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Bachmann Says ‘Illiterate’ Immigrants Will Vote

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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) told the Washington Post that the immigrants given new protections by President Obama could become “illiterate” Democratic voters.

Said Bachmann: “The social cost will be profound on the U.S. taxpayer — millions of unskilled, illiterate, foreign nationals coming into the United States who can’t speak the English language. Even though the president says they won’t be able to vote, we all know that many, in all likelihood, will vote… It’s a wink and a nod, we all know it’s going to happen.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]The House Republican leadership won’t be sad to see Bachmann fade away into retirement next year. [/speech_bubble]

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

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“He is defiant and angry at the American people. If he acts by executive diktat, President Obama will not be acting as a president, he will be acting as a monarch.”

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), writing in Politico, on President Obama’s plan to use his executive authority to address immigration.


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Obama Immigration Actions to be Unveiled Friday

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President Obama “will announce his planned changes to the U.S. immigration system on Friday in Las Vegas… moves that are expected to give temporary legal status to millions of people in the U.S. illegally,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The decision to announce changes this week follows Mr. Obama’s promise to take executive actions by year-end aimed at improving the immigration system, after Congress failed to pass legislation.”

The New York Times notes undocumented immigrants “will not receive one key benefit: government subsidies for health care available under the Affordable Care Act… The decision would reflect the political sensitivities that arise when there is a collision between two of the most divisive issues in Washington: health care and immigration.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill wanted more of a delay while they finish year end legislative business. [/speech_bubble]

Democrats Differ on Timing of Immigration Action

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“Senate Democrats appear united in their view that President Barack Obama should take executive action on immigration, but they are sending mixed messages on the timing,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Administration officials have said an announcement will come by the end of the year, possibly as early as this week.”

“Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that he’d like the president to wait until after Congress completes work on spending legislation needed to keep the government operating after Dec. 11. The concern is that GOP opposition to the immigration move will make it harder to pass a spending bill.”

GOP Leaders Work to Avoid Government Shutdown

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“Republican leaders have intensified their planning to prevent a government funding showdown, weighing legislative options that would redirect GOP anger at Barack Obama’s expected action on immigration and stave off a political disaster,” Politico reports.

“Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and their top aides and deputies are mulling several options that would give Capitol Hill Republicans the opportunity to vent their frustration with what they view as an unconstitutional power grab by the White House — without jeopardizing the government financing bill.”

Jonathan Chait: “That a shutdown gives Republicans any actual leverage, as opposed to imagined leverage, is another right-wing fantasy. It is now fairly well-established that the sole impact of a government shutdown is to make the public hate the party that controls Congress. The gun the conservatives are holding is pointed at their own head.”

Huelskamp Refuses to Give Plan for Immigrants

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Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), “one of the most strident anti-illegal immigration Republicans in the U.S. House,” refused to directly answer a question on Bloomberg TV about what he would do about the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

“Huelskamp responded by saying he didn’t know exactly how many immigrants were in the country illegally, and then tried to pivot to the importance of border security.”

When pressed again for a plan to handle undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Huelskamp said “nobody in Washington I know of is talking about deportation.” He then questioned the number again: “I want to know how many folks are here. I want to secure the border.”

Reagan and Bush Also Acted to Shield Immigrants

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President Obama’s “anticipated order that would shield millions of immigrants now living illegally in the U.S. from deportation is not without precedent,” the AP reports.

“Two of the last three Republican presidents — Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush — did the same thing in extending amnesty to family members who were not covered by the last major overhaul of immigration law in 1986.”

“There was no political explosion then comparable to the one Republicans are threatening now.”

GOP Lawmaker Says Obama Action Would Be Impeachable

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Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) said that President Obama’s executive actions on immigration would be an impeachable offense, BuzzFeed reports.

