In several previous blogs, I have pointed out that, by putting off any unilateral amnesty (or whatever he is going to call it) for illegal aliens until after the election, President Obama is going to anger Latino voters who favor such amnesty, and risks the possibility that they, along with pro-amnesty activists, will react by punishing his party at the polls in November.
With this in mind, please read the beginning of Ed O\’Keefe\’s article for the Washington Post. See if it doesn\’t resonate just a bit:
Lessthan a month after President Obama announced he would delay using hisexecutive authority to reform immigration laws, there is evidencethat the decision is doing exactly what he hoped to avoid: hurtingDemocrats.
Activistsin key states say it is increasingly difficult to register would-beLatino voters who would vote for Democrats because of unhappinessover the decision. Poll numbers for Obama and Democrats have alsodropped farther among Hispanics than the population at large. Onegroup has even launched a campaign against four Democratic senatorswho backed a GOP proposal to bar Obama from taking any executiveaction on immigration.
“Thepresident has not helped us,” said activist Leo Murietta, 28, whois working to register Latino voters in Colorado for MiFamilia Vota. “People are disappointed. They wanted action,they wanted activity, they wanted movement.”
Withso many congressional and gubernatorial candidates locked in closeraces this year, Democrats can\’t afford signs of complacency orsagging support. But Murietta and others believe that only action -not promises of action – will help spur increased turnout amongHispanics with just five weeks until Election Day.
To which I reply…..”yep”.
Politically this is an impossible situation. A true “third rail”.
-The reason Mr. Obama has not yet offered whatever form of amnesty he is considering, is that he knows it will anger voters – a large majority of whom will oppose it.
-But, by putting it off until after the election, he is angering many Latino voters – a minority in the overall population but, based on their voting patterns, far more significant among Democrats.
– And if enough Latino voters sit out next month\’s elections, Republicans won\’t have a wave, they\’ll have a tidal wave.
What would you do if you were Barack Obama? Lucky for you, it\’s not your decision. Unluckily for Mr. Obama, he\’s going to have to come up with an answer to that question.
