Mark Levin warned us this was going to happen the other day and now McConnell himself is now affirming that he is going to vote for cloture on the immigration bill while suggesting that he probably won’t vote for the final bill unless major changes are completed:
WEEKLY STANDARD – In a statement on the Senate floor this morning, Republican leader Mitch McConnell signaled he’d vote for cloture for the immigration bill. But he also suggested the bill needs to be amended.
“The Gang of Eight has done its work. Now it’s time for the Gang of 100 to do its work — for the entire Senate to have its say on this issue, and see if we can do something to improve the status quo. At the risk of stating the obvious, this bill has serious flaws,” McConnell said, then suggesting he’d vote for cloture, the motion to proceed.
“I’ll vote to debate it and for the opportunity to amend it, but in the days ahead there will need to be major changes to this bill if it’s going to become law. These include, but are not limited to, the areas of border security, government benefits, and taxes.”
McConnell then says he’ll look to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for more than an “assurance”:
“I’m going to need more than an assurance from Secretary Napolitano, for instance, that the border is secure to feel comfortable about the situation on the border. Too often recently, we have been reminded that as government grows it becomes less responsible to the American people, and fails to perform basic functions either through incompetence or willful disregard of the wishes of Congress. Our continued failure to secure major portions of the border not only makes true immigration reform far more difficult; it presents an urgent threat to national security.
Because McConnell is in the minority, by voting FOR cloture (ending debate) he is ensuring that the majority gets a chance to pass the immigration bill while he can then vote against it and make it look like he’s against the bill.
See, in order for cloture to occur it takes 3/5ths of the Senate to vote for it which is normally 60 votes. If McConnell were really against the bill passing, he’d vote AGAINST cloture to ensure debate continues and the majority wouldn’t be able vote on a final bill. But because McConnell really wants the immigration bill to pass, he’ll vote FOR cloture and then when voting for final passage of the bill, which only requires 51 votes and is pretty much guaranteed because the Democrats have the majority, Mitch will vote against it and then go lie to his Tea Party constituents and tell them that he was completely against the bill.
UPDATE: The above portion that is marked through is incorrect. I’ve corrected it here.