Mocking attitude won't help

May 12, 2011

Minot Daily News



Well, so much for any hope of immigration reform in the near future.

President Obama, obviously on the campaign trail, made sure of that on Tuesday. During a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Obama alternated between calling for a civil discussion of ways to reform current immigration policy and openly mocking Republicans who have rightly blocked efforts to provide any sort of a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

"Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat," Obama said of Republicans, who have pushed for more focus on border security before moving forward on any comprehensive immigration reform.

Yeah, that should help further your cause, Mr. President. Public slaps in the face to the Republicans, who control the House, will surely push any chance of reform further into the future.

So will comments like this: "We need Washington to know that there is a movement for reform gathering strength from coast to coast," Obama said.

Really? If that's true, why have members of Congress not responded by passing immigration reform legislation, such as the DREAM Act, which would have created a route to legal status for college students and others who were brought to the country as children. Why do some states feel a need to create their own policies because the federal government isn't enforcing national immigration policies?

Perhaps it's because lawmakers are listening to their constituents, and a lot of them are telling lawmakers they want a more secure border before any reform discussion takes place.?Perhaps it's because constituents are telling their congressmen they oppose any legislation that creates any form of amnesty for the estimated 11 million immigrants already in this country illegally.

Obama wanted to use the appearance to argue that he and Democrats are not the problem when it comes to immigration reform. Instead, the president's silly comments and open criticism of Republicans while he's in Texas show that he still doesn't get it. The comments also show that perhaps Obama's mocking attitude is at least part of the problem.

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