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Why Obama’s Smart to Tackle Immigration Now
Paul Sakuma / AP Photo
Here goes President Obama into the immigration briar patch.
God bless you Mr. President for having the courage to resuscitate this incredibly contentious and important issue. You will be scorched and criticized by the nativists. It will be very hard, maybe impossible to get done. But it’s the right thing to do and it’s actually and ultimately very good politics for you and the Democratic Party.
But get ready for a really ugly roar. In almost 30 years of politics, I’ve seen few issues burn this hot.
Immigration is one of the issues that attracted people like me, and by that I mean former Democrats and independents, to George W. Bush. As someone who grew more conservative as I got older, and increasingly disillusioned with Democratic approaches on issues like trade, I was surprised and intrigued when I saw a then-Texas Republican governor talk empathetically and emotionally on issues like education and immigration. And, unlike most Republicans, he was talking about government taking a proactive role.
If Democrats start consistently winning Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, the electoral outlook for Republicans in the future is mighty bleak.
The No Child Left Behind Act will be one of President Bush’s enduring legacies. And it was engineered and inaugurated with a truly bipartisan coalition in Congress. Accountability, standards, and truly measuring student performance just makes sense. The only real debate about the law was and is whether or not it was adequately funded.
There was a strong consensus about the problems with education and what to do about it. Not so much with immigration. Nevertheless, President Bush, true to his campaign pledge, did his level best keep his foot on the pedal.
But, just when he was revving up the immigration debate in collaboration with President Vincente Fox in Mexico, the 9/11 attacks happened and grounded the effort until 2007, when it got caught up in presidential politics and crashed and burned.
People talk about the various problems that plagued the early stages of John McCain’s presidential campaign. But there was really only one problem: immigration and McCain’s embrace of the issue. He was cruising along just fine until he hit the immigration buzz saw and it instantly shredded him. Support among Republican primary voters plummeted, money dried up, internal management problems were exacerbated, and the campaign went into a tailspin.
McCain rewired and modified his position by reordering the sequencing of the approach, but to his credit, he never backed off comprehensive reform. One of McCain’s finest moments of the entire campaign occurred in a New Hampshire debate, when, in response to Tom Tancredo, who’s entire candidacy was fueled by anti-immigrant fervor, he told people to go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and notice the Hispanic names etched on the wall. It was emotional, spontaneous, and very powerful.
Yet, much of the damage had already been done by the wing of the Republican Party who’s message was basically throw 12 million people out of the country, lock up everyone else, and build a wall to keep immigrants out. Of all the electoral signs that suggested it was going to be an uphill battle for McCain, the one that really got my attention was in the summer, when I saw that his support among Hispanics was at 29 percent. I remembered that George W. Bush had won with about 40 percent of Hispanics in 2000 and recalled the strategic imperative during the 2004 election to increase that number or Bush would lose. And thanks in no small measure to Bush’s continued embrace of immigration reform, he increased his support among Hispanics by three or four points, a significant contribution to his margin of victory.
But McCain did not improve his standing among Hispanics. And there’s no question that the immigration debate hurt him and Republicans among Hispanics in the 2008 race. And if Republicans expect to turn around their electoral fortunes any time in the next decade, they better find a way to put some compassion in their conservatism.
The reality is that without McCain on the ticket, Obama would have won Arizona. And if Democrats start consistently winning Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada, the electoral outlook for Republicans in the future is mighty bleak.
Obama’s critics, many among his own party, will say now is not the time for this discussion. Too many other pressing priorities. But, I think Obama Inc. understands that while they may not get it done now, the debate will be heard by two very important constituencies: the anti-immigrant forces who will crank up their talk-radio microphones to a howling screech, and Hispanics who will listen quietly and then go vote in huge numbers for Democrats.
So while some may question the timing of Obama stepping into the immigration debate, I think he knows exactly what he’s doing by stepping into this briar patch.
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, causes, and individuals, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today’s rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
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Embers
People focus on how mean it would be to kick all the illegal immigrants out of this country, but ignore the economic issues that cause them to come here:
1. Mexico sucks. The government is completely corrupt and useless and the little guy can't get a fair shake there.
2. The American employers who hire illegal immigrants do so because they are cheap and greedy.
My state has the second highest unemployment in the nation and a very large number of illegal immigrants. Now that the economy is bad they're out of work too. The answer is NOT an open border. The answer is for Mexico to get their shit together.
webb04
Good point. If not now, when? But i wouldn't have thought that he would spend that political capital on this...if his favorability rating stays above 60% after this fight, then he really is Superman.
mdzend
So while millions of legal Americans are losing their jobs and homes we should legalize millions of illegal persons and not only add them to the job pools across the country but also strain resources that - for the most part - are under tremendous strain to serve our present day citizens.Sounds like a brilliant plan to me - if your plan is to reduce as many as possible to a more Third World like condition.
mabphillips
I do not want to think that so many persons could break our laws and disrespect our nation, demand the US change its policy to their liking and yell that we are the rascist ones. The people you refer to as "howling" are American citizens who have watched their government cater to those entering illegally. They are not immigrants, my family are immigrants and they exhibited the respect one should give a country that provides sanctuary, not those who disrespect and belittle it. They should be deported, walls should be built and those persons need to understand that they are not above the law.
