• Immigration,  John McCain

    Video: John McCain Gets Testy With Arizona Voter Questioning Immigration Amnesty

    GOP Arizona Senator John McCain was NOT too popular at an Arizona town hall discussion of immigration reform yesterday.

    Also Tuesday, McCain hosted two town hall meetings in Arizona, during which he defended his immigration plan to upset residents concerned about border security. A bipartisan group of senators — including Arizona Republicans McCain and Jeff Flake — want assurances on border security as Congress weighs what could be the biggest changes to immigration law in nearly 30 years. Arizona is the only state with both of its senators working on immigration reform in Congress, a sign of the state’s widely debated border security issues.

    During a heated town hall gathering in the Phoenix suburb of Sun Lakes, McCain said the border near Yuma is largely secure, but said smugglers are using the border near Tucson to pump drugs into Phoenix. He said immigration reform should be contingent on better border security that must rely largely on technology able to detect border crossings.

    He said a tamper-proof Social Security card would help combat identity fraud, and noted any path to citizenship must require immigrants to learn English, cover back taxes and pay fines for breaking immigration laws.

    “There are 11 million people living here illegally,” McCain said. “We are not going to get enough buses to deport them.”

    Some audience members shouted out their disapproval.

    These Arizona voters have every right to be disappointed in pro-amnesty McCain. He attempted an immigration amnesty in 2006 with Ted Kennedy and now after winning re-election by misleading Arizona Republicans (remember build the danged fence TV commercial?) McCain is at it again.

    America cannot go down this road toward granting a broad-scale amnesty without first assuring border security and McCain should be called out for the shameful manipulation of immigration facts.

    But, we know, we cannot trust John McCain on immigration reform.

    Conservative political pressure should be placed on Senators Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake to reject President Obama’s immigration amnesty plan.

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: February 20, 2013

    McCain Defends Immigration amnesty

    U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., listens to a question during a town hall, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, in Sun Lakes, Ariz. McCain defended his proposed immigration overhaul to an angry crowd in suburban Arizona in the latest sign that this border state will play a prominent role in the national immigration reform debate AP (Photo/Matt York)

    These are my news headlines for February 20th:

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: February 19, 2013

    Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles

    Simpson and Bowles

    These are my links for February 19th:

