(This caricature of President Obama is by DonkeyHotey.)Now that the government shutdown is over, at least for a while, President Obama believes the time is ripe to once again bring up immigration reform. The thinking he and many of his supporters have is that since the Republicans damaged their image so much by shutting down the government, they will now want to rehabilitate that image by helping to pass immigration reform -- a reform not only desired by a huge majority of Hispanics, but also by a significant majority of the general public. Last Thursday, the president reached out to the congressional GOP saying:
". . .this is the moment we should be able to finally get the job done."
"Let’s not wait. It doesn't get easier to just put it off. Let’s do it now. Let’s not delay. Let’s get this done and let’s do it in a bipartisan fashion."
But as in the past far too many times, the president has misjudged the Republicans. He underestimates their vindictiveness and their hatred for having an African-American in the White House. He underestimates their willingness to do anything, even if it hurts this country, to keep him from getting even partial credit for another accomplishment.
They weren't able to stop the Affordable Care Act, the president's signature accomplishment. But they aren't about to let him have immigration reform -- which could be viewed as a second signature accomplishment of his administration. Their unwavering hatred for him will just not allow that to happen -- even at the cost of further damaging their own public image.
They have already killed immigration reform once, and I doubt they will even let it come up again (except maybe to further increase border security -- which is not needed, but will appeal to their teabagger base). While I admire the president's resolve to get real immigration reform done, I believe it is just an exercise in futility. The Republicans have refused to compromise on anything since President Obama was elected, and I seriously doubt they will start now.
