Will Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), especially given his new role as Chairman of the DSCC, stand up and block President Obama’s executive amnesty for illegal immigrants?
Democrats will certainly see this as a first critical test of the strength of the new DSCC chair, while Montanans will wonder if Tester is determined to be the moderate he pledged to be following the 2014 election.
Washington Post: Democrats might fracture over deportations, advocates worry
Among the Democrats believed to be at risk are Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, Jon Tester, Claire McCaskill, and Joe Donnelly. Angus King (who is an independent but caucuses with Dems) is also a question mark.
The problem, advocates worry, is that if these Democrats come out against any Obama executive action, it could complicate the political battle to come. Republicans are expected to try to pass legislation rolling back whatever Obama does. Democrats will try to block it. But if Republicans can get 60 votes — which they could do if enough Dems defect — the president would then have to veto it. That could make the politics of this battle worse for Obama: Not only is he acting unilaterally; he’s also facing bipartisan opposition within Congress that is requiring him to protect those unilateral actions with a veto.
All eyes will be on @jontester after Obama’s immigration order. http://t.co/dRcy5iADY9 #MTpol #MTsen #MTnews
— Bob Brigham (@BobBrigham) November 18, 2014
The New York Times….I mean- THE NEW YORK TIMES: For Obama, Executive Order on Immigration Would Be a Turnabout
President Obama is poised to ignore stark warnings that executive action on immigration would amount to “violating our laws” and would be “very difficult to defend legally.”
Those warnings came not from Republican lawmakers but from Mr. Obama himself.
For years, he has waved aside the demands of Latino activists and Democratic allies who begged him to act on his own, and he insisted publicly that a decision to shield millions of immigrants from deportation without an act of Congress would amount to nothing less than the dictates of a king, not a president.
The Daily Caller: SHOCK FLASHBACK: Obama Says Illegal Immigration HURTS ‘Blue-Collar Americans,’ STRAINS Welfare [VIDEO]
Fox News First: POLL SHOWS SERIOUS RESISTANCE TO EXECUTIVE AMNESTY
USA Today: “President Obama’s plan to sign an executive order on immigration, expected as early as this week, will meet more resistance than support, a new USA TODAY Poll finds. Close to half of those surveyed, 46%, say he should wait for the new Republican-controlled Congress to act, and another one in 10 are unconvinced either way. Just 42% of Americans say he should take action now, findings that reflect a familiar partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans. The president is considering an order that would prevent as many as 5 million people from being deported. But on an interesting combination of other issues, the poll finds sweeping consensus in an electorate that isn’t firmly tied to the views of either party. Those surveyed side by more than 2-1 with Obama on a just-announced climate agreement with China, for instance, and with Republicans on approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.”
Worth a read…from Watchdog.org: 5 reasons to oppose Obama on amnesty
CSMonitor.com: How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico
Fifty-three years ago, when newly elected Dwight Eisenhower moved into the White House, America’s southern frontier was as porous as a spaghetti sieve. As many as 3 million illegal migrants had walked and waded northward over a period of several years for jobs in California, Arizona, Texas, and points beyond.
President Eisenhower cut off this illegal traffic. He did it quickly and decisively with only 1,075 United States Border Patrol agents – less than one-tenth of today’s force. The operation is still highly praised among veterans of the Border Patrol.
Politico’s Playbook: DRIVING THE DAY
“GOP seeks creative ways to avert a shutdown,” by Jake Sherman and Manu Raju: “Republican leaders have intensified their planning to prevent a government funding showdown, weighing legislative options that would redirect GOP anger at Barack Obama’s expected action on immigration and stave off a political disaster … Boehner, … McConnell and their top aides and deputies are mulling several options that would give Capitol Hill Republicans the opportunity to vent their frustration with what they view as an unconstitutional power grab by the White House – without jeopardizing the government financing bill.” http://politi.co/11nWi7N