Three Senators - one Democrat, one Republican and one Independent - were all set to unveil compromise energy/climate legislation today, but things fell apart over the weekend, because of immigration reform.

Yep, you read that right.

There had been months of negotiations involving Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), as they tried to find something that can attract votes from both parties and avoid a Senate filibuster.

The plan was getting the backing of some oil companies, was going to be opposed by Greenpeace, and left a lot of people on both sides wondering what they were going to do with this attempt at a 'grand compromise' on energy and climate legislation.

But all of that is on hold now.

"I regret that allegations of partisan politics will prevent us from introducing the bill on Monday as planned," said Lieberman on Saturday night, referring to Graham's charge that Democrats were engaging in a "cynical politcal ploy" by possibly moving immigration reform ahead of the energy bill on the Senate floor.

"Joe and I will continue to work together and are hopeful that Lindsey will rejoin us once the politics of immigration are resolved," Kerry said in his own weekend statement.

Graham could always re-consider - he's definitely become a wild card in the Senate in recent years - but his warnings can't be ignored either, as Democrats certainly don't have 60 votes right now on a combination energy/climate bill.

Graham, Kerry and Lieberman got involved last Fall after a Senate climate bill developed only by Democrats fell flat on its face.  

Originally, Democrats thought they had big momentum on climate change after the House approved a climate bill in late June, but once people started digging into the many details of that measure, many Senators got cold feet, and so the search was on for something different.

"No matter what conventional wisdom says, this is the year -- perhaps our last, best chance -- to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation," Kerry wrote in an op-ed piece last week.

What Kerry, Lieberman and Graham are trying to do is something that doesn't happen too often around here anymore, basically a real compromise, where each side gets some of what it wants and gives in on other things that it might not want.

In this case, Democrats might swallow hard and give in on offshore drilling and expanded nuclear power, while Republicans would have to suck it up and accept some limits on greenhouse gases - but nothing like the original Cap and Trade bill.

In fact, don't even expect to hear the term "Cap and Trade" from any supporters.  Instead, you might see something like "pollution reduction goal" with different goals for different industries.

"My goal for comprehensive energy legislation has been to achieve three objectives - energy independence, the creation of clean jobs, and having the cleanest air on the planet," said Graham.

We were going to get a lengthy bill on that today - but that's been delayed.

Will it re-appear?  Stay tuned.