There are some interesting things in Robert Novak’s recent column:

Boehner on Tuesday was upbeat in addressing a breakfast forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which supports a guest worker program. He indicated he would resolve differences between the restrictive House bill and the much more liberal Senate bill by the Fourth of July.

But at a closed luncheon Wednesday at Charlie Palmer’s restaurant, attended by financial contributors to House Republicans, Boehner declared that the immigration bill was all but dead. That change followed Boehner’s conversation late Tuesday with Hastert, who made clear he did not want to pursue the issue that splits the Republican Party.

This is a divisive issue in the Republican party. Many Republicans oppose the plan of the President and the Senate but there are some who support it. A conservative blog was destroyed because of this issue. Hastert demonstrates that he understands that the cost is too high and the divisions too deep for a compromise. He understands amnesty is not something that the American people support but the politicians do.
If he were really smart, when this bill dies he should immediately pass a bill that does three things and only:
1. Build a fence across the border.
2. Punish employers who hire illegal immigrants.
3. Streamline the process to get into this country legally.
Don’t even deal with the illegals that are here in this country now because number two would take care of that problem.
(Link via Drudge Report)