After 6 years of watching all the political posturing Obama has done, one would think that common sense would float to the top, like cream does. Obama is like a political chess game. On the threat of signing an executive order on immigration for instance. Only specifically designed to enrage Republicans, to show how mean and nasty Republicans can be when it comes to immigration.
To be clear the Executive Order is just a piece of paper that states that long term illegals cannot be deported. It doesn't give them citizenship or VOTING rights, it's just a temporary stay of being deported. It's Obama's Hail Mary pass to bump up his personal approval ratings-BUT it may backfire with dire disapproval among Democrats. Why you ask? Because millions of moderate Democrats are also looking for jobs, and the last thing they want is a President who insists they compete for jobs with those that entered this country illegally. Also Democrats running for re-election told Obama NOT to sign this executive order before the mid-term recent election cycle. Unemployment is still high, and underemployment is even higher. Now while this executive order may have gotten little attention in an economy that was cooking and employers that were begging for workers that is certainly not the case now.
So what's a smart Republican to do? Ignore it. If Obama signs this executive order, move the Queen into checkmate position by delivering to his desk the Keystone Pipeline bill within 5 minutes of him signing this executive order. If Obama decides he didn't get enough angry remarks, and threats coming out of Republican Party mouths, and decides it's not worth ticking off millions in the democrat party who are looking for jobs and decides not to do an executive order he walks away with egg all over his face, for promising something he didn't deliver on.
Either way Republicans can win this one, and let Obama pave the way to Republican victories in 2016 by using their brains instead of their emotion. In the interim, between now and 2016, Republicans can work on legislation, something that sticks for a comprehensive immigration reform policy, along with every other issue. If they get roped a doped into this they will show that they can't play ball on their own terms.
To be clear the Executive Order is just a piece of paper that states that long term illegals cannot be deported. It doesn't give them citizenship or VOTING rights, it's just a temporary stay of being deported. It's Obama's Hail Mary pass to bump up his personal approval ratings-BUT it may backfire with dire disapproval among Democrats. Why you ask? Because millions of moderate Democrats are also looking for jobs, and the last thing they want is a President who insists they compete for jobs with those that entered this country illegally. Also Democrats running for re-election told Obama NOT to sign this executive order before the mid-term recent election cycle. Unemployment is still high, and underemployment is even higher. Now while this executive order may have gotten little attention in an economy that was cooking and employers that were begging for workers that is certainly not the case now.
So what's a smart Republican to do? Ignore it. If Obama signs this executive order, move the Queen into checkmate position by delivering to his desk the Keystone Pipeline bill within 5 minutes of him signing this executive order. If Obama decides he didn't get enough angry remarks, and threats coming out of Republican Party mouths, and decides it's not worth ticking off millions in the democrat party who are looking for jobs and decides not to do an executive order he walks away with egg all over his face, for promising something he didn't deliver on.
Either way Republicans can win this one, and let Obama pave the way to Republican victories in 2016 by using their brains instead of their emotion. In the interim, between now and 2016, Republicans can work on legislation, something that sticks for a comprehensive immigration reform policy, along with every other issue. If they get roped a doped into this they will show that they can't play ball on their own terms.
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