CountRaoul
McKinnon, I agree with you that it takes nerve to address this problem and that the hard right will surely over react to any progressive proposals by President Obama. I also think that ole Leary7 will try to hit you with his well worn stick (schtick?) about being the Bush lacky. Everybody hold your nose. Next time you touch this subject, I hope we get your views beyond the political value of the two poles. Are open borders good for my country? That's the debate I'm interested in.
cbeenthere
First, Bush did not really value immigrant labor. So he spoke a few words of Spanish. Second, whatever happened to Head Start? And thirdly, Mexico is a great country with a thriving middle class in all habitable areas (exception Mexico City having the distinction of world's largest city). President Obama did not court the Latina vote, but he is a reasonable man who can hopefully douse the distrust of our southern neighbors.
cbeenthere
And as far as employing hispanic workers, having done so whether they were here legally or not (which was always difficult to determine) they were paid a salary commensurate with the others who worked in my construction company. So much for greedy employers embers.
ravirahul
So, some guy comes into this country illegally, crosses the border at night when no one is watching and he is rewarded for this criminal action with citizenship, and someone like me who has been here for almost 8 years, worked my ass off, paid taxes (the same you paid) and it takes me almost 5 years just to get permanent residency. I am still on an employment visa. This is just great!!!!, way to go, to teach future generations that criminal actions will be rewarded and not punished.
Trilby16
First of all, "No Child Left Behind Act will be one of President Bush's enduring legacies"? In a good way???
Second, illegal immigrants. Why do pundits always act/write like it's just right-wing-nuts who are against legalizing millions of law-breakers ahead of other immigrants? That is simply NOT the case. Many, many Democrats see this as an economic issue and one of fairness. Many of us Dems are not wealthy, like you are. We see the illegals as taking jobs at slaves wages that we might need someday at decent wages. Do you oligarchs realize that once you confer legal status on the law-breakers, you will have to pay them at least minimum wage and maybe give some benefits as well? They won't be as much use to you, then, as cheap exploitable labor.
It's you guys who don't get it.
penscott
Yes, we really need another fifty million or so impoverished Mexicans here!! This is insane.
I suppose Obama sees two advantages:
1. recruiting more Democratic voters
2. insuring that Caucasians are no longer a majority in the US
TRIATHLON
JIMMY CARTER II?
Join the unemployment line
The "Imperial Media Messiah President" has been called Jimmy Carter II by the Europeans, and is living up to the comparison, The "American Empire" has the highest unemployment level in (70) Seventy-years, Dalmer-Chrysler, and (GM) General Motors, have a (70%) Seventy-Percent chance of going belly up, Bankrupt, which will also effect unemployment in Germany, and cause of domino effect in the "American Empire" as companies which supply the two automakers are forced to either layoff workers and/or go belly up with them and the "Imperial Media Messiah President" wants more Mexicans pouring across the boarder to do what join the unemployment line?
Surrendering Sovereignty
The "American Empire" has surrendered to Mexico on the "War on Drugs", and now the "Imperial Media Messiah President" is going to roll over and surrender to Mexico on "Immigration", why not just give back the entire West Coast, and Southwest to Mexico? No other country in the world would allow its boarders to be so easily crossed or its sovereignty surrendered, threatening its national interests, security, economic stability, national culture and values, this is nothing less than the surrender of the sovereignty of the "American Empire" by its "Imperial Media Messiah President" it would be considered and act of treason in any other country.
xbainx
Good. As the Mexicans become legitimate citizens, they won't forget which president and which party helped them reach their goals. The Republicans will never be in power again.
gak001
I love the let's-kick-'em-all-out argument that would essentially try to round up 12 million individuals and deport them. They tried something similar to that in Spain a couple hundred years ago and it worked marvelously. Of course, by marvelously, I mean it was a complete and total failure that so damaged the Spanish economy that it took centuries to recover (assuming you believe it ever fully did).
reasonaire
I say let them in.The proper role of government is to protect individual rights,restricting who can be hired by who is restricting liberty,government has no right to tell you the individual who you can hire.Conservatives should stop the supidity of applying capitalism when it is convinient to do so,they advocate for free movment of goods and services, but not the free movement of people who produce goods and services.Thats why conservatisim leads to protectionism and the riseof the likes pat buchannan because they are all restrictionists and proctectionists.Individual liberty above anything else that is the core foundation of this country.
doctorfixit
Rule of law? Screw it, who needs it. We're lib-nazis, we don't need your stinking Constitution. Legal immigrants waiting in line? Screw them - they're suckers. It's more important to make whitey pay. There are a billion potential lib-nazi voters out there who want to live off of whitey's grandkids. All Obama has to do is keep fanning the flames of racial hatred, keep granting amnesty, and we Democrats will be in power forever. Muah-hah-hah! . . . wait,what do you mean, Mexicans are religious and not in favor of murdering their unborn children. what do you mean, they believe in private property and individual rights. we may have to re-think this. what do you mean, it's too late?
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