Thursday Open Thread [11.20.14]

Filed in National by on November 20, 2014

“Rising Republican hostility toward President Obama’s impending immigration plan is as intense as has ever existed between the White House and the GOP,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“But the strong reaction by Republican leaders has less to do with opposition to the nuts and bolts of the president’s immigration policy and more to do with fear and anger that the issue will derail the agenda of the new Republican majority before the next Congress even convenes. Republican leaders who had hoped to focus on corporate tax reform, fast-track trade pacts, repealing the president’s healthcare law and loosening environmental restrictions on coal are instead being dragged into an immigration skirmish that they’ve tried studiously to avoid for most of the last year.”

I imagine that was the plan. And Republicans are too bigoted and dumb enough to fall for it. Indeed, this whole fucking immigration mess is due to their unabashed racism on the part of the GOP. All they had to do is pass the Senate plan, which was a compromise with Senate Republicans that provide much increased (and wasteful) border security. And this issue would be over with and the GOP would be back to wooing the Latino vote. Instead, they are going to freak the fuck out and let the racist flag fly proudly, and they are going to lose Latinos for multiple centuries. For the President’s part, it is always golden when the right thing to do syncs up with the politically right thing to do.

The Washington Post reports Congressional Republicans “have split into competing factions over how to respond to President Obama’s expected moves to overhaul the nation’s immigration system”

“The first, favored by the GOP leadership, would have Republicans denounce what House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has called ‘executive amnesty’ and use the party’s new grip on Congress to contest changes to the law incrementally in the months ahead.”

“The second, which has become the rallying cry for conservatives, would seek to block the president’s decision by shutting down the government for an extended period until he relents.”

It’s going to be the second.

Meanwhile, Glenn Reynolds made a funny in the USA Today:

“The problem for Republicans is that because they do not have a veto-proof majority, they can pass bills but can’t get them past President Obama. It doesn’t mean that they’re doomed to futility. They can pass three kinds of bills: those Obama will want to sign; those he won’t want to sign but will have to; and those he’ll veto, but where a veto is unpopular. With that in mind, I have six suggestions for the new GOP-controlled Congress.”

Here are his six suggestions:

End the federally imposed 21-year-old drinking age

.

Mwhahahaha. I may agree with it, for why should you be able to fight and die for this country at 18 and not enjoy a beer. But doing this ensures a massive to the death fight with MADD, Mothers against Drunk Driving. If there is one group as powerful as the NRA, it is MADD. Good luck with that Republicans.

Decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

Agree. Let’s do it.

Repeal the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

I confess ignorance. Here is a wikipedia entry on the act. Who benefits from repealing it?

Make birth-control pills available over the counter.

Fine, so long as we pass an amendment with this bill that makes all insurance companies everywhere provide coverage for this purchase, no matter the religious feelings of the employers providing the insurance. Without that amendment, no deal.

End public-sector employee unions

Never. Civil War. Fight to the death. Literal blood in the streets. We would avail ourselves of Second Amendment Remedies. Hey, if it is ok for conservatives to talk this way (and it is, since the media never calls them out on it and they keep winning elections), then it is ok for liberals.

Institute a “revolving door” surtax on those who make more in post-government employment.

Not sure. How do you attract competent government service from an employee when you are limiting all their future income.

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  1. SussexAnon says:

    I like the republican options. 1) do something in the form of an immigration bill. or 2) shut down the gov’t and kick scream and pout.

    Yeah, its gonna be #2.

    No matter what happens, the Rs are going to hang this issue around Obama/democrats necks going into the next election. And, once again, Ds are going to have to defend what might be widely popular but does little to nothing at all to help middle class Americans as they slip further and further down the economic ladder.

  2. mouse says:

    Outsourcing jobs to Chinese children and slaves is a bigger threat to the middle class than illegals will ever be. Not a peep about about that from the haters. Not a peep about the poeple who hire illegals either. The rubes admire these types. Its obvious what their their obsession is, race..

  3. mouse says:

    When I went into the voter’s booth, I was a bit ambivalent about voting for the Greens and not the Dems. But not any more. I will do everything in my power to primary these corporate owned dems and vote for greens instead of corporate piggies

  4. Jason330 says:

    No matter how fractured, split or at war with itself the GOP caucus is, Democrats will make them look unified by comparison.

  5. Rusty Dils says:

    Sussexanon, every liberal argument of any length contains a false premise

    “Republican options, shut down the government”, No one on the republican side is seriously considering shutting down the government. All or most of that conversation is being thrown out there by the democrats and the media (same thing), in hopes the republicans will bite, and shut down the government. That is not going to happen, the republicans are now holding the best hand, they have all the leverage, starting January 20th, Obama has practically no leverage left what so ever. So, even though he will issue another one of his illegal executive orders tonight that will take a year or two for the courts to reverse, in 60 days time, and let’s face it, not much gets done anyway over the holidays with government, the republicans we be holding most of the cards. They will have plenty of options to reign in Obama’s lawlessness without shutting down the government. Recognize, that starting on or around January 20th, the republicans will hold a good majority in the senate, with even possibly enough democrats up for election in 2016 to vote with the republicans to override a presidential veto (look at the group of democrats that voted with the republicans on the keystone pipeline the other night, if you add some of those to the 54 seats the republicans will hold come January 20th, the republicans can override the president. The same will probably hold true in the House. Plus, the republicans have around 31 state governorships to 19, plus, they now control more state legislatures nationally than the democrats for the first time in years. So, come January 20th, republicans are holding most of the cards, and will find no need to shut down the government, they will have plenty of other options available to make sure they accomplish conducting the people’s business, and are able to hold a lawless president in check!

  6. Jason330 says:

    “No one on the republican side is seriously considering shutting down the government.”

    …Except most of them.

    When asked whether there could be political ramifications for Republicans if they tangled with Obama over the budget and it resulted in a government shutdown, conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, smiled.

    “Mean like a larger majority in the House or maybe a Republican majority in the Senate?” he said. “The voters reward us for keeping our oath of office.”

  7. Jason330 says:

    Also, aside from Tom Carper, I can’t image any Democrats in the Senate being willing to support a GOP veto override attempt.

    You are dreaming on that one.

  8. mouse says:

    How are Reagan’s executive orders any different from Obama’s? Does rushie have a talking point for that?

  9. Tom Kline says:

    I like most of the illegals mainly because they are hard workers and support their families. Let’s not forget why they have jobs and the slobs on welfare, etc do not…

  10. SussexAnon says:

    Oh, irony to claim my premise to be lengthy then proceed to dialog like a Bond villain.

  11. Davy says:

    Immigration reform should have passed back in 2007 . . . .

  12. rustydils says:

    Mouse, as usual, you are uninformed, and hence wrong, Reagan signed into law legislation that congress had already passed on immigration, so the only small difference being that Reagan’s signing a bill into law was constitutional, and Obama making up his own law was not, get it! Probably not.

  13. MikeM2784 says:

    Anyone else smell an impeachment attempt? If not for this, then something.

  14. rustydils says:

    Best quote of the night
    “The President is trying to illegally, legalize, illegals”

  15. Unintended Consequences says:

    You are missing the “real” story. This is not about immigration, its about governing. And Obama can’t do it. Republicans are complicit, but none of them are President. In two years the story will be the least productive administration in history, and how republicans increased their margins in the House, Senate, and how the new President has a mandate from the people to “get things done”. To quote Hannibal Smith from the “A” team, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

  16. mouse says:

    Reagan had more executive orders than that. I’m appealing to the judges