    • New Bowles-Simpson deficit plan would cut $2.4 trillion – Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson proposed a new framework Tuesday to cut the country’s debt by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.Bowles and Simpson were the co-chairmen of President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission in 2010, and their recommendations came to serve as a yardstick for other debt-reduction proposals.
    • Obama, the puppet master
    • Obama blackmails tax payers while blaming Republicans
    • Tea Party challenger to McConnell emerging – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could see a primary challenge from local businessman Matt Bevin, who sources say is reaching out to Tea Party groups in the state to gauge support for a 2014 Senate run.Sarah Duran, president of the Louisville Tea Party, told The Hill that Bevin had been in touch with her over the phone to discuss his run multiple times over the past few weeks, and that he met with the group two weeks ago to discuss his interest in the race.
    • GOP senators waiting for Obama outreach
    • Colorado Democrat: Women Don’t Need Guns If They ‘Feel Like They’re Going To Be Raped’
    • Obama leak lets ‘Gang of Eight’ look tough on immigration | WashingtonExaminer.com – RT @ByronYork: New: Obama leak lets ‘Gang of Eight’ look tough on immigration.
    • Twitter / Flap: Way to go @LizMair! We need … – Way to go @LizMair! We need to see you on the Tee Vee much more!
    • Sessions: “The leaked plan is little different in its substance from the Gang of 8 plan” | WashingtonExaminer.com – Sessions: “The leaked plan is little different in its substance from the Gang of 8 plan” | #tcot
    • Sessions: “The leaked plan is little different in its substance from the Gang of 8 plan” | WashingtonExaminer.com – Sessions: “The leaked plan is little different in its substance from the Gang of 8 plan” #tcot
    • Why is Obama threatening to release his own immigration plan? – The brutal truth, as some Republicans aren’t shy about noting, is that Obama’s bill isn’t all that different from Rubio’s. And to the extent that it is different, Democrats and their immigration-lobby allies will go on agitating to make the final product more like O’s bill if/when it passes. He can live, happily, with Rubio’s bill as law. On the other hand, If Obama talks up his own bill and ends up polarizing the issue until the compromise falls apart, great! He’ll happily use that as leverage for the “GOP hates Latinos” talking point in 2014. Realistically, the only way he’ll have a truly consequential second term is if Democrats can take back the House; that’s what his gun-control campaign right now is all about, and that’s what the fate of things like cap-and-trade rests on. If Republicans hang onto the House next year, O’s last two years will be spent mired in lame-duck misery. If they don’t, he’ll be the rare president who ends eight years in office with a flurry of significant “achievements.” I think Obama would be willing to trade that legacy for the legacy of having passed comprehensive immigration reform with GOP help, especially given what it means for Democratic electoral gains long-term, but if he does get the House back in 2014 then he can pass immigration reform — and an assault-weapons ban, and cap-and-trade — later. The only true disaster scenario for him is if immigration talks collapse now and the GOP holds the House in 2014 anyway. That’s quite possible, and maybe even probable, and that’s why he’s not being more aggressive right now in trying to sabotage the negotiations.
    • Sessions: “The leaked plan is little different in its substance from the Gang of 8 plan” – Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., may have quickly denounced the immigration plan President Obama leaked this weekend, but most conservatives see little difference between Rubio’s efforts and Obama’s framework. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee released the following statement on the leaked Obama plan today:The release of the President’s immigration plan is more than a misstep or clever political maneuver. It is a dramatic disclosure of his real immigration ideology and goals. The plan grants amnesty on day one while making hollow promises of future enforcement that will never occur. The plan is a giveaway for the special interests and the open borders lobby. This president will never dedicate himself to enforcing the law, and this plan offers only further proof of that.It is plain what is happening. The special interests are again in the White House, demanding and getting their favors granted, while American workers and the public interest are again locked out.
    • Immigration reform groups use low-key strategy against Rubio amnesty – Immigration reform groups are responding cautiously to the Feb. 14 revelation that Sen. Marco Rubio’s aides apparently tried to portray them as left-wing, anti-Christian misanthropes.Their low-key response has helped tamp down the potential conflict with Rubio, who is working with seven other senators on a controversial rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws.The senator’s spokesman, Alex Conant, also downplayed the revelations sketched in the Washington Post’s article.
    • Immigration Double Kabuki – Maybe there is some Beltway logic to this story that I don’t understand. Here’s the situation: Obama wants an immigration bill. He knows that if he comes down heavily on one side Republicans might get their backs up and oppose whatever he proposes. So he is giving the Senate “negotiators” space. I understand that much. Never mind that the Senate “Gang of 8? negotiators are seven amnesty-first supporters plus Marco Rubio, who is also an amnesty-first supporter (if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have Cesar Conda as his chief of staff). Let’s assume for now that if these eight Friends of Amnesty can come up with a deal the rest of the Senate can pretend it’s a “bipartisan compromise,” at least until the public finds out what is in it.
    • Obama’s Amnesty Bill = Rubio’s Amnesty Bill – Over the weekend, the White House leaked parts of a proposed amnesty bill to USA Today’s Alan Gomez. Obama’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough, described the proposed bill as a backup plan in case the Senate doesn’t act. Unlike the Schumer/Rubio amnesty plan, the administration bill contains no enforcement “triggers” that would have to be met before the amnestied illegals could move from green card lite to full green-card status. Rubio said the bill would be “dead on arrival” if it were to be introduced, while Paul Ryan said it would take things “in the wrong direction.”The “backup plan” stuff is nonsense — the point of leaking the bill is to enable Rubio to say that his amnesty plan is waaay different from the dastardly Obama plan, even though they’re identical in the only respect that matters: amnesty immediately for all illegal aliens, with work cards, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, the right to travel abroad and return, etc. The president has repeatedly said he wants to stand back and let Congress come up with a bill because if he were to send one to Congress it would be toxic for Republicans — i.e., those Republicans who desperately want to sell out their constituents by backing amnesty but are afraid of the voter backlash. The Rubio and Ryan criticisms of the proposed bill sound almost as though they were scripted by Schumer and White House to make the Senate Gang of Eight scheme seem more palatable to such Republicans.
  • Day By Day

    Day By Day February 13, 2013 – An Inconceivable Union

    Day By Day cartoon of February 13, 2013Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The Obama/Democrat/McCain-Rubio comprehensive immigration amnesty reform law is a sham.

    I doubt the GOP House will pass whatever bill passes the Senate.

