How Not to Win Friends

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Following up the last post — this is where the House is going today —

House Republicans pushed legislation on Friday that would clear the way for eventual deportation of more than 500,000 immigrants brought here illegally as kids and address the surge of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

After more than a year of inaction on the contentious issue of immigration, House GOP leaders were optimistic about securing tea party and other conservative support for two bills that Republicans can highlight when they return home to voters during Congress’ five-week summer break.

Votes were expected late Friday.

A revised, $694 million border security bill would provide $35 million for the National Guard and clarify a provision on quickly returning unaccompanied minors from Central America to their home countries.

The President had requested $3.7 billion, remember.

To appeal to hard-core immigration foes, Republicans also toughened a companion bill targeting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which President Barack Obama implemented in 2012 and Republicans blame for the flood of immigrants now.

The bill states that the president cannot renew or expand the program, effectively paving the way for deportation for the children brought here illegally.

Again, the DACA only applies to people who entered the country before June 15, 2012. The more pertinent law is one called the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law by President Bush in 2008. The law provides that any child entering the country, except for Canadian and Mexican nationals, must be given a full immigration hearing to be sure they aren’t human trafficking victims. That’s the law Congress expects the President to ignore and just deport children without a hearing.

Even if the House passes the bill on Friday, Obama’s request for more money to deal with the border crisis will go unanswered. The Senate blocked its version of a border security bill, and there are no plans to work out any compromise before Congress returns in September.

Emerging from a closed-door GOP meeting, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., rejected the notion that it was a pointless exercise since the Senate won’t act.

“It’ll be the template for what needs to be done and also it might slow the president down,” Mica told reporters.

In other words they lack the political will to do anything, but they can manage to throw up roadblocks to stop anyone else from doing anything.

Also, some less extremist House Republicans are frustrated that senators Jeff Sessions and Ted Cruz are meeting with bagger members of the House and influencing their votes.

Democrats relished the Republican divide, with Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., derisively referring to “Speaker Cruz.

See also Morning Plum: Obama warns GOP — I’m acting alone on immigration.

10 thoughts on “How Not to Win Friends”

  1. I’m starting to wonder if maybe Ted Cruz-ader isn’t some demagogic Canadian plant that they sent here to cause enough political havoc so that the US collapses.

    And then our neighbors to the North can come in, and save us from ourselves by taking over this country.

    Nah – that’s too happy an ending.

    Actually, make that a Chinese plant.

    Ted may be the REAL ‘Manchurian Candidate.’

  2. Why does Teddy Cruz-ader have so much influence with the Republican sociopaths in the House?

    Well, you see, in the Senate, he’s a mere Freshman.
    A loud and obnoxious one!!!

    But to the juvenile delinquents in the Republican House, he looks like a dashing Senior.

  3. “Speaker Cruz”

    Ahh yes, Ted (Canadian anchor baby) Cruz, he’s got a real problem with them brown toddlers, talk about pulling up the latter behind you!

  5. goatherd,
    Not bad.

    But he’s the spitting image of “Tail-gunner” Joe McCarthy – minus the booze problem.
    I think.

  7. “minus the booze problem”

    He has something seriously wrong with him for sure, don’t think it is booze, my guess is he was abused as a child? His Father is even wackier than Ted!

  8. my guess is he was abused as a child?
    My guess is he’s a complete narcissist .. He appears mightily impressed with himself. His puffed up attitude of self approval emits his narcissism like a radio beacon. He’s like Karl Rove where he prides himself in being clever in tearing something down because he lacks the character or intellect to build something up.

  9. A few years ago a neighbor kid, about 10, knocked on the back door and said there was nothing at home to eat. We know his parents – they both work and he’s unattended for a few hours after school. My wife was unsure what she should do.

    My recommendation was simple. ANY time a neighbor kid we know shows up hungry, we feed them. Hot dog, peanut butter sandwich – whatever. We may deal with the situation with the parents if we need to, as best we can, with the authorities if necessary. But first, if a child shows up hungry and the parents aren’t available, we feed the kid. (I don’t give a rodent’s rear end about the legal liability – I won’t send a kid away hungry.)

    My reaction is closer to the norm than conservatives in Congress realize. (That’s sheer opinion.) The first thing you do is feed for them and make sure of their security (that they can get in the house – that they know the parents will return.)
    It’s the situation at the border – only the magnitude is different.

    And I have two words the GOP hasn’t considered. Pope Francis. He’s from Central America, he’s sympathetic to the needs of the poor, and he’s hostile to the ‘golden idol’ of capitalism. The GOP is building an issue that’s a textbook case of heartless xenophobia. And the kicker – Pope Francis will be visiting the US next year. Fox correspondents have take a few shots at the Pope, I suspect in the future they will pour on the hostility, but I think it’s going to backfire, not just with Catholics, but across the religious spectrum.

    The Pope is ‘rethinking religion’ by trying to follow and then teach according to the example of Christ. It’s taking on a political dimension, not because the Pope shows any aspirations to be political but because really following Christ’s teachings means standing up for the lowest in society, ministering to their physical needs as well as their spiritual ones. (Loaves and fishes ring a bell – what about miracles of healing – how can conservatives make these issues off limits to Francis?) There are two groups the GOP is about to take on – Hispanics, who have a lousy record of showing up at the polls until they are outraged, and Catholics. The GOP has done well with the Catholic aristocracy, but even that romance will sour when they dump on His Holiness.

  10. House Passes ‘Symbolic Bill’….

    This is legislation that the Senate would not consider if they were in session, won’t consider because the Senate has left the building and wouldn’t be signed by the President if the GOP owned both houses of Congress. But an anti-Hispanic anti-kids bill passed the House early this morning.

    There’s a word for making love without your partner being present that applies.

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