Next Up: The Alien Ante – Hispanic Caucus Demanding Access for Illegals or Else
John on March 10, 2010 at 11:18 pm
It’s times like this when I wish we had a flaming skull around here. The Hispanic Caucus is threatening to walk on ObamaCare:
A group of Hispanic lawmakers on Thursday will tell President Barack Obama that they may not vote for healthcare reform unless changes are made to the bill’s immigration provisions.
[...]
Since last fall, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members have kept quiet, at least publicly, about their objections to the immigration provisions in the Senate bill.
The Senate language would prohibit illegal immigrants’ buying healthcare coverage from the proposed health exchanges. The House-passed bill isn’t as restrictive, but it does — like the Senate bill — bar illegal immigrants from receiving federal subsidies to buy health insurance.
Hispanic Democrats say they haven’t moved from their stance that they will not vote for a healthcare bill containing the Senate’s prohibitions.
Turns out this was a promise deferred:
At a similar meeting at the White House in early November, which occurred just days before the House voted on its healthcare bill, the CHC failed to convince Obama to reject the Senate immigration language.
The result was a bloc of solid Democratic votes that remained up in the air until a deal was reached at the last minute to address the gap between the House and the Senate immigration restrictions during “conference negotiations.”
But the healthcare bill didn’t go to conference. And CHC members could now face a difficult choice in the weeks ahead.
So I guess this explains why, after 14 months of nothing, the President has been eager to talk about immigration reform all of a sudden.
We had the Corn-husker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase. Now keep your eyes peeled for the illegal Alien Ante.
Category: Health & Education |
[...] at Verum Serum points out So I guess this explains why, after 14 months of nothing, the President has been eager [...]
March 11, 2010 @ 4:40 am[...] John from Verum Serum sees it the other way around: Obama took them for granted and now dangles immigration reform to [...]
March 11, 2010 @ 5:49 amThis is a political ploy by the Hispanic Caucus to get Obama to commit to immigration ‘reform’, as his next priority.
The Caucus’ demand that he include immigration reform in the Health Care bill(s) is ‘political theater’.
To revise either the House or the Senate version of Health Care reform to include immigration ‘reform’ means having to take another vote, it means starting over, which Obama simply cannot do, as he’s run out of time. But he’s also running out of time with his supporters patience at waiting to see their agenda implemented.
Obama has to get job creation going with an increasingly restive public becoming impatient with his continued ignoring of the economy. He’s already lost the majority of independents and he’s dangerously close to a consensus forming in the liberal public’s mind that he’s simply incompetent.
If the Caucus doesn’t vote for ObamaCare and it consequently fails, which would be the case if the Caucus voted against it, they would be gutting Obama’s Presidency while simultaneously removing all incentive for Obama to work toward their interests.
The problem Obama faces is that job creation absolutely needs to be his next and sole priority if Democrats are to retain power. As without a majority, none of his agenda has a prayer of being implemented.
The Caucus will have to wait but Obama’s problem is that the varied special interests, from unions to the environmentalists all are now demanding to be at the head of the line.
While every part of Obama’s agenda makes job creation inherently less likely because that agenda is essentially hostile to business.
He’s firmly caught between the rock and a hard place.
March 11, 2010 @ 3:35 pm