The Washington Times reports:

President Bush’s immigration bill is hurting fundraising by the Republican National Committee, but fierce grass-roots opposition to the legislation is helping several state Republican parties. Tina Benkiser, chairwoman of the Republican Party in the president’s home state of Texas, says raising money has been successful “in large part to our principled stance against illegal immigration.” Since the beginning of 2006, when substantial immigration debate began, she says, “the Republican Party of Texas has experienced an exponential increase in direct-mail donations from supporters statewide.”

The Washington Times reports:

The fate of the immigration bill comes down to Senate Republicans’ leader, Mitch McConnell, and whether he sides with President Bush and Democratic leaders or with rank-and-file members of his own party.

His choices: Accept Democrats’ demands to finish the bill this week without major changes, or rally with his Republicans who say the bill is bad and getting worse, and want more time to fight the proposal.

“The only thing that can save us now is if McConnell made an appeal to Republicans that this thing is out of control and we need to step back from it, and we’re not getting the amendments we want,” said Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican. “He could do that, but I’m not sure where he is right now.”