https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2015/02/the-cave-has-begun2/24/15
The Cave Has BegunThe cave has begun. Last night, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) started the process of bringing up a standalone bill that would only overturn Obama’s executive amnesty issued last fall. It would leave in place the previous executive amnesty from 2012, DACA.
What Senate Leadership won’t tell you is that the standalone bill is designed to fail. Democrats will block the bill and then Senate Republicans will move either a long-term bill to fully fund Obama’s executive amnesty and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or only a short-term bill to fund Obama’s executive amnesty and DHS. Both are unacceptable options to conservatives.
The McConnell plan is designed to allow Senate Republicans to go back to their constituents saying they voted against executive amnesty, without really having to take a stand against it.
Senator John Thune (R-SD) foreshadowed this charade of a ‘drive by vote’ back in January, when he said, "Obviously we want to give our members an opportunity to vote to express their opposition to the president’s action.”
Don’t be fooled.
The liberal media and liberal Republicans would like for you to believe that they only have two options: get blamed for a partial “shutdown” of DHS or punt the attempt to stop Obama’s executive amnesty to a later date with a short-term bill. However, at this point if liberal Republicans keep funding it one has to ask “at what point does it become a bipartisan amnesty?”
Don’t punt. Republican Leadership should at least have the fortitude to admit they were dishonest with the American people in December. Don’t lie to the American people again and say in a few months time that Republicans will stop the president.
Let’s recap. Leadership claimed in December that by passing the 1,000+ page $1.1 trillion Cromnibus spending bill it would give them the upper hand to stop the president’s executive amnesty. To do this, the Cromnibus would temporarily fund DHS and Obama’s amnesty until February 27. Then the new Congress with a united Republican House and Senate would stop the president’s executive amnesty.
How has that plan worked out?
Congress is a co-equal branch of government. Congress has the power to stop the president’s executive amnesty; it is just a matter of willpower.
Now some Republicans are doing their best to run from their constitutional responsibility and authority to stop the president by outsourcing the conflict to the courts. Let the courts decide. The standard response has become to file a suit against the president and hope the court takes Congress’ side. How well did that work out for Obamacare? Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and the court liberals re-wrote Obamacare in an attempt to make it Constitutional.Senators Ayotte (R-NH), McCain (R-AZ), and Graham (R-SC) are the latest examples of the “kick it to the court crowd.” They propose Congress fund DHS, and thereby executive amnesty, and then file an amicus brief to the current lawsuit working its way through the appellate courts.
The contents of the potential brief will of course argue that the president’s executive order is unconstitutional; however, it will conveniently leave out that Republicans decided to fund said unconstitutional order. Not a winning argument or option.
Republican Leadership has yet to engage in a full court press on Senate Democrats. Just last week rather than ratchet up pressure on Senate Democrats, the Senate recessed for a week-long vacation. McConnell can force Democrats to hold the floor with a de facto talking filibuster and he and his leadership team can passionately take their case to the American people. Asking, “What is more important funding the Department of Homeland Security or social security numbers for illegal immigrants that one court has already ruled is unconstitutional?”
Moving forward, what does this mean? That Reid and Senate Democrats will have a veto over any good conservative policy that is added to must-pass bills. They simply have to filibuster and obstruct until they have their way. This is why Speaker Boehner and House Republicans must make it clear that they will not blink when they have the law on their side.
