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Title: Nice: House Republicans to force vote on abolishing ICE
Source:
HotAir
URL Source: https://hotair.com/archives/2018/07 ... ans-force-vote-abolishing-ice/
Published: Jul 12, 2018
Author: Allahpundit
Post Date: 2018-07-13 01:49:54 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 3398
Comments: 16
Basic good midterm politics. I think? “Democrats have been trying to make July 4th about abolishing ICE, which is a radical, extreme position that would lead to open borders and undermine America’s national security,” House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) told The Hill. “I think it’s the wrong approach. I think everyone ought to be on record about where they stand on that issue.” The Democratic bill is the Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act championed by Mark Pocan of Wisconsin. It calls for a 17-member commission (ugh) to identify essential functions of ICE and reassign them to other government agencies. Silver lining: At least that would pare down the federal work force a little bit, right? As it turns out, no. Pocan’s bill explicitly requires the commission to “[i]dentify appropriate means of ensuring that total Federal employment is not reduced with the abolition of ICE.” Even when the left is in the mood for government reform, the federal leviathan remains as bloated as ever. The politics here are simple on their face. The idea of abolishing ICE polls moderately well with a Democratic Party that’s drifting left and on par with gingivitis among the rest of the population. From Morning Consult: The Democratic numbers there are in line with what YouGov found a few weeks ago, with the party splitting 40/28 in favor of abolition at the time. Among the wider population, though, the split was just 21/44. Hence the GOP interest in forcing a floor vote on Pocan’s bill: The issue is tailor-made for pitting left-wing Democrats sympathetic to the anti-ICE position against centrist Dems who worry that strong left-wing support for abolishing the agency will convince swing voters that Democrats oppose immigration enforcement, period. Which of course they do, for non-violent illegals at least. So put ’em on record and leave Pelosi holding the bag, forced to explain why 100+ Dems or whatever voted to abolish America’s chief border enforcement agency. Centrists will be annoyed at the show of support by lefties for such a radical idea, lefties will be annoyed that there isn’t more support at the top of the party for nuking ICE. A good time will be had by all. There’s just one wrinkle: Don’t forget that, in the House, the GOP is defending more vulnerable seats this fall than Democrats are. As of March, there were 25 Republican-held seats in districts won by Hillary Clinton and 12 Democratic-held seats in districts won by Trump. All told, according to the Times, 42 Republican-held seats were less than “solidly” favored to stay that way this fall versus just 17 Democratic-held ones that fit the same description, plus another 22 that were pure toss-ups. Centrist Republicans are sufficiently worried about a backlash to Trump’s immigration policies in their home districts that they just spent months trying to pass a symbolic DREAM amnesty, only to have the effort ultimately crash and burn. Which is to say, although “abolish ICE” is terrible *national* politics, is it terrible politics in the 80 or so swing House districts that’ll decide control of the chamber this fall? Not as clear. I doubt you’ll see even a single centrist Republican vote to abolish ICE but they may not be thrilled with the idea of casting another pro-enforcement vote after their dream of DREAM went down the tubes. That raises a question, though. Why doesn’t Cocaine Mitch force the same vote in the Senate? Throw together an “abolish ICE” bill, put it on the floor, and let’s see how the Democratic heroes of 2020 shake out. Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren are all-in; interestingly, leftist favorite Kamala Harris is a bit more cautious. And of course vulnerable red-state Democrats like Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly who are up this fall will vote en masse against abolition, which can only annoy some of their base back home. Forcing politicians to vote on this who are facing a statewide or potentially national electorate makes even more sense than forcing House members to do so. McConnell should do it! In the meantime, though, here’s Paul Ryan twisting the knife. Poster Comment: DailyWire: RUNNING SCARED: 3 Dems Introduce 'Abolish Ice' Proposal. Then They Vote No. Yep, the same three who introduced the bill to abolish ICE are now vowing to vote against their own bill. They were for it before they were against it.
House GOP leaders plan to bring a Democratic measure calling for the abolishment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the House floor, hoping to force Democrats into a difficult vote… 
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#3. To: Tooconservative (#0)
Only because they hate the acronym -- EHIESA. EHIESA! Gesundheit!
Well, this is just politics. For once, the GOP has caught these Dems introducing a very foolish bill just before the midterms. And that will allow them to hold a vote on it, pitting the Bernie Bros against the usual lib Dems. Not only will it cause a lot of infighting in the Dem ranks, whatever vote they cast on this hot-button issue is going to make some Dem voters angry, maybe angry enough to stay home on election day, for instance. Paul Ryan looks like a cat who has swallowed a canary in that video. He's going to hold this vote so the voice of the people can be heard. And then campaign attack ads made about it.
Gotta love the response of the bill's sponsors -- "How dare you take us seriously! This is a trick! We won't vote for it!" Time to play hardball. Put it up for a vote. If the situation was reversed, you KNOW the Democrats would.
The attack ads write themselves... Some people are suggesting Cocaine Mitch should introduce a matching bill in the Senate and schedule it for a vote so those Red-state Dem senators have a chance to vote for it too.
Nah. It's one thing if a Democrat congressman does it. He deserves the fallout. Totally different if the Republican Senate Majority Leader introduces a bill designed to embarrass Democrat senators. I'm sure Republican Senators would not want to be put on the spot like that, especially on any of the social issues, especially when the vote would make no difference. Hell, Republicans are afraid to vote when it will make a difference.
Senate majority leaders can pluck a bill from nowhere, insert language from the House (unneeded in this case), and bring it to the floor. This is how 0bamaCare was passed. In that instance, they took a dead bill from the House that had nothing to do with healthcare and Harry Reid gutted it procedurally and inserted his own language. In this case, Cocaine Mitch only has to bring it to the Senate, send it to committee, then schedule the floor vote.
Oh, I know it can be done. But the reason for doing it would be obvious to everyone, even if the MSM didn't tell us. The Senate Democrats would either walk out or abstain and, quite frankly, I wouldn't blame them. If they ever attain a majority, expect a flurry of legislation on everything from guns to the homeless to gay rights to welfare to abortion and every other social hot-button issue as payback.
They'll do that anyway. I don't see the downside for Cocaine Mitch. You can bet on one thing: Cocaine Mitch is entirely motivated by holding and gaining Senate seats in the fall election while confirming Kavanagh and dozens of other judges and officials. He won't make it any easier for Schumer.
There are no replies to Comment # 11. End Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestWe know Speaker Ryan is not serious about passing our 'Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act'
#4. To: misterwhite (#3)
#5. To: Tooconservative (#4)
For once, the GOP has caught these Dems introducing a very foolish bill just before the midterms
#6. To: misterwhite (#5)
(Edited)
#7. To: Tooconservative (#6)
Some people are suggesting Cocaine Mitch should introduce a matching bill in the Senate
#9. To: misterwhite (#7)
Nah. It's one thing if a Democrat congressman does it. He deserves the fallout. Totally different if the Republican Senate Majority Leader introduces a bill designed to embarrass Democrat senators.
#10. To: Tooconservative (#9)
#11. To: misterwhite (#10)
If they ever attain a majority, expect a flurry of legislation on everything from guns to the homeless to gay rights to welfare to abortion and every other social hot-button issue as payback.
Replies to Comment # 11.
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