TheHill.com - Fragile immigration compromise shatters loudly

http://thehill.com/byron-york/fragile-immigration-compromise-shatters-loudly-2007-06-29.html

Then, yesterday morning, word went 'round that the required five senators had changed their minds. The immigration bill appeared headed for defeat. That's when a squeaker became a stampede.

What were the senators thinking? Well, everybody knew that if the bill died, it would stay dead, probably for a long time. That would mean their vote on cloture would stand, certainly up until next year's elections, as their final position on the "amnesty" bill.

"It was one of those things where people were prepared to vote for it — if it was going to pass," says a plugged-in Senate source. "But they didn't want to fall on their swords for a failed bill, and on the last vote on this issue for a long time."