Curmudgeon's Corner

Interesting Timing (Not Really)

Posted by Al Campbell on June 15, 2012

U.S., Political, Quality of Life

As President Obama realizes his actual plight with voters in this country, he will, I believe, resort to any number of questionable ways in which to ‘buy’ votes.  One example is being announced today.  The Obama administration, today, said that it will stop deporting illegal immigrants who came into the country at a young age.  Frankly, I’m not sure what there was to stop since it doesn’t seem that we are actively deporting anyone who isn’t a convicted felon, and they often stay here.

Hispanic voters in what are known as ‘swing states’ are at play and this gambit is the President’s way of assuring that he will be seen in a grand light as those people, who are not supposed to be able to vote, go to the polls.  We know that the Federal government is fighting Florida’s attempt to purge illegal immigrants from its voting registers, and this gives us one reason why that is being done.

The children who came into the country illegally with their parents will not, apparently, be granted citizenship, yet, but they will not be deported.  We are moving inexorably toward a complete amnesty program being put into place, piece by piece.  Maybe that is not a bad thing, but it ought not be done by Executive Order or by some government appointee making the decision.

As we see the complexion of the race changing, as we see Rasmussen polls that show Romney ahead in Wisconsin by 3% (albeit with a +/- 4% margin for error), we will see more and more of these decisions as they become integral parts of the Obama re-election strategy.

A Democrat strategist said, “It’s a medium-risk, high-reward strategy.”  “I think you risk angering people who are upset about immigration, yes.  But for a President who’s got to win Florida, Nevada, Colorado, it is definitely something that can give the Latino community something to rally around.”

This is but another example of the power of the incumbent, especially when that incumbent is willing to go to almost any length to retain the office.  As President Obama sees the race tightening, and in some cases sees him being placed in the runner-up spot, he will do anything he has to in order to win.  He knows that most all of the shenanigans he pulls will be forgotten within a few weeks at the most after he is sworn in for the second term.  He knows that his party has always been good at overwhelming the complaints of the opposition about such things, and he knows he can probably rely on major issues crowding out the complaints, so the risk is medium while the return is high.

This is a disgusting reality in our political landscape today.  All this, of course, moves forward while we wait for a liberal judge in Dane County to get off his butt on voter ID.  I have lost track of just where that stands but have made inquiry and will share the results of that when received.