Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The GOP has long practiced the political tactic of "decapitation" — a strategy of taking out the other party's top leadership. Former Democratic House Speaker Tom Foley (D-WA) lost his seat in the Gingrich Revolution in the 1994 election. Former Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle lost his seat in 2004.
The Septegenarian Ninja Turtle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is already in jeopardy of losing his seat in 2014. But no one is more deserving of losing his seat than Weeper of the House John Boehner, the "Worst. Speaker. Ever." of the "Worst. Congress. Ever." While there are rumors that the TanMan does not intend to return to Congress, Democrats should plan to go all-out with a strong candidate to make an example out of this pathetic loser of American politics.
Despite the GOP 2012 post-election "autopsy" declaring the policy goal that the GOP has to enact immigration reform, today the Weeper of the House effectively declared that "immigration reform ain't happenin' on my watch, no way, no how — ever." There's a solution to this problem: elect a Democratic Congress in 2014. John Boehner just put immigration reform on life support:
John Boehner, at a presser just now, just said something that pushed immigration reform closer to death than anything he has said thus far:
House Speaker John Boehner says he will not allow any House-passed immigration legislation to be blended with the Senate’s sweeping reform bill, further quashing the chances of comprehensive immigration reform legislation being signed into law anytime soon.
“We have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill,” Boehner told reporters Wednesday.
At the presser, Boehner also refused to say whether any of the piecemeal proposals reportedly being developed by House Republicans will get a vote this year, which means they almost certainly won’t. He did say that GOP Rep Bob Goodlatte, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, “is working with our members and across the aisle on developing a set of principles for us to deal with this issue.”
But if Boehner really means that Republicans will not “ever” go to conference on the Senate bill, it’s very hard to see a path to comprehensive reform. Frank Sharry, the executive director of America’s Voice, emails me this:
“If Boehner kills off immigration reform, he’s going to go down as the Speaker who helped kill off the GOP. If he doesn’t promise to go to conference, he won’t be able to get Democrats to vote for any immigration measures, and he won’t be able to pass them with just Republican votes. He’s painting himself into a corner with procedural concessions to the far right, where failure is the only possible outcome. If he keeps to this, he’s dooming reform. Let’s hope he wants a legacy that includes growing the economy and saving his party.”
The point here is this. The House GOP leadership will never hold a vote on any comprehensive reform package that includes legalization or citizenship. So the only way forward is if House Republicans pass piecemeal provisions — border security measures, plus some sort of legalization proposal for the 11 million, or barring that, the Kids Act (which gives citizenship only to the DREAMers). That would be a route to comprehensive reform if it provided a way to get to conference.
Boehner doesn’t want anything the House passes to be seen as a vehicle for going to conference, because conservatives will revolt. But here is the rub: House Republicans, on their own, probably can’t pass anything that addresses the 11 million — and may not even be able to pass the KIDS Act — if it is seen as a vehicle for going to conference, since conservatives would resist at all costs. So Democrats would be needed to pass any such proposals. But Democrats will only vote for such proposals with an assurance that we would then go to conference. And so, by ruling out conference, Boehner may have just closed off the last remaining route to getting reform done.
Latino voters need to register to vote, mobilize and turn out to vote for Democratic candidates in 2014 — John Boehner has got to go!