I am by temperament and by choice a principled optimist. By that I don’t mean that I am highly principled (though I’d like to think that) but more that the world is driven mostly forward by a relatively small number of powerful core principles. I think of men like Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp, and I want to emulate them.
Democrats are defined by the photo negative of this, and this is nowhere more evident than in the President’s EO on immigration. It is a patchwork of negativity. It will cause chaos right out of the chute, hurting most everyone but especially those that it intends to help.
Where I may differ from others who traffic on FR is that I think this chaos is unlikely to bring down the country. I am not complacent about our freedoms, but I do think that we have a resiliency and a core, shared sense of values that sets us apart as Americans. President Obama’s EO is so breathtakingly stupid that it seems far more likely to me that chaos will bring down the EO itself, and with it the Democratic Party.
Republicans must fight this EO, of course, but we must also develop plans to pick up the pieces when it goes awry, as it will sooner rather than later.
I agree with you on that point. However, how many of these items that cause chaos can we survive? Immigration EO, Obamacare, horrible foreign policy, etc. If enough of these things run concurrently, it will bring us down.
For example, here is a question that Republicans should be asking:
“MR. PRESIDENT, WITH THIS EO, ARE YOU OFFERING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME OUT OF THE SHADOWS AND MAKE THEMSELVES LEGIT, OR ARE YOU SETTING THIS AS AN EXPECTATION?”
Republicans should make clear that it needs to be the latter. It should not be OK for those who have come to this country illegally to compound their malfeasance by eschewing the opportunity to make a correction. It should not be OK for these individuals to come out of the shadows selectively. If only those who have the most to gain (benefits from the public trough >> taxes paid) come out of the shadows, while those who prefer can stay in the shadows (b/c taxes >> benefits), then on top of everything else we have a fiscal disaster.
I could go on, but the point is that we should be saying that the EO must involve a call for all those who are in this country illegally to come forward and declare themselves.
Then let’s just see what happens!!!!!
What you said x 100.
Nothing ever goes awry with them. They just double down on stupid and throw more money at it. Although I really do appreciate your optimism. ;)
Jack Kemp, the most liberal progressive Republican of the era.
Yeah, you're likely on the wrong website.