Thursday, June 26, 2014

Democrats: We want what we want, now. The Democrat totalitarian impulse.

Luis Gutierrez: Immigration reform prospects deadBy: Seung Min Kim
June 25, 2014 

The hope for immigration reform this year has been sucked out of perhaps the most optimistic advocate on Capitol Hill: Rep. Luis Gutierrez.
In a fiery floor speech Wednesday, the Illinois Democrat – the leading congressional advocate on the issue – declared the prospects for reform dead this year and said the only option left is for President Barack Obama to take unilateral action to stem deportations.
Using an analogy from the World Cup, Gutierrez said he had already given a “yellow card” to the House GOP as a warning that if they continued to drag their feet on immigration reform, Obama would move on deportation relief on his own.

Gutierrez had called on Republicans to produce immigration reform legislation before the Fourth of July recess, which begins next week. Other Democrats on Capitol Hill have pressured the GOP to move on immigration bills by August.
“I gave you the warning three months ago, and now I have no other choice,” he said. “You’re done. You’re done. Leave the field, too many flagrant offenses and unfair attacks. You’re out. Hit the showers. It’s the red card.”
“Your chance to play a role in how immigration and deportation policies are carried out this year are over,” he declared. “Having given ample time to craft legislation, you failed.”
(Also on POLITICO: Johnson: Child immigrants face risks)
The already-dim chances for immigration reform on Capitol Hill were largely darkened with the defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in his primary race earlier this month, when challenger Dave Brat hammered the powerful House Republican over his support of incremental reform measures.
And the current influx of unaccompanied minors through the southwestern U.S. border has further complicated the prospects, as Republicans point to Obama’s immigrant policies as a cause for the humanitarian crisis.
At a breakfast sponsored by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, two leading senators sounded some hope that immigration reform could still happen this year – though they acknowledged that recent developments such as Cantor’s surprising loss don’t help their cause.

“I can’t tell you … that we have a great shot at it, but I know the consequences of failure, which will motivate me to continue to try no matter what,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), pointing to the need for his party to make inroads with Latino voters. “You can do the demographics, I can show you the math of the rise and influence of the Hispanic voter not only across the southwest but in other parts of the country as well.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also noted the political dynamics inside the GOP that he said made him hopeful that House Republicans would move on immigration reform this year.
“They know they have to do it now,” Schumer said of Republican leaders. “I think if they don’t do it, we will win the presidency, the House and the Senate. And then we’ll do it. So they know that.”

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