Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that he doesn’t believe there will be a legislative challenge this Congress in the upper chamber to President Obama’s Friday order to stop some immigration enforcement, noting that the Senate agenda is too full.
“It would have to be challenged in court,” McCain said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “…But also, the fact is that Marco Rubio and others have been working on a DREAM Act. If the president was really serious maybe he would call him and some of us who have been involved in this issue.”
Host David Gregory asked the senator if he could blame Obama for not moving on comprehensive immigration reform since the beginning of his presidency as “the Republican Party moved to the right on this issue and made that impossible.”
“I can if you have 60 votes in the United States Senate and overwhelming majority in the House for the first two years of your presidency. No matter what the position of the Republican Party was,” McCain said. “So, I think that this is obviously a way to divert attention from very bad news the President’s had for the last three or four weeks. I think that’s very clear.”
The senator asserted that stalls on immigration reform came from the left as well as the right.
“Those Democrats controlled by the labor unions who said that they did not want and fought against a guest worker program, which we felt was obviously something vitally important,” McCain said.
Senior White House adviser David Plouffe said the administration is “absolutely confident” that the new policy on deferring action against young, student illegal immigrants will stand up to any challenges.
“It wasn’t about politics. First of all, this was a decision made by the Homeland Security Department to allow them the discretion to focus our enforcement on criminals, people who pose danger to the communities,” Plouffe said. “…The Homeland Security attorneys say it’s well within our boundaries to do.”
Republicans and Democrats: both committed to white race replacement! When will we be rid of this meddlesome McCain?
Earth to McCain: The President is in violation of the Constitution and his oath of office. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution says explicitly: ” … he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” In his oath of office the President swears: “I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The President does not have the right to pick and choose which laws he is going to obey. He must faithfully execute what Congress has legislated. If he does not do so, he violates his oath to preserve the Constitution.
Is it any wonder why McCain didn’t win against Obama?
Congress once again abrogating its duty.
A decision by Homeland Security to not deport is not a granting of a work permit. Or at least it should not be.
The GOP is going to cave on this issue eventually. I thus hope Mitt Romney loses the election, because it is pointless to support a man who will not support the law when the law is clear. I don’t give a dang about the politics of it–if the logic says a group won’t support someone unless that person turns a blind eye to the law, it is the group that should be repudiated, not the law.
While I understand your sentiments, I have wondered just how Romney could respond in a mainstream media world where it’s very rare to see any person who actually argues that violating immigration laws matters. I know most of the public doesn’t believe that but show me who has been able to speak for them and how their presence in the media stacks up to the other side. And advantage liberals get from the media over conservatives is dwarfed by the advantage those who want immigration laws ignored get over those who want them enforced.
“I know most of the public doesn’t believe that”
Exactly. Romney will cater to the loudmouths to save his own hide. I hope he loses.
These constitution vests the power over immigration policy to the Congress.
“Section 8 – Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power …
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization”
In the 9th Circuit appeals hearing on the United States v. State of Arizona November1, 2010 concerning SB 1070, the administration’s lawyer was so reminded.
“Edwin Needler: The Constitution of vests the subject matter immigration with the national government.
Judge John Noonan: No, national government no, in Congress. There’s a big difference between the national government and Congress.”
The Republican Party may not be able to pass legislation to stop Obama but that shouldn’t excuse them from trying to stop the usurpation of their delegated powers by the administration. Voters in this country deserve to have their Congressional representative do their job and express their position on this so that voters might decide if they actually represent them in the voting booth. Inaction isn’t nothing; it’s effectively allowing the status quo to persist.
All the Constitutional powers and arrangements and checks and balances in the world will avail little if those elected to be representatives choose to represent their faction instead of the commonweal. After all, future GOP electoral prospects are why we are told we must compromise on immigration. Little is said about the national interest, and then only the “benefits”, nothing of the very real costs.
The spirit of a significant mass of the people, usually a majority, is quite clear on the issue of immigration, and is becoming quite clear on the issue of following proper forms as far as means used to achieve ends. And yet the GOP still has not really committed to truly putting up a fight for either. Enough of the people are in front of the GOP that one should ask “why have a GOP?” Why not just say it is just a middleman trying to divert votes intended for one purpose to quite another–those which increase the power of its own faction?
The establishment GOP doesn’t seem to believe in representative democracy, but in elective autocracy. Based upon actions, that is.
I had my way I would triple the tax increases Obama wants on high earners, and perhaps even tax wealth, if the Republican Party didn’t act to effectively control illegal immigration. Of illegal immigration and taxes, there’s one thing I know the Republicans care about. The Democratic Party rightly sees illegal immigration demographics as a path to power. Consequently that party is hopeless. If the Republican Party doesn’t represent all those citizens opposed to illegal immigration, they will have no representation. Besides, current Republicans doing nothing creates the path to future Republicans being taxed by the Democrat power they enabled. Who deserves to pay for their dereliction?