Deal fiasco dismays supporters

The much-heralded compromise was halted by a dispute over procedure.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan deal to bring millions of illegal immigrants out of the shadows ran aground Friday in the Senate, a victim of partisan deadlock and an atmosphere of distrust in the leadership suites of both parties.
Though Republicans and Democrats vowed to take up immigration anew when they return from their two-week Easter recess, the setback did nothing to improve the reed-thin prospect that Congress will send a comprehensive immigration bill to President Bush's desk this year.
The chances "have diminished dramatically -- and I think that's very bad for the nation," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a key participant in back-room negotiations this week.
Another of those players, Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, said the game is far from over. "I'm sorrowful but not without hope for the future. I'm concerned about the lost opportunity but absolutely determined to keep on fighting."
Puzzled
That a carefully crafted compromise triumphantly heralded just 24 hours earlier -- and supported by perhaps as many as 70 senators -- could be shipwrecked by an insular fight over legislative procedure left people scratching their heads.
"It just raises the question: Did they want a bill or did they want a food fight?" said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which has lobbied frenetically for a sweeping legalization covering perhaps 10 million illegal immigrants.
"It's a real failure of leadership on the part of both parties," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., each blamed the other side.
Democrats have "obstructed, stopped, stonewalled," Frist complained, referring to the Democrats' refusal to permit votes on amendments they considered poison pills.
Republican critics of the bill engaged in "filibuster by amendment," countered Reid, who said Frist was unable to rein in holdouts in his own caucus. "He had a cabal going on over there. They did not want that legislation passed."