Unseemly haste on Senate immigration bill - shouldn't they read it before voting?

United States Senator - Jim DeMint:

"But the little we do know about the bill is troubling."

So said Senate Republican Steering Committee chairman Jim DeMint in commenting on the thousand page Senate immigration bill just unveiled in DC. His comments were in marked contrast to the unrestrained enthusiasm of his fellow senator from South Carolina, Lindsay Graham.

There seems to be a mood among many senators to get this plan approved quickly before anyone has a chance to read it. Early reports indicate that the plan is a wonderful mix of bits of window dressing to distract conservatives from the bills flaws, a basic orientation toward expanding legal immigration, and enough bureaucratic redtape to convince many illegals to ignore the new rules and continue to work here illegally.

While senators might want to vote on this turkey quickly before people notice what it means, that won't entirely solve their problem as the House expects to produce its own bill covering the same subjects sometime before the congressional recess in August. This would set the stage for a conference committee to work out discrepancies when Congress reconvenes in the fall. That would be a time of year when constituents are much more likely to be paying attention and writing the kind of disrespectful and insulting letters and emails that are the bane of political life.