Congress Thinking Opposition to Amnesty Bill is Fading

I'm a little suspicious of this story in the Washington Post:

After a week at home with their constituents, the Senate architects of a delicate immigration compromise are increasingly convinced that they will hold together this week to pass an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, with momentum building behind one unifying theme: Today's immigration system is too broken to go unaddressed.

Congress's week-long Memorial Day recess was expected to leave the bill in tatters. But with a week of action set to begin today, the legislation's champions say they believe that the voices of opposition, especially from conservatives, represent a small segment of public opinion. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who led negotiations on the bill for his party, said the flood of angry calls and protests that greeted the deal two weeks ago has since receded every day.

"You just have to recognize you will get 300 calls, you'll get conflicts at town hall meetings -- all of them negative," said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who consulted with Kyl and hopes to carry a similar deal through the House in July. "The last few days have really turned things around."

Something doesn't smell right about this piece. How convenient that as Congress returns to Washington there's suddenly a sea change in public opinion moving in favor of the bill. I'm not buying it. If anything, I'm hearing even more opposition as more people find out what this bill will do.

I don't know what the voters in general may be thinking, but Republicans like Kyl and Flake need to be much more concerned with the attitudes of what used to be the Republican base since those voters will determine the future of these Republican officeholders. Many Republicans feel betrayed by this bill and the support from the president and prominent Republicans for it, and there will be a price to pay at the polls next year whether the bill passes or not.