Pressure builds on House Speaker Boehner.
American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Despite the decision by the Republican House leadership not to vote on the comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate, two influential Republicans came out strongly in favor of the House putting the bill to a vote, putting pressure on Speaker John Boehner to reverse course on the issue which is fast splitting the GOP.
Following Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s response that he expects the House to vote on the immigration bill passed by the Senate, saying “this is something that the vast, vast majority of the Republicans, Democrats, and Independents support. And John Boehner should let the House vote. That’s all he has to do. If the House voted, it would pass overwhelmingly” – support came from unexpected quarters: Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch.
Murdoch agreed with Reid on Twitter, opining that Boehner “should allow” the House to vote. “Lead,” Murdoch said, for the “country’s sake,” reported MSNBC.
The push for immigration reform got another boost with influential Republican ideologue Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform, saying that the House Republicans will pass the bill with a strong vote.
“There will be a strong Republican vote for this,” Norquist said of immigration reform at an event hosted by The Atlantic, reported Politico. “This should be second nature for Republicans.”
According to Norquist, only a minority of conservatives, not the heart of the Republican Party, is responsible for most of the opposition to immigration reform.
He also came down hard on conservative talk radio hosts for trying to influence lawmakers, despite the fact that there is support among the GOP for immigration reform.
“When you have more people moving into an area of economic growth, you actually get more growth,” Norquist said favoring immigration reform. “People are an asset.” He added: “Every day the Republican caucus is moving towards yes. This is going to play out.”