House Republicans pulled a bill which would increase funding for security at the southern border after conservative media and their allies voiced opposition to it.
The bill, pushed by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was tabled after he and House Republican leadership faced “a rebellion among their most conservative ranks,” according to the New York Times, who also reported that the failure to pass the bill “ensures that no legislation to address what both Democrats and Republicans call an urgent humanitarian crisis will reach President Obama's desk before the August break.” After the measure failed, Republicans met to discuss whether they would bring up another bill before Congress goes into recess or to scrap the legislation entirely. Roll Call reported that “chaos reigned” as it became unclear what Republican leaders would decide to do.
Conservative media darling Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was reportedly whipping votes in order to stop the bill the night before its introduction, according to a Washington Post report. Cruz appeared on Fox's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren that same night and attacked what he described as “President Obama's amnesty.”
Weekly Standard founder and ABC News contributor Bill Kristol wrote a July 31 blog post demanding that the House “kill the bill.” He described the bill as “dubious legislation” and argued that passing it would “take the focus off what President Obama has done about immigration.”
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt agreed with Kristol, writing that the House should “kill the fake border security bill and go home until the House leadership gets serious about passing a real border security bill.”
The Drudge Report highlighted opposition to the bill at the top of the site with the headline “Hill Phones Melt As Boehner Pushes Border.”
The Drudge headline linked to Breitbart.com, which has repeatedly opposed immigration reform efforts. The story by Matthew Boyle noted that “The American people have overloaded the Congressional phone lines yet again on Thursday, pressuring their members of Congress to vote against the House and Senate immigration bills.”
Fox News contributor Erick Erickson argued at his site, RedState, that the bill was flawed because it failed to repeal the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which conservatives incorrectly blame for generating the surge in child migrants from Central America.
Erickson added, “The House GOP should be starting with closing DACA, not telling conservatives they first have to fund the President and then they'll get table scraps” and directed his readers to RedState's “action center” where they could call Congress and demand that “the House GOP must close DACA.”
Daily Caller columnist Mickey Kaus promoted a campaign from the anti-immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) which urged readers to call the U.S. Capitol switchboard in order to speak to their member of Congress and demand “No New Laws” on immigration. Kaus also linked to a list of members and their direct office phone numbers.
Laura Ingraham, a talk radio host and Fox News/ABC News contributor, who has been an anti-immigration reform crusader for years, wrote on Twitter that Boehner had made a “supreme accomplishment” by pushing a bill that “manages to enrage both the political left and conservatives.” She later celebrated its defeat.
