Once again the Democrats have sabotaged the Republicans. The GOP — often their own worst enemy — did everything they could to give the Democrats a huge victory, but as luck would have it, their attempt was thwarted by the Dems themselves.
Talk about gratitude.
In a nutshell, here’s how the immigration debate went down:
Republicans: “Even though we’ll gain absolutely nothing by doing this, can we agree to grant amnesty to 1.8 million Dreamers?”
Democrats: “What do you want in return?”
Republicans: “We have no idea.”
Democrats: “Um, no.”
Republicans: "What if we allow the Dreamers to sponsor all their relatives, and eventually get citizenship, thus paving the way for amnesty for over 10 million illegals? Plus we’ll keep the visa lottery program intact, just for kicks."
Democrats: “Hmmm. We’ll think about it. But don’t hold your breath.”
As I’ve been ranting about on my podcast, it seems nobody told the Republicans that they have all the leverage. After the January government shutdown that lasted an entire weekend (doesn’t the government shut down every weekend?), Chuck Schumer was dead and buried. Dreamers were protesting in front of his house. Now, despite the Republicans having nothing to gain by reforming DACA, they offered Schumer a life raft — heck, they practically gave him a 100 foot yacht.
Lest you think the Republicans don’t care about having a DACA bill, and their real goal was to get the Dems to agree to fund a wall — they’ve squandered many chances to do just that. Many continuing resolutions have been passed (way too many), yet funding a wall rarely even gets discussed.
Had the Democrats accepted this magnanimous (stupid) offer, they could have run for reelection saying that despite being the minority party, they secured amnesty for nearly 2 million illegals — more than double the number protected by Obama’s DACA order. Sure, they would have had to concede border funding and an end to chain migration, but there are plenty of Obama and Clinton appointed judges who’d be more than happy to strike those parts down.
Yet the Democrats refused to be outfoxed by the Republicans, and opted to throw the Dreamers under the bus. That’s not much of a surprise, unless you’re naive enough to believe they care about the Dreamers. What is surprising, however, is that they threw their favorite people — themselves — under the bus. They squandered a golden opportunity for a huge victory.
The only explanation for this is their irrational, borderline psychopathic refusal to give the president a wall. (Granted, the Democrats’ immigration bill also funded a wall, but it would have taken 10 years to build, which is 137 “dog years” in Washington.) They’d rather go down in flames than give the president what he — and tens of millions of Americans — want.
All week long, the media told us about two bills: the president’s “partisan” bill, and the centrist “bipartisan” bill. This was an egregiously misleading characterization. The “bipartisan” bill lost 54-45 along party lines, with only a handful of moderate and liberal Republicans crossing the aisle. The “extreme” Trump-Grassey plan would have allowed 1.8 million Dreamers to remain here legally and become citizens — making it extremely moderate.
Now the debate has ended, and Congress has taken their Presidents’ Week recess (why is it a week for politicians, but only a day for people who work for a living?). They deserve a break. It’s been six full weeks since their last recess, and besides, not passing bills can be draining. I used to wonder why Congress takes “recess,” and not “vacation” like everyone else. Then it occurred to me — if you want to call it a vacation, you need to actually accomplish something once in a while.
Josh Margulies is the host of "Politics: Clear and Simple," a daily podcast offering analysis with an intellectual, conservative perspective. He has worked as an intern for the "Imus in the Morning" program, and has hosted several online political talk shows. Josh is currently a digital marketing consultant. He has assisted companies like Lockheed Martin, Netflix, and Bloomberg. Josh is also an ordained Rabbi who has studied Talmudic law. To read more of his reports, Click Here Now.
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