GOP’s pathetic new excuse: Trying to blame Obama for killing immigration reform

[applegrove]

GOP’s pathetic new excuse: Trying to blame Obama for killing immigration reform

by Brian Beutler at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/07/gops_pathetic_new_excuse_trying_to_blame_obama_for_killing_immigration_reform/

"SNIP.................................


But there are two ways of interpreting the buck passing itself. The first is that Republicans genuinely believe record deportation levels under the Obama administration, and all of the guff President Obama’s taken from immigration activists for not halting deportations altogether, is an elaborate fake-out and Obama will do a complete about-face once he signs a bill into law. The other is that Republican leaders need a better excuse for not acting than that party activists don’t want them to.

Among these two competing hypotheses, which requires making the fewest assumptions? Tellingly, elected Republicans never mention deportations when they make the lawlessness excuse. They actually refuse to acknowledge it altogether. Instead it’s something something employer mandate.

When Boehner says the president must demonstrate his commitment to the rule of law, though, does anyone really think he means that Obama must implement the employer mandate now instead of several months from now? Reverse his administrative decision allowing insurance companies to grandfather more health insurance plans? Decline to set a higher minimum wage in future federal contracts in a way Boehner himself believes is legal? Obviously not.

The upshot is that this is all so incredibly obvious that it won’t fool anybody. Senate Democrats have passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill with the help of several Republicans, and Obama has issued fewer “lawless” executive orders than any of his recent predecessors. This has all unfolded so plainly that no amount of buck passing will create any confusion about what’s actually happened and who’s responsible.


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[okaawhatever]

1. Republicans lying to divide the Democratic base. They only need a few to believe this to potentially

change the election. I think most have figured out by now that the Republicans want to run on this in 2016. They know they can't stop immigration reform so they want to do it in such a way that it's corporation friendly and they get credited for it.