And then there was none? Republican senator Lindsay Graham seems certain to drop his support for comprehensive immigration reform just one day after he and Senator Charles Schumer of New York announced a new bipartisan approach.

Graham had been the only Republican senator willing to buck the odds and reach a bipartisan compromise on the issue.Now that seems in jeopardy.

Graham says the reason he is withdrawing because of the tactics Democrats are using to get health care passed in Congress. "The first casualty of the Democratic health care bill will be immigration reform. If the health care bill goes through this weekend, that will, in my view, pretty much kill any chance of immigration reform passing the Senate this year,” he stated.

However, insiders say the negative reaction from the Republican base to his work on the immigration issue issue is the real cause for the sudden about face. He has been called "Senator Grahamnesty" to his face in recent weeks and has been attacked strongly on the right wing.