WASHINGTON -- "Border security first" became the House Republican slogan Thursday as GOP leaders sought to resurrect stalled immigration reform legislation before the November elections, approving a 700-mile fence along America's boundary with Mexico for a second time.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) announced that the GOP-led House would try to pass a series of bills strengthening border security by the end of September and seek to persuade the Senate to go along by including the package in a spending bill for the Homeland Security Department.

But the package would not include President Bush's guest-worker program, a proposal the Senate modified and included in the immigration bill it approved earlier this year. Hastert told reporters the guest-worker program should be considered only when the borders have been secured.

Democrats protested that the Republicans' move was a political ploy designed to help them in districts where illegal immigration is a hot issue in the midterm elections and that there was little or no chance the Senate would go along.

In the Senate, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview he doubted the House strategy would succeed without a guest-worker program. "I don't think so, and that's a curbstone opinion," he said.

For once, I almost agree with Democrats. Not that I'm protesting the fact that the House is headed in the right direction on this, but I sincerely hope that this isn't just an election-year ploy that will be dropped soon after November 7. After all, you don't see too many of them standing up and making a strong case for better border security. We should have 200+ Republican representatives out there talking about immigration and border security. As it is, you have Tom Tancredo, Steve King, J.D. Hayworth and a few others talking about the urgent need for tightening our border security. We got 238 votes and that's great, but why are only a handful of these folks out there talking up this vital national security issue?

And another thing: If our fine members of congress were truly serious about the wall, they'd be voting on building a wall like the one Iowa's Steve King wants to build.

Finally, why in the hell would any bill that includes even a pissy little 700-mile wall include a "guest-worker program". Let's review here because some of us are apparently a little slow and can get stuck on weaslly, transparent, little details: GUEST WORKER = AMNESTY. We need to secure our border and account for people who are already here ILLEGALLY, not open the gate to let more in even as we are trying to close it.