11.21.2014 08:16 AM

Obama just ensured the next occupant of the White House is a Democrat

American conservatives, like some Canadian conservatives, are apparently unaware that the country is changing under their feet.Obama’s move is a masterstroke, and the following paragraphs demonstrate why:

“Republicans are in a bind over immigration: the U.S. electorate is rapidly becoming more diverse, especially more Hispanic. Republican leaders have said the party risks its long-term future if it does not act to solve America’s immigration problems. But many in the party’s conservative base oppose any reform that includes a path to citizenship for those who enter the country illegally.

The White House says the president is exercising his executive authority to tackle immigration reform unilaterally, as Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush did before him.

Obama, who had been weighing potential executive actions since early summer, planned to sign a pair of presidential memorandums Friday and travel to Las Vegas for an immigration rally as he appeals for support.

As Obama spoke from the White House, immigration supporters with American flags draped over their shoulders marched on the street outside carrying signs that read, “Gracias, Presidente Obama.”

14 Comments

  1. MississaugaPeter says:

    It’s the Right’s voter suppression scheme south of the border – never let them become citizens so they can never vote.

    The Republicans are dumb, or not. If they were, they never would have taken Congress. Two-thirds of the way to one party power.

    Obviously it is in the Democratic Party’s best interests to get more visible minority voters and not in the interests of the Republican Party. It all has to do with both parties knowing that more Latin voters in the future turn Florida permanently blue and Texas goes from red to a toss up.

    I don’t believe in a second that either party really cares if it is the right thing to do or not. I don’t believe the crap about it being about Obama’s legacy. If the Democrats really cared, they would have easily passed this and more when they had a Democratic president and Democratic congress. The Democrats lost the Senate, now they need more voters.

    If new visible minority voters were going to vote Republican, the Republicans would be all for it (citing Reagan and Bush). And the Democrats would be against it.

    I think it is all pathetic.

  2. James Smith says:

    I’m sure the admin would have war gamed this, but I wonder would signing this before the mid terms have driven more Latinos to the polls? It seems the Tea party base was going to vote anyway.

  3. Philippe says:

    It’s funny to see Boehner and the Republicans bark at the moon when he refused to even allow a vote on a Senate bill that both Senate Republicans and Democrats crafted. It goes to show how the loonies have taken over the roost & what a chicken shit Boehner is. Regardless, the fools have been boxed in now and have assuredly cost themselves votes in 2016. Masters of their own demise.

    • MississaugaPeter says:

      You never know. Rubio for POTUS or VP could possibly change Republican fortunes.

      Or something like what is happening in the UK could happen …

      UKIP completely embarrassed Cameron yesterday.

  4. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    It’s basically half a loaf — with no path toward citizenship.

    As for Rubio, he’s backing off his previous immigration position under heavy Republican pressure. Feet of clay.

    Besides, he’s only a hit with Cubans, not Latinos generally.

  5. Bill MacLeod says:

    Am I missing something?

    Why should there be a “path to citizenship for those who enter the country illegally”? If a country’s laws are to be officially ignored, then a country needs different laws — for all.

    Is the weight of (voting) numbers sufficient cause to look the other way? I know it’s damned difficult for Canadians to immigrate to the USA, so much so that the two people I know of who fell in love with Americans ultimately decided to live with their new spouse in Canada.

    I don’t think that the availability of votes should be the reason a government acts. It debases the function, if not the purpose of democracy.

    Sincerely,
    Bill

    • MississaugaPeter says:

      To sincerely believe that the U.S. doesn’t have a porous border for a reason you must be quite gullible.

      Who else would pick up crops at harvest? Who else would provide landscaping and babysitting for judges? Who else would do house cleaning for many hotel chains? Who else would do what second generation and older Americans refuse to do?

      The most powerful country in the world can’t prevent illegal folks crossing their border if they want? I call bull crap. The American economy and many Americans want the cheap labour. Making them legal makes them expensive.

      It is an issue now because the Democrats want the voters. Plain and simple. Look at when Obama announced the immigration reform which was nowhere as far as it should have been (see Reagan). He announced just before the Latino Music Awards. Right after, many Latino award winners gushed over the announcement and the president. Great political timing!

      Sorry, in the U.S. very little is done because it is the right thing to do. The same is here under Harper. It is done only because it will solidify and possibly expand the base enough to insure election victories.

      • Bill MacLeod says:

        Your argument is obtuse at best.

        If it’s the right thing to do, then do the right thing. The right thing, by the way, is not to pander for votes, but to ensure your legal immigrants meet the country’s needs in both skills and numbers.

        If it’s not the right thing to do, then do the right thing. The right thing in that case, is to ensure illegal acts are not rewarded.

  6. Joe says:

    I certainly don’t claim to be an expert in American politics but the Americans I talk to both Democrat and Republican seem to have reached what some refer to as a ‘Hell No” point. They accept a lot of crap from their federal government but the is a tipping point at which both sides say “Hell NO” and mount an effort to get rid of the turkey in the oval office. We saw it with Bush II and I believe America has reached that point with Obama. Even the labour unions are crying foul since work hungry illegals are diminishing union control of wages and working conditions.

  7. Michael says:

    What a terrible policy. My Irish ancestors did not come to America so it could be over run by immigrants.

  8. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    You simply cannot have two classes of immigrants in a just society. My grandfather walked off the boat into the U.S. in 1917 without argument or intervention. Scots were welcome.

    The only fair immigration bill is the one that provides for a path to citizenship, just like my grandfather had. Anything less than that is to cave in to racist pressure, which is what Obama has clearly done.

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