KOS:Time to put immigration reform back on the agenda
Quote:
Here's how it work: Congress passes legislation, and the president signs it. It doesn't have to be part of Obama's agenda. It can be part of Congress' agenda.<br />
The 2007 efforts at reform were killed by bipartisan opposition, including Democrats like Tom Harkin, Sherod Brown, Claire McCaskill, Jon Tester, and Jim Webb (as well as the rest of the usual cast of rogues like Bayh, Landrieu, etc).
And therein lies Gutierrez's plea to Obama -- some presidential arm twisting might be required to make reform happen. In the last Congress, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was a vicious opponent of immigration reform and a chief architect of (Democratic) Rep. Heath Shuler's efforts to push an enforcement-only bill through the House. But Rahm's efforts were likely motivated by his belief at the time that immigration would harm Democratic electoral chances. He must now see what actually happened: anti-immigrant rhetoric didn't just deliver zero victories to Republicans, but it also helped energize and turn Latinos (and Asians as well), who then voted for Democrats by record margins. If nothing else, Rahm is a political realist, and the results were crystal clear.
With electoral concerns assuaged, it's time to do the right thing.
