Amnesty Defeated

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's immigration bill suffered a crushing defeat Thursday in the Senate, when members voted against advancing the controversial legislation. The tally was 46 to 53, 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to end debate. The bill would have provided a path to citizenship for some of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and toughens border security. Supporters and opponents of the controversial legislation said that it probably won't be resurrected until after the 2008 elections.

The controversial bill won support and derision from both sides of the political aisle. Those voting in favor included 12 Republicans. Sixteen Democrats voted against it and 18 senators switched their votes from an earlier vote on the bill on Tuesday. Bush had lobbied heavily for support for the compromise legislation, which was also crafted by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy. Senators were voting against cutting off debate and referring the bill for a final vote. On Wednesday, supporters beat back a number of potentially fatal amendments.

• JJ Commentary: Praise God that this “compromise” bill (which supports all the North American Union and New World (Dis)Order goals) has been defeated.