Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer up as they see new Senate polls showing Rick Scott with a healthy lead in Florida and Republicans within striking distance in Wisconsin. They also shake their heads as Sen. Elizabeth Warren issues perfunctory condolences to the family of Mollie Tibbetts but says we need to focus on our real immigration problems. And they marvel at Senate Democrats, who now insist that the consideration of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh must wait because Michael Cohen has accused President Trump of a campaign finance violation.
immigration
Jordan: GOP Must Do What We Promised
Listen to “Jordan: GOP Must Do What We Promised” on Spreaker.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, says he is focusing on helping Republicans retain their House majority before he worries about his bid for Speaker of the House but he says GOP lawmakers need to prove to voters they will do what they’ve promised the past four election cycles and that’s exactly how he would lead in the next Congress.
The race for speaker was triggered by Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision that he is retiring from Congress come January. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif., is considered Ryan’s natural successor, but Jordan says the past two years have shown plenty of conservative actions from President Trump but very little from Congress in comparison.
He applauds Trump’s actions on the Iran deal, moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and cutting taxes and regulations. He says the legislative branch is failing to do its part.
“We certainly helped with the tax cuts and we shouldn’t downplay that. But where’s the border security wall we promised? Where’s the Obamacare repeal? Where’s the welfare reform? Where’s defunding Planned Parenthood? Where are those key issues that we told the American people we were going to get done?
“We haven’t accomplished those, so if we keep the majority and I’m given the chance to lead the House, we’re going to focus on one simple message: doing what we told the American people we were going to do,” said Jordan.
Jordan chalks up the dearth of legislative achievements to “lack of political will” on the part of current Republican leaders. He says that cannot continue for another two years.
“It boils down to a simple fact. You’ve to be willing to actually engage in the debate and have the fight. You can’t just forfeit before the referee even blows the whistle and starts the game,” said Jordan.
He says the point of no return on the existing GOP leadership came earlier this year when it snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and agreed to major spending increases in an omnibus bill.
“Instead of doing what the swamp always does, which is spend more money on everything and make up excuses for why we can’t do what wee told the people we were going to do and more importantly what they elected us to do, we should have fought on that omnibus spending bill.
“Remember, (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer had shut the government down before that. When Chuck Schumer said amnesty was more important than funding our troops, we were well-positioned, we were poised, we were right on the cusp of victory, and yet we did what the swamp always does.
“We were ready to win and do what had to be done for national defense, hold the line on the other spending, fund the border security wall. We were in a position to do that and yet our leadership didn’t do that and Republicans failed to deliver on the promises we had made,” said Jordan.
He says Republicans have a chance to prove they can be trusted when they return to work next month.
“When we go back in September, we better put the border security wall funding on the spending bill and send that to the Senate,” said Jordan.
With all of the alleged failures of Republicans to fulfill promises in this Congress, why should GOP voters bother heading to the polls in November? Jordan says the alternative will be disastrous.
“You elect Democrats, they’re going to raise your taxes, they’re going to abolish ICE, they’re going to socialize medicine and they’re going to impeach the president,” said Jordan.
Jordan’s efforts to ascend the Republican leadership ladder was quickly met with accusations that he knew about and failed to report the sexual abuse of wrestlers by a team doctor while an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University in the 1980s and 1990s.
Those accusations were met with a long list of former coaches and athletes who said Jordan never covered anything up and never would. Some of the allegations were eventually retracted.
Jordan says the bias of the media was on full display with that story.
“If you’re a conservative, they’re out to get you. If you support the president and you’re fighting to support the president, particularly in this issue of the Department of Justice, they’re out to get you,” said Jordan.
He also categorically denies any such cover-up and says it’s completely contrary to his fighting spirit.
“I’ve taken on the Speaker of the House from my own state. I’ve taken on the IRS when they were targeting people. I’ve taken on the Department of Justice and the FBI for the wrong they did when they took this dossier and took it to a secret court to spy on President Trump’s campaign.
“The idea that I would not stand up for our wrestlers is just ridiculous and everyone sees through that story,” said Jordan.
