Everything is political. From going to war, to recognizing holidays and religious traditions, to pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey. No decision is made without politics being the most important issue. This is true for Democrats and Republicans alike. No one is pure here. It just seems as though the political angles of things are becoming more obvious than in the past, and the media now doesn’t even pretend to hide the implications.
President Barack Obama will not take any executive actions on immigration until after November’s elections, a White House official confirmed to CNN on Saturday.
The decision to postpone means any political repercussions for trying to reform the immigration system by himself would come after the congressional midterm contests.
I think I’d rather know the obvious than to read political spin.
Obama has been weighing executive action on immigration — including moves that could allow millions of undocumented workers to remain in the country — after congressional action on the issue stalled. The options could include expanding a deferred deportation program for children of immigrants.
But he decided to delay any move to “take this issue away from those who would use it to score points as a kind of grandstanding issue,” the White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It’s too big of an issue to allow it to be used as a tool for people trying to get votes,” the official said. “It isn’t about votes for any particular candidate; it’s about dealing with this issue in an environment that avoids the grandstanding we’ve seen in the past.”
No matter where you fall on the immigration issue, politicians want to stay in power. Obama knows this is a political time-bomb for many Democrats seeking reelection in November.If there wasn’t pressure being put on him from others in the party, he wouldn’t even hesitate to go his own way and bypass congress yet again. He’s got a fuse in one hand and a match in the other, and for now, enough Dems have convinced him to hold off until they can be sure they wont’ have to move out of their cushy office on the hill.
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