The White House statement comes after a week of frantic negotiations in the Senate.
President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to address the immigration crisis at the nation’s southern border, saying he would shut down the border the day the bill became law.
“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”
Biden’s Friday evening statement resembles a ramping up in rhetoric for the administration, placing the president philosophically in the camp arguing that the border may hit a point where closure is needed. The White House’s decision to have Biden weigh in also speaks to the delicate nature of the dealmaking, and the urgency facing his administration to take action on the border — particularly during an election year, when Republicans have used the issue to rally their base.
The president is also daring Republicans to reject the deal as it faces a make-or-break moment amid GOP fissures.
The great thing is that no matter how much he capitulates, Republicans will immediately scream that the borders are wide open.
He could be invading Mexico and shooting anything that moves and Republicans wouldn’t accept it as enough.
Partly true. So do nothing and accept that a majority of independents and even a sizable chunk of Democrats have concern over the (admittedly inflated) “border issue”?
No matter what Biden does, Republicans will ignore it and scream “open borders” anyway.
He gains nothing from this but the sheer joy Democrats experience when they throw vulnerable minorities under the bus.
Of course Republicans will. We write them off.
But we’re talking about swing voters and independents, and even some Democrats who have this as a top issue.
You lose those, you lose the election, and now life gets very bad for immigrants and minorities for years to come.
We do? Because it sure looks like we’re appeasing them.
They know better and choose to accept Republican bullshit already. They’re gonna keep accepting Republican bullshit.
And when this round of appeasements fails to work, the same rhetoric will persist and continue to work. And we’ll keep hearing that we need to treat them worse and worse to appease people for whom treating them worse is the only goal.
I say again:
The border issue is a top concern for independents, swing voters, and even many Democrats, based on polling just this week.
If Democrats don’t win the independents and swing-voters, they lose. Period.
When they lose, you may be happy with your pyrrhic victory, but immigrants and minorities under Trump and Republicans sure won’t. Congratulations. You just accelerated the pain and misery for these people.
Unless you can tell me how Democrats can magically win without actually appealing to what independents and swing voters’ are telling you is their top concern, then I think we’re done here because this defies all reason and patterns of election history.
If you’re pissed off that Democrats are doing this, perhaps you should redirect your focus on why these people believe this is an issue in the first place and address the root of the problem.
And it just so happens that when you discover the root of the problem is right-wing media propaganda and its grip on the national narrative, one realizes democrats must often play the game under this unfortunate reality. Because while you’re busy driving wedges on Democrats, Republicans rhetoric is lockstep.
I’ll say it again: capitulation won’t work.
I know it’ll make you feel good to throw desperate people under the bus, but that’s all this will accomplish.
Losing won’t work either. Have to face the brutal reality of elections somehow.
But do go into the oval office and tell Biden, “I know a large amount of Democrats and I know a majority of independents and swing voters cite this as their top issue, but I really think you should do nothing because your hands are tied anyway by Republicans. So yeah, don’t even bother appealing to them! Trust me. This is a winning election strategy!”
Capitulating to Republicans won’t win anything.
But you’ll get to capitulate to Republicans, which is its own reward.