Trump Sets Judicial Confirmation Record, Big Business Supporting Dems, Bill Kristol 2020?
Listen to “Trump Sets Judicial Confirmation Record, Big Business Supporting Dems, Bill Kristol 2020?” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Chad Benson of Radio America congratulate President Donald Trump for appointing more judges to regional circuit courts than any president has at this point in his term. They also criticize big businesses that are supporting Democrats in 2018 because of Trump’s trade and immigration policies. And they think the only major support for a Bill Kristol 2020 presidential campaign would come from the Kristol household.
‘They Don’t Want Immigration Enforcement at All’
A growing number of elected Democrats are now on record in wanting to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, a development that one immigration law expert believes has exposed the desire among many liberals to have fully open borders.
The trend started on Wednesday after avowed socialist Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a stunning congressional primary. Reporters discovered Ocasio-Cortez wants to abolish ICE. She publicly defended that position, saying ICE has run far off course by separating parent and children entering the U.S. illegally.
Thursday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., echoed Ocasio-Cortez in supporting the abolition of ICE, appalled that the agency is acting like a “deportation force.” On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his solidarity as well, and “Abolish ICE” posters were frequently seen at rallies around the country over the weekend denouncing President Trump’s immigration policies.
Center for Immigration Studies Research Fellow Andrew Arthur helped write the homeland security legislation that created ICE in the wake of 9/11. He says the Democrats are just trying to score political points.
“This is just a political stunt. This is all political theater,” said Arthur.
“Blaming ICE for immigration enforcement is sort of like blaming the janitor for the mess that you left if you’re a member of Congress. They created the laws. They can change the laws,” said Arthur.
But Arthur firmly believes that Democrats do want open borders.
“They don’t want immigration enforcement at all. There’s no other way to explain it,” said Arthur.
He says such a policy move would lead for a human tidal wave at our southern border since word would spread quickly that getting into the U.S. would guarantee they get to stay. He also says it would lead to a massive increase in Mexican drug cartels pushing their products across the border.
The calls for abolishing ICE come on the heels of a passionate debate over ICE enforcing existing law which requires parents and children to be separated while the parents are prosecuted for an illegal border crossing. Arthur stresses ICE is doing the job it was created to do.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement performs many critical tasks. They counter trafficking in the United States, child smuggling. They go after foreign corruption, and they enforce the immigration laws of the United States. To say that they’ve suddenly become a vast deportation force is to say they are exactly what they were when they were set up,” said Arthur.
Arthur says the immigration laws being enforced exist for a very simple reason.
“First and foremost, the immigration laws exist to protect the wages and working conditions of working Americans. That’s not just United States citizens, but it also includes aliens who are lawfully here,” said Arthur.
Democrats are already touting legislation to abolish ICE. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., is planning legislation that is short on details but would establish a commission to determine what duties ICE should be performing.
Arthur says that ambiguity is at the heart of the problem.
“They just don’t want immigration enforcement. They don’t like the idea of it but they really haven’t thought through the ramifications of their proposals or their ideas,” said Arthur.
For his part Pocan, wants borders enforced for the purposes of stopping terrorists but is staunchly opposed to removing people from the country because they came here illegally.
The Democrats are looking to benefit from the family separation controversy in the midterm elections, and Arthur admits the images from the border have been difficult to watch. However, he says Democrats are in for a big surprise if they think calling for the abolition of ICE will play well all over America.
“I’m supportive of the president’s policies but the optics of it were very bad. There was no way to avoid that. [Democrats] are now taking that policy and taking it way too far to an extreme. I think that’s actually going to turn off independent voters who understand there is a reason why we have immigration laws in the United States,” said Arthur.
Americans Want Strong Borders, Waters Urges Unrest, George Will: Vote for Dems
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are pleasantly surprised to see a new CBS poll showing that a strong plurality of Americans believe families should stay together but be sent back to their home countries when they come to the U.S. illegally. They also slam Rep. Maxine Waters for suggesting protesters should loudly confront every Trump administration cabinet member whether in restaurants or at the gas station. And they categorically reject columnist George Will’s call for conservatives to vote Democrats into the majorities of the House and Senate as punishment for Republicans who refuse to stand up to President Trump.
