NBC #39;s Chuck Todd Sees #39;Long-Term Disaster #39; For GOP By Delaying Immigration Reform
On Friday #39;s The Daily Rundown on MSNBC, host and NBC political director Chuck Todd proclaimed that the Republican decision to put off immigration reform unti...
By: yazakchattiest
Read the rest here:
NBC's Chuck Todd Sees 'Long-Term Disaster' For GOP By Delaying Immigration Reform - Video
Q A: Can You Trust Washington on Immigration Reform?
Heritage #39;s Derrick Morgan explains why Washington can #39;t be trusted to solve America #39;s illegal immigration problem. | http://herit.ag/1duiE6u.
By: The Heritage Foundation
See original here:
Q&A: Can You Trust Washington on Immigration Reform? - Video
A week after signaling that House Republicans would pursue an overhaul of immigration laws, Speaker John A. Boehner declared Thursday that his caucus is unlikely to move forward until President Obama gains their trust.
Theres widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws, Boehner (R-Ohio) said during a midday news conference at the Capitol. And its going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes.
Boehner was making his first extended public remarks since releasing a list of GOP standards for immigration policy at a conference retreat last week. His attempt to place the burden on Obama illustrated the mounting opposition from hard-line conservatives and laid the groundwork for blaming the White House if a deal fails.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said this week that an immigration deal remains a long shot in a sharply divided Congress. Rep. Ral R. Labrador (R- Idaho) suggested that Boehner could lose his speakership if he pursues a bill in a midterm election year.
Aides emphasized that Boehner remains committed to immigration reform and said he raised concerns about Obama because they had emerged as a consensus during the retreat. But his remarks drew rebukes from advocacy groups frustrated by the verbal zigzags of a speaker who has spent 15 months calling immigration a top priority while refusing to bring any legislation to the House floor.
The White House and congressional Democrats were left searching for clues Thursday to determine whether Boehner was caving in the face of conservative opposition or merely trying to manage an unruly caucus to avoid a full-scale revolt.
Hes in a very difficult position, said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a key architect of a comprehensive Senate immigration bill approved last summer. Hes trying to figure out, in my judgment, a way to get this done without his caucus too many in his caucus rebelling.
Other Democrats were more pessimistic.
He put a test balloon up there and I thank him for that but I dont think he got the majority support, so hes going to try to put blame on the president, said Rep. Henry Cuellar (Tex.), who added that Boehners comments confirmed things he has heard from his Republican colleagues in recent days.
If you were the Republicans and you think youve got the Democrats on a good issue, like Obamacare, why would you muddle the message before you go into an election? Cuellar said.
Read more:
WASHINGTON Just a week after Republicans raised hopes for a bipartisan overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, House Speaker John A. Boehner all but abandoned the effort Thursday, saying it would be "difficult" to get any legislation approved this year by his GOP majority.
Boehner's sudden shift, coming after his high-profile unveiling last week of Republican immigration principles that were partly embraced by the White House, left immigration advocates fuming and renewed speculation that the speaker's tenuous grip on a rebellious rank-and-file was slipping again.
It also raised questions about the GOP's effort to rebrand itself among Latinos and other minority voters, who largely abandoned the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential election, and many of whom see immigration reform as a top priority.
At a Republican retreat Jan. 30, Boehner proposed a set of immigration reforms that included legal status for the 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally but no special path to citizenship. The next day, President Obama hinted that a compromise might be achievable, even though he had previously pushed for a special route to citizenship.
Boehner received a far less enthusiastic and at times hostile response from his own party's conservatives, who complained there was little value in engaging in an issue that deeply divides Republicans. Top GOP strategists warned that undertaking immigration reform this year would turn off the conservative voters they need this fall to retain the House majority and flip control of the Senate.
Conservative activists who view legal status for immigrants as "amnesty" flooded Boehner's office telephones this week. One group, ForAmerica, made an estimated 5,500 calls to the switchboard. Comments on the speaker's website were harsh: "You are a turncoat," read one.
Some of the more outspoken tea party lawmakers in the House renewed their threats to unseat Boehner from the speaker's chair.
Rep. Raul R. Labrador (R-Idaho), among the hard-liners, suggested that any moves by Boehner to bring up immigration legislation this year "would be a terrible mistake on his part, a political miscalculation on his part. And that's why I don't think he's going to do it."
At his weekly media briefing, Boehner acknowledged the opposition. "I've never underestimated the difficulty in moving forward this year," he said.
Some Republican analysts suggested Boehner's comments were an attempt to lower expectations on a reform bill while he shores up support among reluctant lawmakers.
Continued here:
Immigration advocates take part in a National Day of Dignity and Respect march on October 5, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. John Moore, Getty Images
This post originally appeared on Slate.
Twice people referenced this scene as I called around looking for the latest on immigration reform.It was not dead yet, various people suggested, even though House Speaker John Boehner just announced that progress was stalled because Republican members didn't trust the president. If that was the hurdle, it was the equivalent of idling the hearse, because trust is not likely to bloom afresh in the bosom of House Republicans in an election year on this volatile topic.
But immigration reform backers were not taking this dark view.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Boehner's remarks were merely a sign that the process will take time. Sen. Chuck Schumer was not discouraged either. "I think Boehner has tried,"said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, and a longtime advocate of immigration reform. "We are as close as we've ever been. I haven't given up."
Play Video
Just one week after House Speaker John Boehner unveiled his road map for immigration reform, he announced it was in trouble because his Republica...
Play Video
A new immigration reform proposal from the House Republican leadership has triggered an intramural fight inside the party. Jeff Pegues reports.
Play Video
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., say the House speakers Republican caucus is...
Link: