GOP reels after deft Obama move

lilbawler2001 · lilbawler2001

Quote:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Monday dropped his plan to push a DREAM Act through Congress before the election — the latest sign of the GOP’s struggle to counter President Obama’s move to stop deporting younger illegal immigrants.
Obama’s decision, which some Republican strategists were describing as a deft political move, highlights the dilemma facing Republican leaders, including presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Republicans are seeking ways to appeal to Latino voters ahead of November, but want to avoid alienating conservatives who think all illegal immigrants have broken the law and should be deported.

“If they express too much outrage it could hurt Romney with Hispanics, so it’s exactly the dilemma that Republicans face long-term, which is finding a way to address Hispanic voters in a way that doesn’t lose the base,” said GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak, president of Potomac Strategy Group.“From a political standpoint, you almost have to give the White House credit — they really narrowly focused this thing in such a way that it did box Republicans in a little bit,” he added.
The move also might have downgraded Rubio’s chance of becoming Romney’s vice presidential pick by forcing Republicans to play defense on immigration. Picking Rubio as his running mate would highlight the issue of immigration and deportations, where Romney could be disadvantaged, instead of the economy.
As a result, Obama’s play for Hispanic voters might have boosted the vice presidential prospects of Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
Rubio, who had vowed to introduce a version of the DREAM Act this summer as a high-profile Republican effort to woo Latino voters, suggested Monday that Obama’s move stole the GOP’s thunder.
“People are going to say to me, ‘Why are we going to need to do anything on this now? It has been dealt with. We can wait until after the election,’ ” the Cuban-American freshman senator told The Wall Street Journal. “And it is going to be hard to argue against that.”
Republican leaders in Congress have reacted to Obama’s announcement with caution.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had initially declined to comment, weighed in Monday to criticize the unilateral nature of Obama’s move — but not the policy itself.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, canceled a Monday press conference on the issue.
And despite charges from conservative groups and some rank-and-file Republicans that the new rule will reward lawbreakers and steal jobs from U.S. citizens, GOP leaders in the lower chamber — who have been relentless in their criticisms of Obama on just about every issue to come to the fore this year — have so far held their tongues.
The office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) did not respond Monday to requests for comment, and the office of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was almost as quiet.
“He hasn’t said anything at this point,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said Monday in an email.
House Republicans close to Romney have also clammed up about the new immigration rules — among the most controversial domestic policies of Obama’s White House tenure.
A spokesman for Rep. Jason Chaffetz — a typically outspoken Utah Republican who won his seat in part by hammering his opponent for supporting “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants — declined to comment on any aspect of the issue Monday. And a spokeswoman for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Romney’s official Capitol Hill liaison, did not return a request for comment.
Several GOP strategists said Republican leaders are staying silent largely because Obama’s move has stuck them in an extremely tricky spot and they’re taking their time to craft a smart, thought-out response.
Mackowiak and another GOP strategist who did not want to be identified said they suspect that House leaders are actively meeting with each other behind the scenes — as well as with staff from Romney and the Republican National Committee — to discuss which arguments against Obama’s move will have the most traction with voters on both a district and national level.
“It takes a little while to analyze the situation and figure out which arguments have the most resonance and see how the policy will work,” said Mackowiak.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign...eft-obama-move

Nic89 · Nic89

Obama is one of the finest politician in this world.

Rev_Scholar · Rev_Scholar

The Repubs are in a hole now. The question is whether Rubio's proposal or whatever else they do will be a strong enough ladder to get em out.

2Face · 2Face

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev_Scholar

The Repubs are in a hole now. The question is whether Rubio's proposal or whatever else they do will be a strong enough ladder to get em out.

No it won't UNLESS they PASS the bill!

immigration truth · immigration truth

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Face

No it won't UNLESS they PASS the bill!

Exactly, and hitting back against the policy in any way will only further confirm that they have officially lost the Hispanic vote for a generation. The Republicans instead of reacting like little children need to use this opportunity as a chance to just pivot on immigration, because if they're looking for a good way to spin this, then they've already taken way too long.

cacheton011 · cacheton011

lol. OWNED!!

freshh. · freshh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by immigration truth

Exactly, and hitting back against the policy in any way will only further confirm that they have officially lost the Hispanic vote for a generation. The Republicans instead of reacting like little children need to use this opportunity as a chance to just pivot on immigration, because if they're looking for a good way to spin this, then they've already taken way too long.

There was a Republican Senator from Wyoming on CNN this morning and he was pissed. Soledad O'Brien told him how a few years ago, he said that dealing with immigration in steps was a good idea. But, he said that what we needed was Congressional action and not an "edict" from President Obama. He continued to emphasize that Marco Rubio's plan is what should have been implemented and not Obama's policy change.

Their reactions and Rubio dropping the idea have confirmed for me that it was all political theater and Obama out maneuvered them on this one. It was unexpected and was essentially Obama giving the middle finger to the GOP on their version of DREAM Act.

immigration truth · immigration truth

Quote:

Originally Posted by freshh.

There was a Republican Senator from Wyoming on CNN this morning and he was pissed. Soledad O'Brien told him how a few years ago, he said that dealing with immigration in steps was a good idea. But, he said that what we needed was Congressional action and not an "edict" from President Obama. He continued to emphasize that Marco Rubio's plan is what should have been implemented and not Obama's policy change.

Their reactions and Rubio dropping the idea have confirmed for me that it was all political theater and Obama out maneuvered them on this one. It was unexpected and was essentially Obama giving the middle finger to the GOP on their version of DREAM Act.

Yes, you see that's all they have, continued references to "congress should have done it", even the most politically apathetic American knows that Congress is so polarized(due to republican obstruction) that it rings hollow to all who hear it. The Republicans pretty much are just pissed because obama's move just upstaged the little nice run Romney had been having and just further proves to them that they have no chance of getting the Hispanic vote at all now.

freshh. · freshh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by immigration truth

Yes, you see that's all they have, continued references to "congress should have done it", even the most politically apathetic American knows that Congress is so polarized(due to republican obstruction) that it rings hollow to all who hear it. The Republicans pretty much are just pissed because obama's move just upstaged the little nice run Romney had been having and just further proves to them that they have no chance of getting the Hispanic vote at all now.

Exactly. And I'd bet Marco's upset because this was his chance to prove he was enough of an asset to be on the Romney ticket. I still don't believe the whole "I don't want to be VP" act. The DREAM Act was something he could have worked on any time before now. He could have worked with Durbin before this year. But, all of a sudden you've got a heart and want to help undocumented students?

GodsHandsAreOnMe · GodsHandsAreOnMe

I cosign that!! I think it is clear that the Republicans are panicking and totally got knocked off of their high horse. I am interested to see how the rest of the campaign turns out. I am also anxiously waiting for this 60 day period to be up and praying that it won't take the full 60 days for a process to be released.

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GOP reels after deft Obama move