Activists are losing patience on immigration reform and for good reason
by digby
The president got into a back and forth with a heckler today over immigration reform:
It’s nice that he didn’t have the young fellow removed and engaged him respectfully. His answer was what one might expect from any president. Nation of laws,compromise, yadda, yadds, yadda. But this guy doesn’t believe the law will be changed and wants the president to use his power to stop the deportations through an executive order. And for good reason:
Conservative Media Use Rule Change As An Excuse For GOP Not To Act On Immigration Reform
Rush Limbaugh After Rules Change: “Amnesty Ought To Be Dead In The Water.” On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh listed several actions Republicans could take in the wake of Senate Democrats’ rule change on filibusters, saying “all Obama agenda items that make it to the Senate floor should be objected to, at every juncture,” including immigration reform. He went on to say:
LIMBAUGH: Republicans should never vote in favor of another Obama initiative, no matter how benign — unless it’s a Republican measure that benefits Republicans in a way that Democrats find [intelligible]. And this includes amnesty. Amnesty ought to be dead in the water.
Of course, the problem is that the Republicans want amnesty. The problem is, you know you look at it from the outside, you almost would conclude that there are some Republicans who actually wish they were Democrats. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 11/22/13]
Laura Ingraham Encouraged Republicans To Refuse To Work With Democrats On Immigration Following Filibuster Change. During an interview with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on her radio show, Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham agreed with McConnell’s statement that the rule change was an example of President Obama’s “power grab,” and suggested Republicans refuse to work with Democrats on immigration following the filibuster move, which she likened to being hit in the face “with a two-by-four.” She continued:
INGRAHAM: The idea of working with Democrats after we’ve seen the fraud of Obamacare, the lies about Obamacare, policies canceled — all those lies, now this. Should Republicans — should Republicans work with the Democrats on the issue of immigration given, or any major issue, given what they’ve proven themselves capable of? [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 11/22/13]
Ed Henry: Filibuster Reform “Could Poison The Well” Against Obama’s Agenda, Including Immigration Reform. Discussing the rule change on Fox News, chief White House correspondent Ed Henry claimed Republicans would now be less likely to work with Democrats on immigration reform, saying that “what it could mean in the long run for [President Obama’s] agenda is that it could really poison the well even further on a partisan basis and get Republicans –who are already a determined opposition against much of his agenda: immigration reform, grand bargain, budget deal, you name it — even more angry about this.” [Fox News, America’s News HQ, 11/21/13]
FoxNews.com: “Any Prospect For Compromise” On Immigration Reform “Is Now That Much Fainter.” A FoxNews.com article repeated the GOP claim that the parliamentary move “has poisoned an already tainted well,” adding: “Any prospect for compromise on items ranging from immigration legislation to a fiscal deal to tax reform is now that much fainter.” The article went on to quote a Republican strategist reinforcing the claim:
“There’s no question that the move by Harry Reid will make it much tougher to get anything done between now and 2014,” GOP strategist and former long-time Senate aide John Ullyot told FoxNews.com.
“In the short-term, it’s a wrecking ball through any efforts that were underway previously to have both parties work together on key bills.” [FoxNews.com, 11/22/13]
In fact, Republicans have repeatedly refused to take action on immigration reform so this is just another excuse. Read on.
It’s nice that the president still believes that together he and the congress can come to some sort of agreement over immigration. One would certainly think they could since it is in both parties’ political interest to do it. But as the shutdown and filibuster controversy (among dozens of other examples)show, we are not dealing with a normal political party and there is little reason to think that the normal incentives will work on this issue — or any issue — for quite some time.
For the people who are dealing with record deportations (and yes, the president failed to address that reality) waiting around for the Republicans to be restored to sanity doesn’t seem like a good idea. They’d like the president to do what he can, today, to end this policy. And I can’t blame them.
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