Friday Open Thread [5.9.14]
“A comprehensive, single piece of legislation on any topic, but especially on immigration, is going to be very difficult to achieve … We keep talking about the same issue now for 15 years, and everybody is doing this all-or-nothing approach. And all-or-nothing is going to leave you with nothing.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), quoted by Politico, on the prospects for immigration reform.
This quote reveals what is fundamentally wrong with the understanding of the legislative process among Republicans. The reason you have comprehensive big bills on subjects like immigration is BECAUSE there is a divide of opinion on the issue. So a bill becomes comprehensive in order to accommodate compromise. You see, in simple terms, the Republicans want more money for enforcement and stricter deportation laws. On the flip side, Democrats want a pathway to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants who are not violent criminals. Republicans like Rubio say, hey, let’s pass what we want, more enforcement, and then maybe we can pass the other pieces of the comprehensive bill later. That is code for we get what we want and you get nothing. And the House could just pass an enforcement only bill, but it is dead in the Senate and would be vetoed by the President. But if you pair more enforcement with a pathway to citizenship, which is what the Senate did, then both sides get something they want. Compromise. That is how legislation works.
Wait, I thought it worked by Republicans throwing a temper tantrum and walking out if they don’t get what they want while the Democrats compromise away their core values by moving to a more Republican-like position that they then turn around and oppose because the other now embraces it. You know, like health care.
LOL. Healthcare, or the Affordable Care Act, was a different animal. Since it was passed during a time when the Dems control both Houses of Congress by substantial margins, the GOP was not really involved. But you had LieberDems like Lieberman and Ben Nelson and Max Baucus mucking up the works. And we needed every Senate vote. So concessions had to be made, hence no Public Option.
Can I just say that there is absolutely no value to a smart, ethical and honest person going into politics in this state? The petty, bullshit games are not worth the energy and the corrupt and incompetent will stoop to any level