I’ve been skeptical of the idea that if 70 senators vote for the immigration bill it will put so much pressure on House Republicans that they will have to pass it. If 70 senators vote for it, that means (given likely unanimity or near-unanimity among the Democrats) that a strong majority of Senate Republicans voted against it. That’s not going to put pressure on House Republicans. A Republican who supports the legislation said to me recently that I’ve gotten the psychological dynamics wrong: The bigger the Senate vote, the less likely House Republicans are to pass the bill, because they don’t like being cornered. I think there’s probably something to that idea.

—Ramesh Ponnuru
Pressure Points on Immigration