Republicans don’t have the votes to pass its Homeland Security Bill, which calls for full funding of the agency with the exception of funding for the president’s amnesty immigration bill, putting the party in a dilemma as funding for the agency runs out on Feb. 27.
A friend wrote to me last week concerned about the Homeland Security Bill and the dubious position ahead for Republicans, including a copy of a thoughtful letter he wrote to Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake in which he asks that they consider the advice offered in Karl Rove’s Feb. 18 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
Essentially, Rove allows that the preliminary injunction by federal district Judge Andrew Hansen stopping the implementation of the president’s immigration executive order, gives the GOP an opportunity to extract itself. It would give Republicans a chance to make their point on an issue where they agree the president overstepped his authority, while avoiding getting blamed for a shutdown.
Meanwhile, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer writes, “Republicans find themselves on the sidelines bleating plaintively about violations of the separation of powers. But there is a way out for the GOP. Go bold. Go nuclear. Abolish the filibuster. Pass the bill and send it to the president.” Continue reading