We learned this morning that President Obama is impatient with Congress and immigration reform. He is now threatening to do it his way ("decree") and go around Congress:
"The White House is circulating a draft immigration bill that would create a new visa for illegal immigrants living in the United States and allow them to become legal permanent residents within eight years, according to a report published online Saturday by USA Today."What's wrong with this?
"Impatient" with Congress? Why didn't he do something about it when he had 60 votes in the US Senate and large majorities in the US House?
First, we don't live in Cuba or Venezuela. We have a constitution that specifically calls for Congress to write laws.
Are we going to teach these "new citizens" that in the US the president can govern by decree when he can't persuade Congress, especially one body of Congress controlled by his own party? What kind of "a civics lesson" is that?
Second, we are learning again that Democrats love immigration reform but do not like to vote "yes or no." They love the speeches or going on Jorge Ramos' show and talking about immigration reform. They just don't like having to put their name on a piece of legislation.
This is specially true of all of those Democrats running for reelection in places like Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, et al.
This is also true of Midwestern Democrats who have strong relationships with Big Labor. (Don't you remember how then Senator Obama opposed the work visas in the Kennedy-McCain bill from 2007?)
This is also true of the Black Caucus. They are hearing from their districts that President Obama is spending too much time talking about "illegals" rather than doing something about their very high unemployment rate.
Third, President Obama wants a quick path to legalization so that he can pander to the Mexican American vote. This is the worst of Obama, a demagogue who only cares about himself rather than the presidential oath that he took a few weeks ago.
The presidential oath does not say: "I will pander and pander to "hispanos" even if it means going around the US Constitution." Instead, it calls on the president to "protect and defend the Constitution of the US."
As a naturalized citizen, who actually supports a path to legalization for many of these people who want to work here, I am appalled that President Obama is so disrespectful of our constitution.
We need to do it the right way. We need hearings and an "up and down" vote in Congress. We need to force Democrats to vote "yes or no" on immigration reform.
Again, I am convinced that President Obama and the Democrats do not want a vote on immigration reform. They want the issue. They want to tell "hispanos" that those "racista Republicanos" are against a reform.
In fact, it is the Democrats who are against reform. They are hoping that "hispanos" don't catch up to their very cynical game.
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