Yesterday, former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC show gave Democrats good advice. Don’t give in on DACA. Make the Republicans offer a clean bill on the program or let the government shutdown.
He’s right. Now is not the time for Democrats to compromise. Republicans have control of both houses of Congress and the White House. It’s their responsibility to govern and if they need Democrats to help, then Democrats should get something substantial in return.
Back in October, 2013, Republicans shut down government in an effort to defund Obamacare. In the wake of the shutdown, pundits and polls called the move devastating to the GOP which, at the time, only controlled the House of Representatives. A little over twelve months later, the GOP won in a landslide and took over the US Senate.
This time, the DACA program has broad support. Few people outside of the GOP’s populist base believe we should be deporting people who were brought here as children and have built careers and families in the United States. Democrats can demand that Republicans take a compassionate approach to immigration or figure out how to keep the government running by themselves. The American people will side with the Democrats.
The story of a 39 year old husband and father of two whose parents brought him here when he was nine years old circulated around social media. He was deported to Mexico from Detroit on MLK, Jr. Day. Stories like these will abound and give ammunition to a Democratic rallying immigration advocates at election time.
Republicans have repeatedly failed to reform immigration policies. They scuttled a plan put forth by George W. Bush back in 2005 and have sunk compromise proposals ever since. Now, it’s time for Democrats to hold firm and reject anything that does not offer the DREAMers a path to citizenship. They’re not likely to get hurt politically or electorally and they can drive the wedge further between the GOP and minority communities.
The immigration problem also highlights the GOP’s struggles to govern. The only significant bill they’ve passed is tax reform. They’ve failed to repeal Obamacare and now they’re failing to fix immigration. Mitch McConnell taught them to be the party of “No” but can’t bring them together enough to actually drive an agenda. Shutting down the government will just bring more attention to their ineffectiveness as a governing party and their willingness to break up families to satisfy their base.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
The beauty of a democracy is you have to compromise. I think the math is as follows: The Democrats + Independent = 48; The Republicans = 52-McCain or 51. They need 9 more people to pass the Continuing Resolution. There are 10 Democratic Senators in states that went for Trump facing re-election. So far Joe Manchin of WVa says he will vote yes on the CR and Jon Tester of Montana a likely no. Among the Republicans Lindsey Graham SC, Mike Rounds of SD, and Rand Paul of Ky will vote no. Even if all of the 8 remaining red state Dems vote for the CR that would lead to a vote of 48 Republicans + 9 Democratic Senators or 3 votes short. The Republicans control both houses and the Presidency. If they really are concerned about the country, the military etc, then they need to do something new for them: compromise. For the last 3 years they have blocked all compromises, delayed judicial appointments when Obama was president, refusing to hold hearings on large bills. We have a long history of the parties working together. I still say shut down the government unless the CR contains permanent plan for CHIP and a permanent plan for Dreamers.
The CR that passed the House included funding for the military as well as CHIP. Sen. McCaskill voted for it along with four other Democrats, three up for reelection. All toll, 46 Republicans and 5 Democrats voted to keep the federal government open and fund CHIP and the military while 42 Democrats plus their two lapdog independents and 4 Republicans voted to shut the government down.
The public can do the math D.g,. Even the liberal press placed the blame for the shutdown on the Democrats. And that’s why Schumer caved so quickly.
I wrote to Congressman Price the day Trump cancelled DACA to go for a shutdown unless CHIP and DACA were reauthorized.
This has been a tough “political” choice for me. I support DACA, and am ashamed that we have reached this point. However, I have generally opposed shutting down the government. It is a drastic choice. However, given the behavior of Trump and my complete loss of any trust in the GOP members of Congress, I am reluctantly voting for “shut it down if no clean DACA.”
If I believed that the House would pass a clean DACA bill next week, or at any time, I would not choose the shut down option. Ryan has made it clear that they will not.
I also want CHIP refunded. There is no rational reason why it should be within days of ending for many children. The reason that the House has not passed refunding it since Sept is simple; they kept it as cudgel to blackmail the Dems if they refused to pass a CR.
It is heartbreaking to see CHIP and DACA held hostage in this way. It is also to me morally indefensible. Neither children nor DACA Dreamers are the cause of the circumstances in which they find themselves.
It’s the Democrats who are holding funding for CHIP, disaster aid and military spending hostage . There will be no ‘clean’ DACA bill. Any compromise must include provisions to vastly increase border security and reform chain migration and the diversity lottery. Lusting for new immigrant voters, Democrats politicians are acquiescing to the demands of the immigrant community and their lobbyists and dismissing the concerns of American workers. President Trump and conservative Republicans will hold firm against this outrageous attempt at political coercion. The Democrats will shut down the government at their peril.
Ebrun, you apparently missed the recent legislation offered by Senator Graham and Senator Durbin. It did exactly what you outlined: dealt with diversity lottery, reformed chain migration, provided billions for border security and continued the DACA program with the same safeguards it has now. You know that meeting at which our esteemed president referred to an entire continent of countries (all 50) as “shitholes” with the resulting chaos which ended that effort at a solution. Sort of like this morning’s latest Tweet in which he rejects the funding for CHIP in the CR after having supported it a few weeks ago. Don’t feel bad. You are often behind on the news.
That’s a totally misleading and partisan analysis, Norma The so-called compromise did not provide adequate funding for border security, did not really curtail chain migration to any great extent, and merely shifted the diversity lottery quotas to those immigrants allowed to come here TEMPORARLY to avoid violence or the effects of a natural disaster in their home countries. It was not only rejected by the President, but by key Republican Senators whose support is essential for the passage of a DACA compromise.
And the House continuing resolution put forward today by Speaker Ryan would authorize and fund the CHIP program for SIX years. To stay up to date, I recommend you go to the web page of Real Clear Politics which is reporting live from the House of Representatives on the latest attempt by the Republican leadership to pass a CR to keep the government from shutting down tomorrow.
AH, but D.g, let me help you stay up-to-date. The so-called gang-of-six immigration compromise that was presented to the White House called for the 50,00 visas from the Visa Lottery be reallocated to the Temporary Status Program to give some of those here under TSP permanent status.