Democrats Face Two Potential Political Disasters Early On

Before the new year has even started, Democrats on the Hill already face two major problems that are going to be far from easy to resolve. And as the deteriorating economic situation isn't predicted to be much improved by 2010, early votes Democrats will almost have to make could put them on the defensive in the next cycle.

Democratic challengers hammered incumbent Republicans over their votes for the initial bailout. Whether it was a sound move or not doesn't really matter for now. With Democrats, including Obama, now pushing for major relief for Detroit and Republicans balking in the lame duck session, come January, Democrats are going to have to muster up all of their public relations skills to sell a Detroit package to the electorate in a decidedly bailout-unfriendly climate.

And even if they pull that one off, the second challenge could prove to be even more difficult.

Regardless of any individual's position on comprehensive immigration reform, survey after survey indicates the general public doesn't much care for it. And the standard line doing jobs Americans won't do is not going to help much during a recession with unemployment certain to continue to rise.

Will the pro-immigration lobby be patient? Not if today's headlines are any indication. Congratulations on your big win Democrats. Get back to me in two years and let me know how that mandate thing worked out!

...Hispanic leaders said they provided the margin of victory in Florida, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.

“We feel like we had a big stake in the election and that’s what prompted this historic turnout,” said Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza. The advocacy group did wait long to begin publicly pushing the new president-elect to recognize this support with key White House and Cabinet positions.

“At some point in the first term we would definitely expect to see an effort to move responsible immigration reform,” Ms. Murguía said. “It would be a big mistake not to act on this important priority.”

Comments

[reliapundit]

on one level conservatives are guaranteed to benefit from an obama administration:

if he tacks to the center and lowers taxes etc then he's repudiating the left.

if he governs from the left, then the usa will do worse and we will benefit in the mid-terms.

it's a win-win.

[scarshapedstar]

"the pro-immigration lobby"

Those crazy kooks.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door,
And say 'Get the f*ck out!'"

[scarshapedstar]

"if he governs from the left, then the usa will do worse and we will benefit in the mid-terms."

I'm sure Herbert Hoover thought the same thing.

[MarkJ]

Important safety tip to Barack Obama from another President regarding his "mandate":

'I can take care of my enemies, it's my goddamn friends that are killing me!' (Warren G. Harding, c.1923)

[cindi]

scar, we are not talkin accepting homo's here, we are talking ILLEGAL'S, not the hundreds of thousands accepted into this country each year as legals. Key word........ILLEGAL. Get it?

[xerocky]

Anyone who doesn't take a hard-line stance in opposition to illegal immigration hates the United States. Period. End of story. They may not fully realize it yet, but in fact that is the case.

It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff on this issue. Many on the left that I've talked to say things like "I don't really feel nationalistic, I don't really think the idea of country is all that important, I'm more of a humanist". Frankly I appreciate their candor on the issue, but of course they need to put the bong down for a minute or two. Look for that word "humanist", when Obama starts to tank you're going to hear it more and more.

It's those people who are talking the talk about what many on the political left truly think, but don't have the balls to come out and say in public. The Democrats are going to find that ID politics is a multi edge sword that they have no business trying to wield.

[Fred Beloit]

The one-worlders may need to become more inclusive. The odds are improving that we are not alone:
"Last week, however, together with recent images of Fomalhaut b, the above picture was released showing one of first confirmed images of planets orbiting a distant Sun-like star. HR 8799 has a mass about 1.5 times that of our own Sun, and lies about 130 light years from the Sun -- a distance similar to many stars easily visible in the night sky."
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081117.html

[templar knight]

Fred, we don't have much to worry about vis-a-vie' the one-worlders you are thinking of. Look at Britain, for example. They let the goat-herders in, and now their whole system is in jeopary. I use Britain as an example, as many parts of Europe are in even worse shape. The only one-worlders with a chance of succeeding long term are the ones calling for the return of a Caliphate.

[Fred Beloit]

The inmates seem to have the institution firmly in hand over there, Temp. Even the head of the Church of England is all kooked up.

[templar knight]

Ah, yes, give them Shariah Law, cause we wouldn't want the Law of the Land to apply to all, now would we? And creeping Shariah might just be coming here to the good old USA as well, as we have a team over in the ME looking at ways to institute Islamic Banking, giving the US a two-tiered system as well. What was that thing about the 14th Amendment and the laws applying equally to all? I know, I regress.

[PMCC]

Don't illegals (and those who support them) realize that if we accomodate them as they want, before long we'll become just like the nations they fled? We have laws for good reasons.

And will Americans realize that changing or bending laws that were meant for our protection only lead to destruction? Have we learned nothing from the financial/market meltdown? What may have seemed charitable at the time, was in reality nothing of the sort.

Laws that made good sense were broken. Please, let's come to our senses and realize this is an insanity we're living.

[Totally Heterosexual Conservative]

I love what passes for wingut political analysis: if the Dems don't do what the country just massively reputiated us for doing, they're in big trouble!! This is a center-right country!!

Newt / Palin 2012!!

[templar knight]

Go ahead with your Leftist program, numbnuts. Hell, go all in, and let's see where it leads you. Hell, man, you're too dumb to see that the bluest of blue states just threw the homo agenda out the back door into the trash can. But keep up the good work. I love what passes as nutroot analysis, myself.

[PA]

"Those crazy kooks."

My grandparent's names are in the log books at Ellis. They came in through the front door legally. NOBODY is against LEGAL immigration.

[gocart mozart]

Rule of Law? I thought that was libtard pre 9/11 thinking

[templar knight]

No, you're confused, you're thinking of the nutroot interpretation of the Rule of Law.

[Typical Whte Person]

First you take the tattooed gang leaders and place them in homes in Malibu.

then you clean out the jails and send them to rehab in "The Hamptons"

Then you clean out the Maternity wards and send them to Palm Beach

The you take the drug dealers and ship them to Hyde Park where they won't be safe or welcome.

Ayers, Wright, Obama and Farrakhan will take care of them.