"Morning Plum: Obama to set off bomb in middle of midterms"

[applegrove]

Morning Plum: Obama to set off bomb in middle of midterms

By Greg Sargent at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/07/09/morning-plum-obama-to-set-off-bomb-in-middle-of-midterm-elections/

"SNIP...........................


Now that Republicans have made it clear that they will not participate on any level in basic problem solving when it comes to our immigration crisis, it is now on Obama to determine just how far he can go unilaterally, particularly when it comes to easing the pace of deportations. This is going to be one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency in substantive, moral, and legal terms, and politically, it could set off a bomb this fall, in the middle of the midterm elections.

I’m told there are currently internal discussions underway among Democrats over whether ambitious action by Obama could be politically harmful in tough races. According to two sources familiar with internal discussions, some top Dems have wondered aloud whether Obama going big would further inflame the GOP base, with little payoff for Dems in red states where Latinos might not be a key factor. I don’t want to overstate this: These are merely discussions, not necessarily worries.

Indeed, some Dems are making the opposite case, and that argument is described well in a new Politico piece out this morning. The story notes that Obama has privately told immigration advocates demanding ambitious action that they might not get what they want, telling them: “We need to right-size expectations.” And yet, according to Politico, some advocates still hope for aggressive action and believe Dems see it as in their own political interests:

Adding to the elevated hopes about what Obama will do is the feeling among Democratic strategists that immigration reform is a clear political winner: The people who will be opposed to reform or to the president taking action on his own are already likely prime Republican base voters. But voters whom Obama might be able to activate, both among immigrant communities and progressives overall who see this issue as a touchstone, are exactly the ones that Democrats are hoping will be there to counter a midterm year in which the map and historical trends favor GOP turnout.




............................SNIP"

[tiredtoo]

1. personally i don't know

If Obama's actions have any affect in my state. His coattails did nothing in Michigan in the last election. He carried the state but did not drag any Dems along for the ride.

[blkmusclmachine]

2. Alas...

Now that Republicans have made it clear that they will not participate on any level in basic governing...

[Cha]

3. We shall.. my money is on the President doing what is best for immigration. thanks apple

[agbdf]

4. He must do the right thing - politics be damned!

[treestar]

5. the right thing would be a Dem congress, so they could pass a law

this is how reality works