There are lies and there are whoppers and...

...then there is this latest stuff that has the GOP accusing the Democrats of doing what the GOP in fact did. It's bizarre. They've stepped in the turd they laid and are desperately trying to get clear of it. But, as Josh Marshall says, "The scope of the lying from Ken Mehlman's RNC on this immigration stuff really almost defies belief. " Justin Rood at the TMPmuckraker puts it this way:

the GOP is claiming that Democrats have voted to make illegal immigration a felony crime. Exactly the opposite is the case. Ken Mehlman's RNC is even running ads based on this lie.

Here's what happened: Late last year GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) wrote and sponsored a bill that makes illegal immigration a felony. It's currently a civil offense.

After he got the bill out of committee, it caused such a hue and cry that Sensenbrenner tried to backpedal, and offered an amendment to soften his language, and make illegal immigration just a misdemeanor crime. (That's still worse than a civil offense.)

Over 190 Democrats joined 65 Republicans in voting against that amendment because they didn't think it should be criminalized at all.

The bill went to the floor with the felony language included; it passed on overwhelming Republican support.

As mcjoan over at the DailyKos puts it:

Falling in line behind the Liar-in-Chief, the RNC has developed a new Spanish language radio hit piece against Harry Reid.

The ads, in part, say: "Terrorists coming across our borders. Drugs smuggled to America's shores. But just last week, there was hope. Congress was working on immigration reform . . . to secure our borders and protect American families. But Democrat Leader Harry Reid let us down. Harry Reid played politics and blocked our leaders from working together. Reid's Democrat allies voted to treat millions of hard-working immigrants . . . as felons."

As Digby says:

The Republican argument was that they wanted to make it a felony, but because it would enable the defendants to have a jury trial and have access to a lawyer, they were afraid that it would cost too much. They argued that they would get far more prosecutions against the "aliens" if they kept it at the misdemeanor level.

Now, we know that they were having second thoughts about this provision, probably doing some polling that it would inflame the latino community. And Democrats certainly did want to hang this bill around the GOP's neck and succeeded in doing so. But the Republicans' stated reasons for trying to withdraw it were hardly because it was wrong to use such harsh methods, only that it would cost too much and would allow the "aliens" to have a lawyer and a fair trial. The Republican party, as we know, is very much against that fundamental American principle these days. They know who's guilty and they don't need no stinkin' judges or juries telling them otherwise. (Unless you're one of the legions of Republican criminal suspects, that is.)

Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi have issued a statement calling the GOP on their lies and it begins:

"Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist's statement on immigration this week is a clear reflection that Republicans now feel the heat from the American people on the mean-spirited approach of the House Republican immigration bill, H.R. 4437, authored by Congressman James Sensenbrenner.

"The statement serves to underline a key fact: that the Republican Leaders of both the House and Senate support the criminalization of an entire population of immigrants by expressing support of an amendment that would have authorized 6- month jail sentences.

"No amount of spin by the Republican leadership can change the fact that the Sensenbrenner bill -- including the felony provision -- was authored by Republicans and ultimately passed by Republicans."