    I, also, doubt that Senator Marco Rubio will end up voting for the bill. My guess is that when it is finally understood what this bill does, he will pull out of the process.

    In the meantime, the economy will need some major work and all of this talk about immigration reform will be placed on the backburner.

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: January 31, 2013

    Obama Jobs Council

    These are my links for January 30th through January 31st:

    • The Chuck Hagel confirmation whip count
    • Obama’s jobs council shutting down Thursday – President Barack Obama will let his jobs council expire this week without renewing its charter, winding down one source of input from the business community even as unemployment remains stubbornly high.When Obama in January 2011 formed his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, unemployment was hovering above 9 percent. Two years president later, more than 12 million people in the U.S. are out of work. The unemployment rate has improved to 7.8 percent, but both parties agree that’s still too high.A provision in Obama’s executive order establishing the council says it sunsets on Thursday. A White House official said the president does not plan to extend it.
    • Controversial school bonds create ‘debt for the next generation’ – The Bay Citizen – Controversial school bonds create ‘debt for the next generation’
    • California taxes surge in January, report says – latimes.com – California taxes surge in January, report says
    • Poll: Californians fear shootings, support citizenship | news10.net – PPIC Poll: Californians fear shootings, support citizenship
    • Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says – NYTimes.com – Myths of Weight Loss Are Plentiful, Researcher Says #tcot
    • Science Says, ‘Good Riddance, Sen. Tom Harkin’ – Progressive Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced his retirement recently, foregoing a re-election bid in 2014. Science Insider, the policy news arm of the journal Science, wished him a fond farewell, calling him a “longtime champion” of biomedical research.This is exactly backwards.In reality, Harkin has been one of the leading voices of alternative medicine, up to 95% of which is complete nonsense. His insistence upon funding woo, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) no less, has served to undermine biomedical research. Called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), this joke of an organization was created — and packed full of woo-loving cronies — by Senator Tom Harkin.
    • ObamaCare: Some families to be priced out of health overhaul – Some families could get priced out of health insurance due to what’s being called a glitch in President Barack Obama’s overhaul law. IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix the problem as liberal backers of the president’s plan had hoped.As a result, some families that can’t afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.The Obama administration says its hands were tied by the way Congress wrote the law. Officials said the administration tried to mitigate the impact. Families that can’t get coverage because of the glitch will not face a tax penalty for remaining uninsured, the IRS rules said.

      “This is a very significant problem, and we have urged that it be fixed,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group that supported the overhaul from its early days. “It is clear that the only way this can be fixed is through legislation and not the regulatory process.”

      But there’s not much hope for an immediate fix from Congress, since the House is controlled by Republicans who would still like to see the whole law repealed.

    • Jobless Claims Go Higher; Income Surges, Spending Up – The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose sharply last week but remained at a level consistent with moderate hiring, while income surged much higher than expected and spending inched higher as well.The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment benefits leapt 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000. The increase comes after applications plummeted in the previous two weeks to five-year lows.Personal income rose 2.6 percent and spending was up 0.2 percent for the month, according to a separate report.
    • Why I Love Twitter | RedState – This —->RT @MelissaTweets: RT @JammieWF: Why I Love Twitter via @benhowe
    • Henninger: Obama’s Thunderdome Strategy – The president’s goal is to make Republican ideas intolerable – Henninger: Obama’s Thunderdome Strategy – The president’s goal is to make Republican ideas intolerable #tcot
    • On Immigration, Obama Acts as if He Has the Upper Hand
    • Why Labor Has Learned to Love Immigration Reform – Why Labor Has Learned to Love Immigration Reform #tcot
    • Surprise decline in GDP fails to shift debate over ending sequestration – Surprise decline in GDP fails to shift debate over ending sequestration #tcot
    • Democratic super PAC targets 10 GOP representatives – Democratic super PAC targets 10 GOP representatives #tcot
    • Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2013-01-30 – Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2013-01-30
    • Obama expects immigration reform bill as early as June – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – Obama expects #immigration reform bill as early as June by @joneasley
    • Rand Paul: GOP must ‘evolve’ on immigration – Kevin Cirilli – POLITICO.com – Rand Paul: GOP needs immigration evolution:
    • Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-01-30 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-01-30 #tcot
    • My Daily Twitter Digest for 2013-01-30 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2013-01-30
    • Gingrich: Don’t trust Rubio, McCain on immigration | WashingtonExaminer.com – Gingrich: Don’t trust Rubio, McCain on immigration | #tcot
    • For millionaire athletes, states with highest tax rates may not make the cut | Fox News – For millionaire athletes, states with highest tax rates may not make the cut | Fox News #tcot
    • Gingrich: Don’t trust Rubio, McCain on immigration | WashingtonExaminer.com – Gingrich: Don’t trust Rubio, McCain on immigration | #tcot
    • Rubio’s amnesty: A path to oblivion for the GOP – IT’S NOT AMNESTY! Rubio’s proponents cry. They seem to think they can bully Republicans the way the Democrats do, by controlling the language.Rubio’s bill is nothing but amnesty. It isn’t even “amnesty thinly disguised as border enforcement.” This is a wolf in wolf’s clothing.Despite all the blather about how Rubio demands “Enforcement First!” the very first thing his proposal does is make illegal aliens legal. (Don’t call them “illegal aliens”!)

