Snarling Dems hinder Kennedy's strategy
James P. Pinkerton


May 22, 2007

Inside the mind of Sen. Teddy Kennedy:

I see that many of my fellow liberal Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama, are trashing my immigration bill.

Those fools! Can't they see the gift I'm giving them? This bill will not only improve social justice and enhance racial diversity in America, but will also wreck the Republican Party - what's not to like?

And here's the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund coming out against the bill. And the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition - in my own home state! - calls the bill "immoral, unworkable and unacceptable."

Come on, people. I am the Lion of Liberalism. And yet, of all the liberal causes I have championed in my 44 years in the U.S. Senate, immigration is surely at the top of the list. As far back as 1965, I was a key player in the immigration expansion; millions of new Americans owe their citizenship to me. And I was a big player, too, in the immigration reforms of '86 and '90; I secured amnesty for millions and, once again, protected diversity.

Thanks to me, America today looks more like the world. Yeah, I know, the Kennedys were once the champions of white working-class Catholics, in Massachusetts and around the country. But back in the '70s, I realized that they were turning conservative on me; they were just too much against crime, welfare and abortion. Those Archie Bunkers actually booed me during the school-busing crisis in Boston!

That's when I reached a strategic decision: If the Democratic Party is going to thrive in this right-wing era of greed, it needs to expand the base - and import a new base, if need be.

In other words, I know what I am doing. So, if I say this bill is a good deal for my allies on the multicultural left, they should believe me. Sure, there are a bunch of Mickey Mouse regulations about citizenship points and "touch backs," but those will never last. Once the legislation is enacted, smart lawyers and judges will kibosh those regs. The big goal is the status of the up to 20 million illegals: This bill makes citizenship a sure thing for them.

Unfortunately, I can't say all this too loudly. If I proclaim the immigration bill's virtues in my usual arm-waving style, I risk destroying the compromise with President George W. Bush and the Senate Republicans, such as John McCain and that John McCain wannabe, Lindsay Graham.

And, of course, it's vital that we get this bill now, in 2007. Why? Because we need Republican fingerprints all over this legislation, since it divides and demoralizes the GOP base. Most right-wing Republicans will instinctively oppose the bill, but loyalty to Bush will bring some of them around. Indeed, Rove-ian enforcers are already out there beating up on holdout Republicans, in the name of building Bush's "legacy." Tee hee.

This same scenario played out in 1990. President Bush 41 had pledged, "Read my lips, no new taxes," during the campaign. That promise helped him win, but, of course, that's no way to govern. So we Democrats talked Bush into breaking his no-tax pledge - and then sat back and laughed as Republicans fell into civil war, costing them badly in the 1990 and 1992 elections.

It's all happening again now: I see that Graham got booed at his own home state Republican convention. I guess that picture of me and him yukking it up hurt him with the yahoos. Well, that's the tradeoff, Lindsay: You "grow" in the esteem of elites across the country, and you shrink in the esteem of voters in South Carolina. So, be careful, my friend, in your next Republican primary: We wouldn't want to lose you!

My divide-and-conquer-the-Republicans plan is working perfectly - if I can get my fellow Democrats to shut up long enough to let the legislation become law.

James P. Pinkerton's e-mail address is pinkerto@ix.netcom .com.
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

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