Obama Hits a Brick Wall

First Read: “No one ever said American politics was easy, particularly during a time of divided government, but President Obama has seemed to hit a brick wall six months into his second term. The Senate filibustered the crux of his gun-control efforts; the aftermath of the Arab Spring has been difficult to manage; and the prospects for passing immigration reform now look worse than they’ve been all year, especially after House Republicans emerged from their meeting yesterday.”

“Meanwhile, it’s been about four months since the Republican National Committee released its recommendations to move the party forward after its two-straight presidential defeats. Those recommendations included reaching out to Latinos and African Americans, passing immigration reform, and focusing less on divisive social issues. The progress so far? Congressional Republicans are now opposing comprehensive immigration reform, especially one that gives undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship; conservatives on the Supreme Court gutted the 1965 Civil Rights Act; and GOP lawmakers across the country are pursuing restrictions on abortion — after Mitt Romney lost female voters by 11 points in 2012.”

“Both Obama and Republicans thought they’d have a fresh start in 2013, but so far the year has turned out to be more of the same, if not even more dysfunctional. In other words, little to nothing has changed.”