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After the overwhelming Republican victory in the midterm elections one is left to wonder if "representative democracy" means anything any more. Because something is clear: Despite their electoral triumph, the GOP does not represent the interests of the majority of Americans, that is, workers, minorities, women and, of course, immigrants.

For President Obama, what the Republican victory means is two years of even greater obstacles to advance his agenda, which could render the rest of his Presidency nearly irrelevant. That's why it is now or never for him to do the right thing and act on immigration if he wants to save his legacy.

Obama, who promised to take action after the elections and before the end of the year, ran out of time and excuses not to take the much-ballyhooed executive measures that, supposedly, will help millions of undocumented workers.

Now, more than ever, he has to fulfill his promises to act on immigration on his own. Otherwise, the Democratic Party will see a redefinition of its relation with Hispanics and should not expect the all-important Latino vote to be there for them for the 2016 presidential election.

"Obama said that he wants to wait until December to see if Congress sends him a bill"" said ngela Fernndez, executive director of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights. "There is no real reason to wait because we all know that any bill coming from the Republicans will be about enforcement and will not help the immigrant community. People are fed up and if Obama doesn't act, Latinos will seek alternatives to the Democratic Party."

At this stage of the game immigrants and their supporters do not trust Obama. And who can blame them? After all, he set a deportation record by expelling over 2 million people and reneged of his "firm" promise to exercise his executive prerogative at the end of the summer. Instead, he postponed taking action until the end of the year solely for electoral reasons, a wrongheaded political maneuver that backfired spectacularly.

The distrust runs so deep that not even Rep. Luis Gutirrez (D-Il), a Democratic Party loyalist and the number one proponent of immigration reform in the House, is convinced the President will be true to his word.

In an interview with The Guardian Gutirrez newspaper made an ominous prediction about his party's prospects in 2016.

"This problem we are seeing politically is nothing next to the civil war that would be created in the Democratic Party if the President is not broad and generous in using his executive power," he said, referring to the disappointment of Latinos feel about Obama and the Democrats. "(If that happens) Latinos are not going to be deciding between voting or not voting, but if they stay (or not) in the Democratic Party."

And without the Latino vote, the deporter-in-chief's party can kiss the White House goodbye.

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Obama must tackle immigration reform or face more defeat ...