Boehner Uses the Snowstorm as an Excuse to Pull Border Security Bill
McCaul bill's untimely death shows the impotence of the House leadership on immigration reform
I noted yesterday that there would be nothing per se to mourn if Rep. Michael McCaul's (R-TX) crappy
effort — aka Secure Our Borders First Act — to kowtow to Republican restrictionists by creating Fortress America died in Congress. The only reason to pay any heed to the bill was that is was a test of the House Republican leadership's ability to push the needle on piecemeal immigration reform now that a comprehensive overhaul of our broken immigration system is not on the cards.
Well, it turns out, the leadership failed the test with flying colors. It is claiming that because of the DC snowstorm it'll put off a full vote on the bill — which was supposed to happen today or tomorrow — till mid-February. In reality, the bill is likely dead because it managed to alienate Democrats and moderate Republicans without appeasing the restricitonists and hence simply doesn't have the votes.
Reports Bloomberg:
A U.S. House vote on border-security legislation is being postponed indefinitely as Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders try to quell opposition from some hard-line party members.
"We're going to have to walk through all of this with our members," Boehner of Ohio said during a news conference Tuesday. Though aides had blamed a decision to delay Wednesday's scheduled vote on this week's winter storm, Boehner confirmed the internal party discord over the bill.
Instead, Boehner is reportedly redoubling his efforts at restrictionist appeasement by resuscitating the demented Ted Cruz plan to sue President Obama over his executive action on immigration. Nevermind that the president's action was well within the enforcement discretion that Congress itself has handed to him, as I've written in the past.
So all one can say is good luck with that, Mr. Speaker, and also winning the presidency in 2016. Hope you can prevent a civil war within your party and can find enough "missing white voters" to make up for the minorities you guys are about to piss off — yet again.
