© 2010 Capitol News Company, LLC
Posted on 03/12/2010 5:35:47 PM PST by neverdem
A pair of White House meetings Thursday designed to chart a path forward for immigration reform instead spotlighted the daunting obstacles ahead — and showed why many Capitol Hill insiders believe it’s quite unlikely an immigration bill will happen this year.
“This is not ... going to pass without strong bipartisan support. So the president is anxious today to get an update from [lawmakers] on the progress that they’ve made on seeking and gaining that bipartisan support,” Gibbs said. “My guess is, we’re more than one Republican away from immigration reform.”
After meeting with President Barack Obama, the leading Republican backing a comprehensive approach warned that a Democratic health care push could scuttle any chance of action on immigration in this Congress.
“I expressed, in no uncertain terms, my belief that immigration reform could come to a halt for the year if health care reconciliation goes forward,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement issued just after he and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with Obama.
“For more than a year, health care has sucked most of the energy out of the room. Using reconciliation to push health care through will make it much harder for Congress to come together on a topic as important as immigration.”
Obama is facing a political squeeze play on the issue. As Graham was warning that health care reform could derail immigration reform, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were arriving at the White House to discuss their threat to drop support for health care reform legislation if illegal immigrants are not permitted to buy insurance through new federal exchanges.
And in fact, the White House’s public nods toward immigration reform in recent days could be intended, in part, to keep Latino members from breaking out in full-scale revolt over the health care bill’s treatment of undocumented workers.
Graham’s comments also fit into a larger GOP effort now on display to try to make life uncomfortable for Democrats as they push ahead with health reform through reconciliation — in this case, by trying to pit health reform advocates against those who say immigration reform should be a top priority.
In his statement, Obama did not mention any time frame for passing a bill but offered general encouragement to senators and community leaders to keep pressing for reform.
“I told both the senators and the community leaders that my commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering and that I will continue to be their partner in this important effort,” Obama said.
While many on Capitol Hill have privately declared immigration reform dead for the year, advocates for an immigration overhaul used a White House meeting to plead with Obama to jump-start the process.
However, after an hourlong session with the president, they acknowledged he can do little to address one of the biggest obstacles to legislation: the lack of Republican support aside from Graham.
“He’s a lonely man right now, it seems. That’s the problem,” said Roman Catholic Bishop John Wester of Utah. “I don’t think we can assume that the president — that he can work miracles, that he can just pick up the phone and [solve it]. He can do a lot, but there are limits to what he can do.”
At a briefing earlier in the day, press secretary Robert Gibbs did not sound upbeat about the legislation’s prospects and suggested there was little for Obama to do on the issue until there were signs of more GOP backing.
And in his statement, Schumer said one of the two priorities for him and Graham was enlisting Obama’s support in rounding up more Senate support.
“We asked the president for his help in two specific areas: to help us gain increased support in the Senate and to help us work out the final aspects of a potential agreement between business and labor on the future flow of lower-skilled labor,” Schumer said.
Advocates came to the White House with obvious impatience but modest demands. Most had expected the Schumer-Graham measure to be formally introduced in January. Now, pro-immigrant groups are simply asking for a “framework” or “blueprint” of the bill to be made public in time for a march on Washington later this month. Then, they want Obama to publicly endorse the proposal.
“It is undeniable that presidential leadership, greater presidential leadership, is needed,” said Clarissa Martinez of the National Council of La Raza. “The president is committed to do that. ... They’re committed to immigration reform. It’s like, ‘OK, but what does that mean and by when?’”
Advocates laid out no deadlines for a bill to pass or even be introduced; but when asked, they said they were hopeful that it could happen this year. However, there was increasing talk about holding members of both parties “accountable” and about using this fall’s election to do that.
“One of the things that we are going to be telling the immigrant community is that they have a vital stake in the outcome of this debate, and they need to make their voices heard in November,” said Eliseo Medina of the Service Employees International Union.
As for the chance of getting a bill through, he said, “I think it’s going to be hard. I don’t think it’s impossible. ... I think we’ve got a shot.”
There was also a palpable frustration that Republicans who backed the unsuccessful reform effort in 2007, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), were now shying away.
“Many of them are already on record on this issue,” Martinez noted. “Some of them have done it before, and they need to do it again.”
Gibbs echoed that sentiment. “We can all name many Republicans that have been for immigration reform at different parts in their career,” he said, in an apparent reference to McCain. “The question is, where are they?”
McCain, who is facing a primary challenge from an immigration reform opponent, told POLITICO earlier this week that he was unaware of any action Obama had taken on the issue and that a reform bill would be “very, very difficult in this environment.”
Republicans also indicated they would paint any White House movement on immigration as a betrayal of unemployed U.S. citizens.
“If President Obama is serious about addressing the immigration issue, he needs to focus on the millions of Americans who are out of work or worried about losing their jobs,” said Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). This is the time for the Obama administration to accelerate enforcement of immigration laws to make room for unemployed Americans — not grant amnesty.”
© 2010 Capitol News Company, LLC |
Probably not as in “peril” as Lindsey’s political career.
Lindsey should shut up...and sue Etrade.
When is Linseed Grahamnesty up for re-election? Who do I send a check to as his conservative challenger?
Lindsay is bearing her teeth to nibble on 0bama’s ear.
Vote the traitor Linseed out this November if not sooner. He’s McCain Redux.
How much more of this do they think Americans will put up with before all hell breaks loose?
Just shut up, STFU, Tinky Winky Grahamnesty!
The little weasel has 4 years before standing for reelection.
The mouse has roared.
OK, let me throw this out there:
Cap and Trade: Graham was the only Republican for it, and it seems dead.
Amnesty: Graham goes out of the box touting it, now proclaims it, too, to be dead.
If I were conspiracy-minded, I’d wonder if he isn’t doing this on purpose. Maybe not because he’s a secret ultra-conservative pretending to be a moderate but because he doesn’t like the Dem stuff and wants to write his own versions.
Still, it’s strange to see Graham as the angel of death on all of these pieces of legislation.
I hope Graham is in trouble.
I can’t believe the people of SC voted to re-elect this poofter in 2008, right after he tried to push amnesty.
Too bad. Maybe he’ll get caught in a “wide stance”.
What happened in 2008 that Graham was not primaried after his cheerleading for amnesty?
I hope so.
**Pink Poodle Peril Alert**
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.