Immigration Bill Latest Proof Democrats Suck at This

The immigration bill that emerged from the Judiciary Committee yesterday has Sally Kohn wondering—and not for the first time—if the "modern Democratic Party's strategy is secretly being bankrolled by Eli Lilly as a ploy to sell Prozac to liberals," she writes at Salon. Democrats couldn't even "stiffen their spines to support fairness and equality for gay couples," with the White House reportedly pressuring Patrick Leahy to drop an amendment that would let gay and lesbian Americans sponsor their partners' visas.

They also let Orrin Hatch water down the bill with a tech-friendly visa provision that "would arguably harm American workers," even though another Republican opposed it, and Hatch wouldn't even promise to vote for the thing. It was a familiar, frustrating story. "When Republicans stand strong on principles while Democrats obsess about political practicality, Democrats repeatedly concede too much." Democrats had every advantage here—Republicans need immigration reform more than they do—and they still behaved like "an S&M submissive who forgot his safety word." Click for the full column. (More immigration reform stories.)