Kennedy drops Kennedy-McCain; to promote Specter version?

From this:

Facing a rebellion from some key Republicans, Sen. Edward Kennedy has abandoned efforts to produce a new immigration bill.

Instead, he is proposing using legislation produced last March by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee as the starting point for negotiations this year, lawmakers said Monday.

Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who is principal architect of immigration legislation in the Senate, now controlled by Democrats, said he was shifting gears in hopes of winning Republican support and speeding the passage of immigration legislation in spring.

Four of 10 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee voted last year for the panel's bill, which would tighten border security, create a temporary-worker program and legalize the nation's illegal immigrants...

...Specter, who said Kennedy first suggested the new approach on the Senate floor on Friday, said he was still weighing whether to support it. He said he and several Republican lawmakers met with White House officials when it became clear they would not be included in the negotiations between Kennedy and McCain...

Specter said he would consult with GOP colleagues and White House officials before deciding [whether to support Kennedy's latest scheme]. The bill passed by the Judiciary Committee did not include several measures included in last year's Senate legislation, including a provision to compel several million illegal immigrants to leave the country before seeking citizenship.

If I have my borderline-treasonous legislation correct, the legislation being refered to included aspects of Kennedy-McCain, and was later morphed into the Hagel-Martinez "compromise".

Immigration2007a · Tue, 03/13/2007 - 11:36 · · Importance: 1