      The ability to live and work legally in America is the most valuable commodity in the world; it’s the Hope Diamond of the universe. I know young, well-educated Canadians who waited a decade for that privilege.

      Step One of Marco Rubio’s plan is: Grant illegal aliens the right to live and work in America legally. (Rubio’s first move in poker: Fold.)

      People who have broken our laws will thus leap ahead of millions of foreigners dying to immigrate here, but — unwilling to enter illegally — waiting patiently in their own countries.

      The only thing the newly legalized illegal immigrants won’t get immediately is citizenship. Rubio claims that under his plan, they won’t be able to vote or go on welfare. But in practice, they’ll have to wait only until the ACLU finds a judge to say otherwise.

    • A Pointless Amnesty – Illegal immigration is a curious subject: It is one of the few domains in which the authorities entrusted with enforcing the law feel obliged to negotiate the most concessionary terms and conditions with those who are breaking it, as though law enforcement were an embarrassing inconvenience. But the rule of law, national security, and economic dynamism are not mere pro forma matters — they are in fact fundamental, a reality lost on our would-be “comprehensive” immigration reformers.
    • Pushback: Gingrich, Vitter, National Review, Malkin, Coulter, Erickson oppose Rubio’s immigration plan – The key subplot to Rubio’s immigration push, of course, is how much of a headache it’ll be for him with conservatives in the 2016 primaries. The talk-radio charm offensive is mainly designed to get grassroots opinion-shapers like Rush to at least wait and see what the bill looks like before lobbying against it, but more broadly it’s designed to move the Overton window on what positions are acceptable for a good conservative to hold. Rubio can afford to have immigration reform fail; he can’t afford to be RINO-ized over it. Like I said yesterday, whether or not a bill ends up passing, he’s already achieved something significant by getting Rush et al. to acknowledge that “recognizing reality” in terms of a grand bargain on immigration is something “admirable and noteworthy.” No matter what happens now, unless he ends up voting for a watered-down Democratic bill with token enforcement (which he won’t), he’s got that as a soundbite for his primary ads in 2016. James Antle makes a good point too in noting that none of Rubio’s would-be rivals for the nomination have attacked him on this yet. Jindal, Paul, and Christie have all kept quiet and Ryan has actually endorsed Rubio’s plan. The likely candidates don’t want to alienate Latino voters and the pundits with big audiences don’t want to kneecap a guy who might end up being the party’s best chance to regain the presidency.
    • Marco Rubio: Applying Conservative Principles To Immigration – I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Erick’s post last night regarding the principles for immigration reform I have recently developed. Before diving into the details of the plan, I want to take a moment to point out how the debate about immigration reflects positively on the conservative movement in general. Unlike the left, whose default tactic is to attack and destroy the personal character of those who disagree with their views, the conservative movement is capable of accommodating a vibrant internal debate on important issues solely on the merits. RedState has always been a welcoming forum for that sort of debate.
    • Legislation proposed to help California launch healthcare overhaul – Los Angeles Times – Untitled (… #tcot
    • Guest Blog: Dr. Josie Dovidio – Dental Health Considerations & Aspergers Syndrome – Guest Blog: Dr. Josie Dovidio – Dental Health Considerations & Aspergers Syndrome
    • Photo of the Day: Bullet Turns Tooth Upside Down – Photo of the Day: Bullet Turns Tooth Upside Down
    • L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, again, cast as possible transportation secretary – LA Daily News – L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, again, cast as possible transportation secretary
    • State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate | EdSource Today – State ordered to pay back districts $1 billion for 20-year-old mandate
    • Counties express concerns about Medi-Cal expansion – latimes.com – Counties express concerns about Medi-Cal expansion
    • Phil Mickelson’s net state income tax increase: 83.6%!!!!! | CalWatchDog – Phil Mickelson’s net state income tax increase: 83.6%!!!!!
    • Five reasons Republicans won’t win Latino voters with immigration reform – Here are five reasons why.1. ¡es la economía, estúpido!Latinos didn’t vote for President Obama because Mitt Romney was seen as insensitive on immigration. According to a Fox Latino poll before the election, only 6% of Latinos said that immigration was the most important issue to their vote. A Latino Decisions (LD) election eve poll allowed multiple answers to issues that were important and, still, 65% did not say immigration was important to them.

