McConnell: Obama’s Executive Amnesty Rebukes His Own ‘View of Democracy’

‘The president’s previous answer seemed to be unequivocal he lacked the legal authority to act’

“Well, Mr. President, as somebody who well understands just how difficult the work of changing minds and votes can be, I couldn't agree more with the president's statement. Americans accept that democracy's blessings are only made possible by the constraints it imposes, both its legal contours and those imposed by popular election.

We accept democracy's messiness. We accept that we may not always get all of what we want exactly when we want it. And based on more of what the president said in Miami, this is something he seemed to understand as well. He was talking about immigration that day, and here's something else he said on that topic: 'I know that some wish that I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself, but that's not how a democracy works.' Indeed, Mr. President, it isn't.

All of which makes the president's planned executive action on immigration even more jarring. If it the president truly follows through on this attempt to impose his will unilaterally, he will have issued a rebuke to his own stated view of democracy and he will have contradicted his past statements on this very issue. The instances of President Obama saying that he does not have the power to do the kinds of things he now plans to do are almost too numerous to list. He tried to suggest otherwise last weekend, but a prominent fact-checker penned the spin as Pinocchio-laden. Pinocchio-laden, and clarified that the president has been asked specifically about the sorts of actions that he is contemplating now, the president's previous answer seemed to be unequivocal, he lacked the legal authority to act, according to the president himself.

As one example, President Obama said last year that executive action was not an option, not an option, because he would be ignoring the law. There's a path to get this done, he said, and that is through Congress. He's right. The action he's proposed would ignore the law, would reject the voice of the voters and would impose new unfairness an law-abiding immigrants, all without solving the problem. In fact, his action is more likely to make it even worse. We've already seen the consequences of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, this most recent action in this area. It was a factor in encouraging young people to risk their lives on a perilous journey some would never have even contemplated and some would never complete. The effects of this action could be just as tragic.

Just as the Affordable Care Act had little to do with making healthcare more affordable, slapping the term immigration reform on something doesn't make it actually immigration reform. And just as with Obamacare, the action the president is proposing isn't about solutions, it isn't about compassion; it seems to be about what a political party thinks would make for good politics. It seems to be what a president thinks would be good for his legacy.

Those are not the motivations that should be driving such sweeping action and I think the president will come to regret the chapter history writes if he does move forward. Because the plan he's presenting is more than just, as the president himself acknowledged, an overreach, it's also unfair. What does the president have to say to the countless aspiring immigrants who spent literally years waiting patiently in line? To the people who played by all the rules? Where is his compassion for them?

What does the president have to say to the millions of Americans who still can't find work in this economy? The president can't reach across the aisle to secure a serious jobs plan for them, but he's willing to put everything he's got into one executive action? Where is the justice? Where is the justice in that?"

 

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