Speaking in the Rose Garden on Monday, President Obama threatened to go around Congress on immigration reform. He brought Vice President Biden along for moral support. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin photo)
President Obama went back before the microphones in the Rose Garden today to berate Republicans over their lack of support for a comprehensive immigration bill, and threatened again to use his executive power to move the ball.
He singled out House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and the Tea Party for holding up immigration reform. Boehner had reiterated that “the American people and their elected officials don’t trust him (Obama) to enforce the law as written.”
Ironically, the president’s threat came on the day after the Supreme Court unanimously decided he had exceeded his authority when he made appointments while the Senate was in session. And it came just three days after a Gallup poll revealed that fewer than one in four Americans favor increased immigration levels.
The survey showed that more Americans think immigration should be decreased than increased, by a nearly two-to-one margin, 41 percent vs 22 percent. A third in the U.S. is satisfied with the level as it is.
Our imperial, out-of-touch president never seems to remember the promises he makes. Here are a few immigration promises for the record:
“(We need) to put an end to the petty partisanship that passes for politics in Washington and enact comprehensive immigration reform once and for all. That’s the commitment I’m making to you. And, I will make it a top priority in my first year as President …” – Candidate Barack Obama, July 8, 2008, LULAC
Two months later, speaking to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, he said. “I think it’s time for a president who won’t walk away from comprehensive immigration reform when it becomes politically unpopular.”
Shortly after his inauguration in January 2009, White House staffer Cecilia Munoz told the New York Times that the president “intends to start the debate this year,” while other staffers indicated “it would not take precedence over health care and energy priorities.”
Fourteen months into his presidency, the president said “immigration reform will have to wait … immigration will be addressed, but not just yet. Am I going to be able to snap my finger and get this done? No.”
Pledging to push immigration while wooing the Hispanic vote in 2012, he said, “This (immigration reform) is something I care deeply about.” Though that was hardly a commitment, Hispanics again helped him win reelection.
He can no longer blame Bush, so he attacks Boehner and the Tea Party for his inability to bring the country together on this issue.
Every day that goes by our inexperienced president must see the handwriting on the wall for the remaining years of his administration. Other countries see him as weak and the majority of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction.
Quote of the day
Taking questions from the White House press corps regarding the Supreme Court decision favoring Hobby Lobby, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, “We disagree and the constitutional lawyer in the Oval Office disagrees with the conclusion from the Supreme Court …”
