Former Sen. Scott Brown says he wasn’t drunk when he did those bizarre tweets. He just sat on his iPhone5.
It must have happened before. But I can’t think of another example of politics quite as weirdly comic as that developing around immigration reform. At least in recent years, the normal model is that both sides profess optimism and good will about finding a compromise when, in fact, they are either far apart on policy or simply don’t want to agree at all — usually both.
But here it’s just the opposite. Both sides want a bill. They actually want the same bill — or at least they’ve both signed on to the same bill. But there’s the problem, a political problem. Establishment Republicans feel they must support the immigration bill the President supports. But they need to convince the base of their party that they fought him like crazy to get it passed. That’s a challenge. Read More
Check out this piece by Benjy Sarlin on why Marco Rubio’s weekend blow up over the leaked White House immigration proposal isn’t a setback but rather a necessary prerequisite for passing a bipartisan immigration reform bill.
As a policy matter, Rubio’s already signed on to what most people mean by ‘comprehensive immigration reform’, what the President supports. As a political matter, he’s got to find things to fight with the President about, to bring along base Republicans — even if they’re basically made up differences. It won’t be easy.
Mark Sanford premieres first campaign ad: We all make mistakes.
Sen. Johanns (R-NE) to retire.
That state sure generates a lot of ex-Senators.
One day you’re a Tea Party darling with the ass-kickingest political ads of the 2010 cycle. Next you’re getting clipped for shoplifting beer from the local Wal-Mart in Hoover, Alabama.
Climate bill supporters tell Obama to act on his own and fast.
No mistake in the headline. In response to ‘Lincoln’, the state of Mississippi finally finalized ratifying the 13th Amendment banning human slavery.
As I’ve said before, I doubt Marco Rubio can straddle the politics of immigration reform. That’s not a criticism of Rubio. It’s simply a recognition that a growing majority of the country is simply too far from the base of the Republican party to be straddled by any but the most able of political animals. Now, in response to a draft release of President Obama’s immigration reform plan leaked to USAToday, Rubio is out with a press release saying the plan would be “dead on arrival” if it came before Congress.
That news is considerably worse for Rubio than it is for Obama.
It will hard for Rubio not to end up being against what he claims to be for.