Said Salomon: “Well Charles Krauthammer was asked that same question and I think, just recently on one of the news programs and I have to agree with him of course it would be. But committing an impeachable offense and getting, ya know, the two-thirds in the Senate to convict are two different stories,” he said. “So, I mean, we have to play the hand that we are dealt right now.”

Capitol Hill Braces for Immigration Reform

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“Congress returned to Washington this week to find a Capitol transformed by the GOP’s midterm wave and a bicameral scramble to approve an oil pipeline that few would have predicted just days earlier,” The Hill reports.

“But for all the debate over Keystone politics and the election tsunami, it was the lingering promise of executive action to reduce deportations that’s sparked the greatest intrigue – and most threatened to shake-up Congress in the lame duck and beyond.”

Threats of Government Shutdown Grow

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“Conservative House Republicans say they’re willing to shut down the government to prevent President Obama from carrying out what they see as unconstitutional actions on immigration,” The Hill reports.

“Tea Party lawmakers emboldened by the GOP’s big midterm gains say they will insist on attaching a policy rider to legislation keeping the government open that would block funding for agencies carrying out Obama’s promised executive actions limiting deportations.”

New York Times: “The taunt by Mr. Obama seems to have worked… A rerun of the 2013 shutdown battles over the Affordable Care Act has the potential to drown out the new Republican message before the party even takes control of Congress.”

GOP Divided Over Confronting Obama on Immigration

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Congressional Republicans “have split into competing factions over how to respond to President Obama’s expected moves to overhaul the nation’s immigration system,” the Washington Post reports.

“The first, favored by the GOP leadership, would have Republicans denounce what House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has called ‘executive amnesty’ and use the party’s new grip on Congress to contest changes to the law incrementally in the months ahead.”

“The second, which has become the rallying cry for conservatives, would seek to block the president’s decision by shutting down the government for an extended period until he relents.”

Obama Readies Immigration Action

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President Obama “is planning to unveil a 10-part plan for overhauling U.S. immigration policy via executive action — including suspending deportations for millions — as early as next Friday,” Fox News reports.

First Read: “Politically, the question is whether such action would be a smart move — or a dumb one… The pros: It’s the best chance for Obama to reform the system in the short term (especially since House Republicans are unwilling to pass their own legislation), and it will fire up Latino voters, who will be a critical bloc to Democrats’ success in 2016. The cons: It would spark a policy fight with Republicans (the outcome of which is impossible to predict), and it could alienate the white voters Democrats lost in 2014.”

“But maybe the biggest political reason to undertake executive action is that it would ensure the action becomes a key part of the 2016 race. Every Republican running for president would have to denounce the move. And then the GOP contest then would turn into who’s tougher against the action: Do they promise to deport the undocumented immigrants (if Obama’s ultimate executive action entails allowing them to stay in the country)? Like we saw in 2008 and 2012, that would push the eventual GOP nominee farther to the right than he or she might want to go — and make it harder for the nominee to return to the middle in the general election. Politically speaking, Obama taking the action could be the biggest favor he does for Hillary Clinton (if she ends up running).”

Conservatives Push Showdown Over Immigration

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“A bloc of Republican lawmakers is seeking to use must-pass spending legislation in the final weeks of the year to place limits on President Obama ’s ability to loosen immigration rules, threatening to split the party in Congress,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The result is that barely a week after their broad election victories, party leaders will have to decide whether to override conservatives’ demands in favor of a more pragmatic approach. Party leaders also will have to decide when and how hard to fight the president over immigration, an issue that is important to the growing bloc of Hispanic voters who are expected to carry more sway in the 2016 elections than they did this fall.”

GOP Lawmaker Raises Possibility of Impeaching Obama

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Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) said that impeaching President Obama “would be a consideration” if he moves forward unilaterally on immigration, TPM reports.

Said Barton: “Well impeachment is indicting in the House and that’s a possibility. But you still have to convict in the Senate and that takes a two-thirds vote. But impeachment would be a consideration, yes sir.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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