McConnell says if Obama follows thru on immigration executive action would be like "waving a red flag in front of a bull" to conservatives.
— @DavidNakamura
Republicans handled their losses in 2008 and 2012 by going all-out confrontational, showing their base that they'd be fighting hard for the things they believed in despite the electoral shellacking they suffered.
Democrats handled their victories by begging Republicans to work with them, and they handled their losses by begging Republicans to work with them. And how'd that turn out?
There are likely a thousand reasons for the Dems' poor mid-term turnout, but chief among them has to be the sense that Democrats simply won't go to the mat for the things they believe in. Heck, they're afraid to say they believe in things even when they're popular, like immigration or the public option or whatever.
Well, here's a chance. Here's McConnell, flexing his muscles, threatening Obama over an issue in which Republicans are in the minority. Obama can do the thing he always does, which is beg for compromise that will never come. Or, he can decide he'll go out with a bang, helping paint Republicans as the fringe degenerates that they are as we head into 2016.
It's clear the former has done Obama little good. Sure, he got reelected, but without him at the top of the ticket Democrats have lost over 50 House seats, and now the Senate is back in GOP hands. They treat him like shit, don't even consider him American. As Obama's approval ratings prove, no one gives him any credit for being "the adult in the room."
So now, finally, with nothing left to lose, and with a legacy needing to be set, what will Obama do? Try to work with the GOP Congress and get absolutely nothing for the next two years? Or set the foundation for a Democratic counterattack by painting the GOP as what they are—enemies of progress and the average American?
This is encouraging:
"Before the end of the year, we're going to take whatever lawful actions that I can take," Obama told reporters at the White House [...]
"I think it's fair to say that I've shown a lot of patience and tried to work on a bipartisan basis as much as possible and will keep doing so," Obama said. "I've consistently said that it is my profound preference and interest to see Congress act on a comprehensive immigration reform bill."
"What we can't do is just keep on waiting," he added. "There's a cost for waiting."
Strip away the diplomatic language, and he's saying "pass the comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate previously passed, or I'm going ahead with executive orders."
This is encouraging, but no one celebrate just yet. Obama has done the "Lucy and the Football" thing many times before. But this is the approach Obama needs to take. It's time for a real fight. Let the Republicans lose their heads over this. Let's encourage their hysteria. Give people a stark contrast, between the side that wants to govern and improve people's lives, and whatever the hell it is shrill Republicans are doing on the other side.