-IL), Yea Ensign (R-NV), Nay Enzi (R-WY), Nay Feingold (D-WI), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Graham (R-SC), Nay Grassley (R-IA), Nay Gregg (R-NH), Nay Hagel (R-NE), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Nay Johnson (D-SD), Yea Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea Kyl (R-AZ), Nay Landrieu (D-LA), Nay Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Leahy (D-VT), Yea Levin (D-MI), Yea Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Lott (R-MS), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea Martinez (R-FL), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting McCaskill (D-MO), Nay McConnell (R-KY), Nay Menendez (D-NJ), Yea Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Murkowski (R-AK), Nay Murray (D-WA), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea Obama (D-IL), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Nay Reed (D-RI), Yea Reid (D-NV), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Salazar (D-CO), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Nay Smith (R-OR), Nay Snowe (R-ME), Yea Specter (R-PA), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Stevens (R-AK), Nay Sununu (R-NH), Nay Tester (D-MT), Nay Thune (R-SD), Nay Vitter (R-LA), Nay Voinovich (R-OH), Nay Warner (R-VA), Nay Webb (D-VA), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Yea Grouped By Vote Position YEAs ---52 Akaka (D-HI) Bayh (D-IN) Bennett (R-UT) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Brown (D-OH) Brownback (R-KS) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Clinton (D-NY) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Craig (R-ID) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Hagel (R-NE) Harkin (D-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inouye (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Obama (D-IL) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Snowe (R-ME) Stabenow (D-MI) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR) NAYs ---44 Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bond (R-MO) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Byrd (D-WV) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) McCaskill (D-MO) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Pryor (D-AR) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) Not Voting - 4 Boxer (D-CA) Dodd (D-CT) Kennedy (D-MA) McCain (R-AZ)   Grouped by Home State Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Nay Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Nay Stevens (R-AK), Nay Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Nay McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting* Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Nay California: Boxer (D-CA), Not Voting Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Nay Salazar (D-CO), Yea Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Not Voting Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Isakson (R-GA), Nay Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Nay Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Yea Obama (D-IL), Yea Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Nay Harkin (D-IA), Yea Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Nay Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Nay McConnell (R-KY), Nay Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Nay Vitter (R-LA), Nay Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Yea Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Yea Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Minnesota: Coleman (R-MN), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Nay Lott (R-MS), Yea Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Nay McCaskill (D-MO), Nay Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Nay Tester (D-MT), Nay Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Nay Reid (D-NV), Yea New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Nay Sununu (R-NH), Nay New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Domenici (R-NM), Nay New York: Clinton (D-NY), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Nay Dole (R-NC), Nay North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Nay Dorgan (D-ND), Nay Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Nay Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Nay Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Nay Wyden (D-OR), Yea Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Nay Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Nay Graham (R-SC), Nay South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea Thune (R-SD), Nay Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Nay Corker (R-TN), Nay Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Nay Hutchison (R-TX), Yea Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Yea Virginia: Warner (R-VA), Nay Webb (D-VA), Yea Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Enzi (R-WY), Nay

* McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona was absent for the vote, even though he’d been present for a vote just an hour earlier on the nomination of appeals court judge Leslie Southwick.