Hourly Update

Tancredo: Immigration rejection 'death knell' for McCain

JOHNSTON, Iowa - The Senate's failure to approve an immigration reform bill may sound the "death knell" for Sen. John McCain's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, GOP rival Tom Tancredo said Friday. Tancredo, an opponent of the measure, said McCain was so inextricably linked to the immigration measure that he likely can't survive its rejection. "I think that the silver lining in this bill and the fact that we've debated this bill and the fact that he's pushed it so hard, it probably means there will never be a President John McCain," Tancredo said. Not only did the compromise measure fail to advance in the Senate, it was overwhelmingly rejected by Republicans. That sends a signal that McCain is out of line with the Republican base on an issue that clearly motivated GOP activists, Tancredo said. Tancredo, a Colorado congressman, spoke during a taping of Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program. Tancredo entered the race for the GOP presidential nomination to push his opposition to illegal immigration. During debate on the Senate measure, Tancredo criticized elements of the bill, including a temporary worker program and a provision that provides a path to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally. He called it nothing more than amnesty that rewards illegal activity. McCain has argued that ignoring the country's 12 million illegal immigrants amounts to "silent amnesty" because they would remain in the United States. Tancredo said the debate amounted to a referendum among Republicans - one that McCain lost. "This became almost as big an issue for him as it was for me," Tancredo said. "Certainly we're diametrically opposed. When you lose something like this, and as big as he lost this thing, it's got to send a message to him and a lot of people." The immigration reform measure drew only 45 votes in the Senate, 15 short of the number needed to pass. Only a handful of Republicans supported it. Tancredo noted that a key leader of McCain's South Carolina campaign quit over the issue, and he predicted more defections will follow. "I think this is sort of the death knell for John McCain's campaign," Tancredo said. Tim Miller, a McCain spokesman, declined immediate comment.