Its no small task to pick out the biggest failure from this most recent session of Congress. It felt as though you couldnt go more than a few days without some legislative travesty or bungled negotiation or policy disaster. But when you step back and view the whole thing in its full, dysfunctional glory, one issue area stands out: immigration.
This was supposed to be the session in which immigration reform would finally finally get done. Wed been arguing over it since at least 2005, and Congress tried over and over to pass legislation only to see those bills expire before they could reach the presidents desk. Mitt Romneys Latino-powered thumping in 2012 was, we thought, the wake-up call Republicans needed. For a time it was, but then the old habits crept back in.
And now that Obamas taken unilateral executive action to curb deportations, all the anger and the dysfunction are going to carry over into 2015 and the new, Republican-dominated Congress. So what can we expect? Well, things dont look great.
Remember the Cromnibus? Sure you do. It was passed, like, two weeks ago. The Cromnibus was so named because it combined an omnibus spending package with a short-term continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security the agency that handles immigration issues that will run out in February. That short-term CR was the carrot GOP leaders dangled in front of angry conservatives to ensure they had enough votes to keep the government from shutting down. Vote for funding now, they said, and well have a fight over immigration funding in early 2015 when we have the numbers and control of both houses.
So, for the first couple of months of the year, theres going to be a lot of chest-thumping and more overheated nonsense about Obama the emperor declaring amnesty by fiat. While thats a certainty, whats not known is what, if anything, the GOP can do about it. Cutting off appropriations to DHS wont actually halt Obamas proposed program, and politically its a boneheaded play to mess with national security funding.
Heres how that argument goes:
GOP: End your program or DHS funding gets it!
OBAMA: Why are you withholding funds from the fight against terrorism?
GOP: were, uh, were serious!
OBAMA: The Secret Service, they need this money.
Read more:
Another punishing fight in 15: Why a battle on immigration reform looms large