      Latinos instead cared about the economy. About 50% said the economy was the most important issue to their vote. By a 75% to 19% margin, Latinos are more likely to believe in a bigger government, with more services, to a smaller one. President Obama got 75% of the Latino vote in the LD election eve poll – a perfect match.

      2. Latinos are liberal

      Latinos have said openly they won’t change their vote because of immigration policy. Only 31% of Latinos in the LD survey said they would be more likely to vote GOP, if the Republican party took a leadership role in immigration reform. A full 58% said they didn’t know or it would have no effect, while 11% said it would actually make them less likely to vote Republican.

      The reason is that Latinos are 9pt more likely to say they are liberal than the general population. Most of that has to do with the economy, but even on social issues, Latinos, especially second- and third-generation, are no more conservative than the general population. In fact, second- and third-generation Latinos are more likely to believe abortion should be legal and homosexuality accepted by society than the general population.

    • Unions and Hollywood Donors Bankroll New Advocacy Group – Shocker —>RT @politicalwire: Unions and Hollywood donors are bankrolling Obama’s new advocacy group
    • Clinton: Health won’t ‘factor in at all’ in decision to run for president – The Hill’s Video – Uh Huh! RT @thehill: #Hillary Clinton: Health won’t ‘factor in at all’ in decision to run in #2016 @HillTube
    • Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/30/5150647/dan-walters-gun-control-theory.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters) – RT @RobStutzman Sacbee – Dan Walters: Gun control theory doesn’t match reality
    • TABLE – U.S. Q4 GDP fell 0.1 pct
      | Reuters
      – RT @conncarroll so how are Obama’s tax hikes and defense cuts working out? | U.S. Q4 GDP fell 0.1 pct
    • Immigration reform could boost cost of Obamacare by hundreds of billions | Mobile Washington Examiner – Immigration reform could boost cost of Obamacare by hundreds of billions #tcot
    • Reid declines to endorse Feinstein’s assault-weapons ban – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday declined to voice support for Democratic legislation that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips.Reid said he would bring gun-violence legislation to the floor and open it to a lengthy amendment process. But he declined to endorse the assault weapons ban introduced last week by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), which has the support of the 2nd- and 3rd-ranking Senate Democratic leaders.
      “She’s talked to me about her assault weapons. The new one. She believes in it fervently and I admire her for that. I’ll take a look at that,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’re going to have votes on all kinds of issues dealing with guns, and I think everyone would be well advised to read the legislation before they determine how they’re going to vote [on] it.”
    • Why Immigration Reform Won’t Cure the GOP’s Struggles with Hispanics – Leading Republicans are jumping on the immigration reform bandwagon, hoping that taking the issue off the table will give them a second chance to make inroads with Hispanic voters. But even with a bipartisan deal looking within reach, the Republican party may not benefit as much as strategists expect.Indeed, there’s evidence that Hispanic resistance to the Republican party is as rooted in the GOP’s skeptical view of government, as it is their disagreement with GOP hardliners on immigration. The Republican Party calls for smaller government, but many Latinos look to government assistance as a necessity. Forty-two percent of Hispanic voters say that a government job offers the best chance of gaining career success, compared to only one-third of white voters, according to a June Allstate/National Journal/Heartland Monitor poll.
  • Illegal Immigration

    Thoughts on the Gang of Eight Immigration Reform Deal

    Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey GrahamSenators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at yesterday’s immigration reform deal announcement

    As if the above photo of Lindsey Graham-nesty and Chuckles Schumer are not foreboding enough. But, seriously, much has been written the past 24 hours since the Gang of Eight Senators announced a framework for immigration reform.

