Obama Looking To Circumvent Congress, Gut Immigration Enforcement
In early September Allahpundit got livid about a McCain pro-amnesty ad and promised Maverick "not one more dime." I wrote in the comments:
I understand the frustration with McCain, but - The best way to prevent the next administration from passing an amnesty bill is to get a good number of Republicans in Congress. The only way that we’re going to get Republicans into Congress - at least on the basis of the latest polling - is on McCain/Palin’s coattails. Anti-amnesty people should enthusiastically support McCain/Palin not because McCain is better on amnesty than Obama or vice versa. They should do it because the only way to block an amnesty bill from either Presidential candidate is to get Republicans into Congress - which will only happen if McCain/Palin win or make it close. Otherwise: veto-proof Dem Congress + Obama. You really want to roll the dice on Kaus’s hope that Nancy Pelosi will listen to reason and take care of embattled Blue Dogs that she doesn’t need anyway or like?
Someone else came up with a similar argument and sent it in to Mark Krikorian the next day, after which it made its way to Mickey Kaus:
On immigration, though, there's a counter-counter-factor, which is that any Republican majority dragged in on a McCain/Palin tide is likely to splinter (between anti-amnesty enforcement types and pro-business we-need-labor types) while a Republican minority might well form a united anti-amnesty opposition... The one box in the matrix I'm not sure of is President Obama/GOP Congress. In that case, with most of his grander legislative ambitions (on health care, etc.) blocked, you'd think Obama might well turn to immigration as the one area where he could push through a major, party-building reform... [But] if Obama wins, he will almost certainly have a Dem Congress to work with.
That seemed a little too clever even at the time. The point was that supporting McCain/Palin would - in the worst case - lock in enough down-ticket races to provide a strong opposition to a likely Obama victory. I'm not sure if that would've happened but I do know that McCain wouldn't be making a concentrated effort to reverse every Bush policy he can find - including anything that has to do with US immigration enforcement:
The center's new book will also urge Obama to sign an executive order requiring that greenhouse gas emissions be considered whenever the federal government examines the environmental impact of its actions under the existing National Environmental Policy Act. Several key members of Obama's transition team have already embraced the idea. Other early Obama initiatives may address the need for improved food and drug regulation and chart a new course for immigration enforcement, some Obama advisers say. But they add that only a portion of his early efforts will be aimed at undoing Bush initiatives.
Probably a good chance that this "new course" will be in the direction of tougher enforcement, right? I mean what with how Hispanics fueled Democratic victories in battleground states and all.
References:
* Great news: Time for another thinly veiled pro-amnesty ad from McCain [Hot Air]
* Worse Is Better, or Better Is Better? [Krikorian / NRO]
* Only McCain can stop McCain! [Kaus / Slate]
* Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions [WaPo]
* Hispanics fued Obama victory in Colorado, other battlegrounds [Vail Daily]
Previously:
* MSM Startled That "Post-Partisan" "No-Drama" Candidate Choose Well-Noted Partisan Attack Dog As Chief Of Staff (Plus: Emanuel's Pro-Israel Influence Somewhat Underwhelming)
* Obama's Digital Brownshirts Turned Loose On Barbara West
* MSM Startled That "Post-Partisan" "No-Drama" Candidate Choose Well-Noted Partisan Attack Dog As Chief Of Staff (Plus: Emanuel's Pro-Israel Influence Somewhat Underwhelming)
