The Immigration Bill Goes Down in the Senate

The immigration bill goes down in the Senate. That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

The failure of the bill was not a partisan issue, 15 Senate Democrats joined 37 Republicans in driving a stake through the plan. Many politicians are down right scared of the folks because so many of the folks are angry about various aspects of the illegal immigration controversy.

The two most ardent supporters of the Senate's plan are President Bush and Senator Kennedy, who made a final plea this morning.

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SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY, (D), MASS: Now is the time to secure our borders. Now is the time to deal with the national security interests.

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Well, if it was just about that, border and national security, that Senate bill would have already been law. But the sticking point is what to do with the millions of people who are in this country illegally. Now my immigration plans, posted on BillOreilly.com, it is simple and fair and 87 percent of you support it according to our non-scientific poll. But that and a dollar will get you a bottle of water.

What we have now is continuing chaos. And that could continue into the next presidential administration. "Talking Points" expects Homeland Security to continue securing the southern border despite the collapse of the legislation. The barriers should be built, the Border Patrol expanded and more National Guard deployed. We'll be watching that situation very closely.

As for the millions of illegal aliens already here, well, they're pretty much going to do what they've always done since the Reagan administration. They'll work. They'll go home. They'll live their lives. But the U.S. government will have no idea who they are and where they are.

In this very dangerous time, that is a very dangerous thing. Something for all the politicians to think about as they leave for their Fourth of July holiday. And that's "The Memo."

Most Ridiculous Item

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day." As you may know, we do the "Great American Culture Quiz" here every Monday, and a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a print version of it for Parade magazine. In addition to the Sunday pages, Parade put the quiz on its Web site, and so far it has recorded 1.4 million viewings, an all-time record for Parade.com. It's still posted there if you'd like to have some fun.

And speaking of fun, our pal, Michael Moore, dodged us while promoting his movie. He was supposed to speak with me. Instead, he chatted with Jon Stewart.

But listen to this. Moore showed up 90 minutes late for the Stewart taping. We never would have waited. To do so would be ridiculous.

—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com