    The framework is published here.

    Go ahead and read it.

    What are my thoughts?

    I don’t think much of the framework, if enacted into law will be a disaster for the country, and the GOP. With the President weighing into the fray with a speech today in Las Vegas, there will probably be more objections.

    You can read much about the problems of the plan (note: legislation has not been written as of this post) from a number of sources.

    First, the initial thoughts of John Hinderaker at Powerline.

    1) The proposal begins with the oft-repeated claim that “our immigration system is broken.” But what does this mean? I think our immigration system is fundamentally misguided because it does not serve our interests. We should be recruiting highly-skilled people to come here from around the world, not unskilled people from, e.g., Somalia, who are recruited, in effect, because they are related to someone who is already here. Which, of course, is how that person got here, too. The present system is perverse. But the reorientation of our legal immigration system to emphasize skilled over unskilled labor has nothing to do with the issue of illegal immigrants who are currently here. What reason is there to link the two?

    2) Countless politicians and commentators have said today that the presence of 11 million illegals in America is intolerable and we urgently need to do something about their status. But why? We have had millions of illegal residents in the U.S. for a long time. Why is it urgently necessary to do something now?

    3) How is the current proposal different from the “comprehensive immigration reform” plans that we have seen through the years? In essence, it provides a “path to citizenship” for something like 11 million illegals in exchange for promises of future law enforcement–the same promises that have been made and broken in the past. See Mickey Kaus on this. Moreover, the Obama administration is now actively subverting our immigration laws, by, for example, recruiting illegals into the food stamp program. Why would anyone expect Obama to enforce future immigration laws any better than he is enforcing the ones we have now?

    Heather Mac Donald over at National Review has a good summary of the proposal.

    Mickey Kaus and Mark Krikorian have already acutely analyzed the new Gang of Eight’s “comprehensive immigration-reform” proposal; I will simply embroider on their observations. As Kaus has pointed out, the proposal is tantamount to an immediate, unconditional amnesty, and thus will lead to the same moral hazard — attracting further illegal immigration — as every previous amnesty in the U.S. and Europe. Nothing of consequence to an intending illegal alien distinguishes the “probationary status” that will be granted upon payment of a fine and back taxes from full-fledged legal status. It is of no import that a probationer will not be immediately eligible to vote. After the 1986 amnesty, very few newly legal Hispanics sought to become American citizens. Only Proposition 187 spurred a slight uptick in that direction.

    No intending illegal alien is going to be deterred from trying to enter by learning that the only thing that stands between him and legal status is paying a fine and taxes. Kaus’s point here is critical: Far from making illegal aliens go to the “back of the line,” this proposal gives them the immeasurable advantage of legal presence in the U.S. while waiting for their green card, unlike aliens obeying the law and waiting in their own country for permission to enter.

    Go ahead and read Mickey Kaus’ The Rubio Con and Mark Krikorian’s Lies, Damn Lies and Enforcement Promises.

    This proposal will do NOTHING to either solve the burdens of illegal immigration on the United States or prevent illegal immigration in the future. It will merely cynically codify the illegality of over 11 million people who have NO right to be in the United States.

    Political demographics drives the narrative – Democrats want more Hispanic voters and the Republicans THINK they can capture some – enough to win a Presidential election.

    This is a poor way to set public policy.

    I will write more later…..

  • Immigration

    GOP Should NOT Let John McCain Set Immigration Amnesty Policy

    Arizona Senator John McCain teamed up with Senator Ted Kennedy back in 2006 with the last attempt at comprehensive immigration reform. Conservatives beat back this plan for immigration amnesty.

    As I wrote previously, there is NO hurry for the GOP to rush to accommodate President Obama’s call for a comprehensive reform plan. No reason at all – unless you suddenly think that all of the Hispanic voters who have NEVER supported the Republican Party will precipitously decide to switch from the Obama Democrats.

    Of course, any such thought is folly.

    In fact, I suspect that the GOP would lose more working class white voters in the South and Midwest by pushing a plan which will grant an amnesty to over ten million illegal aliens – who would vote 70-30 Democratic.

    John McCain failed before, sold out the GOP and with along with his pal, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham -nesty should NOT be the chief negotiators or spokesmen for any immigration reform.

