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McCain, Schumer spar on immigration

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

April 21, 2006

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain isn't one of Chuck Schumer's biggest fans in the first place, but the New York Democrat's role in the immigration reform debate has really aggravated the GOP's possible presidential front-runner.

John Weaver, McCain's top political adviser, is accusing Schumer of trying to scuttle a McCain-backed bipartisan immigration bill so Democrats can hammer Republicans as an anti-immigrant party during the fall elections.

"[Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid and Chuck are the ones who are obstructing this," said Weaver, a Manhattan-based consultant. "I know that Chuck has been the behind-the-scenes guy blocking this ... John McCain has said that about Chuck and everybody knows it's the truth."

Schumer supports the effort by McCain and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to create a guest worker program with a path to citizenship. But Schumer rallied Democrats earlier this month, prompting Reid to delay a vote until the GOP agrees to consider only three amendments on the Senate floor.

That infuriated McCain, who had been part of negotiations that whittled down hundreds of possible amendments to eight.

Without responding directly to Weaver's charge, Schumer spokesman Israel Klein said, "Our goal is to pass a fair and balanced bill, not one that will be gutted by amendments or in the conference committee."

This isn't the first time the two media giants have clashed. On March 9, Schumer angered McCain by introducing an amendment to the McCain-sponsored lobbying reform bill to kill the Dubai Ports World deal. That maneuver stalled action on the lobbying measure and resulted in a watered-down port bill.

McCain claims immigration reform won't be similarly gutted. But Schumer thinks Republicans will hijack the amendment process to force Democrats into voting against tough border security proposals, turning those "no" votes into fodder for GOP campaign ads.

Schumer, who is quarterbacking Democrats' efforts to retake the Senate, has demanded McCain guarantee 15 to 20 Republicans will join Democrats in voting against amendments, say Democratic aides. McCain has lobbied 10 Republican senators to provide assurances, but that didn't satisfy Schumer or Reid.

Schumer did sign onto the April 7 compromise brokered by McCain, Kennedy, Reid and Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) that seemed to clear the way for a vote. But the media-savvy Schumer was conspicuously absent from the news conference, prompting one Capitol Hill aide to quip, "When was the last time there was a big press conference and Chuck didn't show up?" On April 8, the agreement collapsed.