It's important to remember the above post title when reading this:
President Obama will delay taking executive action on immigration until after the midterm elections, bowing to pressure from fellow Democrats who feared that acting now could doom his party’s chances this fall, White House officials said on Saturday.
The decision is a reversal of Mr. Obama’s vow to issue broad directives to overhaul the immigration system soon after summer’s end, and sparked swift anger from immigration advocates. The president made the promise on June 30, standing in the Rose Garden, where he angrily denounced Republican obstruction and said he would use the power of his office to protect immigrant families from the threat of deportation.
So, two things: First, Republicans have successfully politicized immigration to the point where immigration activists are now ready to destroy President Obama, and second, Senate Democrats are going to find out that there's zero advantage to stabbing the President in the back here.
Cristina Jimenez, the managing director for United We Dream, an immigration advocacy group, accused Mr. Obama of “playing politics” with the lives of immigrant families and said “the president’s latest broken promise is another slap to the face of the Latino and immigrant community.”
If Jiminez was honest, she'd be going after John Boehner for refusing to hold a vote on the Senate immigration bill that already passed. But it's easier to attack President Obama, because kicking him in the face will certainly bring about the immigration reform she wants, right?
Of course, reform isn't the issue. Fundraising and attention are. And attacking President Obama from the left is a tried and true method for getting both. I don't blame her, she knows how this game works as much as Obama does.
And no, if Senate Democrats come up to President Obama and say "We will not support your executive action and we will side with the GOP to stop you" then his hands are tied.
On the other side, Republicans voted to immediately deport every single undocumented immigrant in the US. But you're going to go after Obama.
And the GOP wins again. Great job.
People better know who their friends are. They kill me not camping out in Orange Julius' office.
ReplyDeleteIt would be better for President Obama to not make such promises until he has extracted commitments from Democrats in the House and Senate to stand with him. This practice of making promises, and then backing away from them due to political expediency, is an ongoing cancer eating away at the Democratic Party.
ReplyDeleteIt also explains low turnouts: why should the base be excited about supporting the Democratic Party if they know that any promises made will be thrown out the window if some political consultant claims that position might annoy the High Broderist (fake centrist) pundits? It's customer relations 101: don't make a promise unless you have a realistic expectation that you can keep it.
As it stands, the Republicans promised to do everything in their power to stop immigration reform: and they kept their promise. Their base is excited, and more motivated to vote. The Democrats promised to push through immigration reform despite Republican opposition - and failed to deliver on that promise. This demotivates the Democratic base, lowering turnout. The Republicans confirm their marketing strategy of having firmly-held principles, and can continue portraying the Democrats as spineless wimps with no firm principles. The rest of the Democratic constituencies can only speculate uneasily as to when it will be their turn to be sold down the river as part of a "Grand Bargain."
I'll vote the straight Democratic ticket (again), because I know what the Republicans will do to the country if elected. However, it's easier to get people to vote if they are both voting against something they fear - and also voting for someone they trust to protect them from that peril. Currently, voters have a choice between fanatical Republicans, and a Democratic Party who plans on giving the Republicans some (but not all) of their plan to destroy the poor and middle class - while getting nothing in return.
My question to Democratic strategists: if the Republicans are going to either enact their agenda all at once (if they win), or (if they lose) enacting the Republican agenda on the installment plan as a result of one-sided deals with Democrats more worried with winning the news day than winning elections, how do they plan on convincing the average person to believe that registering to vote - and voting - will make a difference?