    During Saturday’s panel on immigration at the National Review Summit, Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies made the point that a Republican-backed “comprehensiive” bill would not only fail to win Hispanic support for the GOP, but would actually hurt the party. If any such bill becomes law, Obama and the Democrats would take credit for its passage, while the people who oppose amnesty — especially blue-collar white voters — would blame Republicans.

  • Illegal Immigration,  Immigration

    The GOP Rush to Immigration Reform

    [youtube]http://youtu.be/jTtgx21VNls[/youtube]

    Sen. Rubio Discusses His Immigration Principles on “The Mark Levin Show “

    All of  potential 2016 GOP Presidential candidates are rushing out their plan to provide comprehensive immigration reform.

    Senator Marco Rubio has one and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has a post today in the Wall Street Journal and is working on a book to be released in March.

    Why?

    Cynically, you could say in order to capture the growing Hispanic vote from the Democrats (Obama) who won over 70 per cent last November. You could also say in order to co-opt President Obama and his fellow Democrats who wish to “legalize” which equals citizenship and voting and permanently capture millions of Asian and Hispanic votes in future elections.

    But, there really is NO rush for Republicans.

    Let’s face it, the GOP brand does not do well at the polls with African-Americans, Asians or Hispanics. This is not a recent demographic fact. Even President Reagan did not do that great with these groups. Neither did the senior Bush. W did some what better, but was a disaster for the GOP brand.

    A thorough review of immigration policy is fine.

    Increasing skill-based immigration for certain workers, while increasing educationally opportunities for native born Americans is OK.

    Implementing an employer based E-Verify enforcement of work documents is necessary, but will take some time.

    Mexican border security needs to be further tightened, especially with regards to Mexican and Central American drug cartels.

    But, the rest is just political pandering which will NOT benefit conservatives, nor the GOP in 2016 or anytime before.

    Time for the discussion, but not the time to make a major immigration policy change. The GOP controlled House should exert its check on the Obama Administration and immigration amnesty prone GOP Senators.

  • Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap: January 22, 2013

    Obama inauguration walk

    President and Michelle Obama

    These are my links for January 18th through January 22nd:

  • Del.icio.us Links,  The Evening Flap

    The Evening Flap: January 3, 2013

    These are my links for January 3rd.

    • Biden: Republicans had ‘epiphany’ on immigration – Vice President Joe Biden said Republicans have had a major realization in their approach to immigration reform in recent weeks.”Have you ever seen a time when Republicans have had a more rapid epiphany about immigration than they have this last election?” Biden said Thursday while speaking at an event for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington.
    • There’s No ‘I’ in ‘Kumbaya’ – A Uniquely Polarizing President – We’re all talking about Republicans on the Hill and their manifold failures. So here are some things President Obama didn’t do during the fiscal cliff impasse and some conjecture as to why.He won but he did not triumph. His victory didn’t resolve or ease anything and heralds nothing but more congressional war to come.

      He did not unveil, argue for or put on the table the outlines of a grand bargain. That is, he put no force behind solutions to the actual crisis facing our country, which is the hemorrhagic spending that threatens our future. Progress there—even just a little—would have heartened almost everyone. The president won on tax hikes, but that was an emotional, symbolic and ideological victory, not a substantive one. The higher rates will do almost nothing to ease the debt or deficits.

    • Charles Krauthammer: Return of the real Obama – The rout was complete, the retreat disorderly. President Obama got his tax hikes — naked of spending cuts — passed by the ostensibly Republican House of Representatives. After which, you might expect him to pivot to his self-proclaimed “principle” of fiscal “balance” by taking the lead on reducing spending. “Why,” asked The Post on the eve of the final fiscal-cliff agreement, “is the nation’s leader not embracing and then explaining the balanced reforms the nation needs?”Because he has no interest in them. He’s a visionary, not an accountant. Sure, he’ll pretend to care about deficits, especially while running for reelection. But now that he’s past the post, he’s free to be himself — a committed big-government social democrat.
    • Boehner reelected as Speaker; nine Republicans defect in vote – Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was reelected Speaker of the House on Thursday after a week of rumors of a possible GOP revolt.Boehner won a bare majority in a vote that saw nine Republicans vote for other GOP members, and several others who abstained from voting or voted “present.” Two years ago, Boehner won all 241 available GOP votes.