Cell Phone Search Warrants, Endless Protesting, Obama Had Trump’s Border Policy
David French of National Review and Chad Benson of Radio America fill in for Jim Geraghty and Greg Corombos. They look at a U.S. district court decision that found the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be unconstitutional in structure. They commend Justice Roberts for joining the four liberal justices to protect Americans’ civil liberties from warrantless cell phone searches. They also consider the affects of incessant and inappropriate protesting. And they compare Trump’s new family detention policy to Obama’s, finding a difference only in outrage from activists and the media.
Congress May Act on Immigration, Leftists Demand Open Borders, Nazi Hysteria
David French of National Review and Chad Benson of Radio America fill in for Jim Geraghty and Greg Corombos. They hope that Congress may exert its constitutional authority by passing legislation to end the family separation policy, secure the border, and stop illegal immigration. They also fear the growing divide between conservatives and liberals as they each adopt more extreme policy positions. And they react to the insane comparisons between the U.S. border and Nazi concentration camps.
Great Jobs Numbers, Virginia GOP Caves on Medicaid, Reid-ing Between the Lines
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America toast better-than-expected unemployment numbers, the best in 18 years. They also lambaste Virginia Republicans for rolling over and approving the Obamacare Medicaid expansion they claimed to oppose for years. And they dig through more eye-opening posts from Joy Reid’s supposedly hacked blog, including her likening of John McCain to the Virginia Tech shooter, endorsing the removal of the Israeli government to Europe, and likening illegal immigration to slave labor for multinationals.
Freedom Caucus Demands DOJ Cooperation, Better GOP Leaders
The House Freedom Caucus is increasingly frustrated with the Justice Department refusing to hand over documents critical to the investigation into the 2016 campaign and with its own Republican leadership on issues ranging from immigration to spending and more.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He says the Justice Department is dragging its feet on turning over documents related to many different aspects of the 2016 campaign and the ongoing Mueller probe.
“(It’s) everything to be quite honest with you because the investigations into Hillary Clinton as well as the presidential campaign have shown there is egregious overreach here. but one of the key points is what the scope of this (Mueller) investigation actually is.
“We see Mr. Mueller on a fishing expedition, trying to get anybody and everybody tagged into a crime that they create,” said Gosar.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C, is leading the charge for a second special counsel to be named so that person could impanel a grand jury and bring possible criminal charges on a range of issues.
However, Gosar says that is unlikely to happen since he believes the Justice Department is trying to “wait out the clock.” When asked whether that meant letting the Mueller investigation play out or see if Democrats win a majority in one or both chambers of Congress, Gosar suggested it was both.
“A Pelosi-borne House cancels all these processes,” said Gosar, noting that his goal is to make sure “the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C, aren’t being held to a different standard than people out in the real world.”
Gosar and other House Freedom Caucus members are also furious with how Republican leaders are handling the immigration issue as proponents of a DACA amnesty near the 218 signatures needed to force the issue on the House floor.
The congressman blasts leadership for repeatedly promising to put the far more conservative Goodlatte bill on the floor for a vote but never making good on the vow. That plan would only grant legal status to DACA enrollees, rather than a path to citizenship. It would also limit chain migration to the immediate family, cancel the visa lottery, mandate E-Verify for all hires in the U.S. and beef up border security.
He also says leaders have reneged on promises to bring a bill to the floor focused solely on scrapping the visa lottery.
“Trust is a series of promises kept. Leadership has drug its feet repeatedly on this aspect,” said Gosar.
GOP leaders are pleading with members not to sign the discharge petition, but Gosar says the alternative offered by leadership is equally unacceptable.
“We were presented with an idea. They would go forward with the Goodlatte bill but we had to agree to a rule vote that not only brought up the Goodlatte bill but brought up an immigration bill to be named later as well. No one in their right mind actually does that,” said Gosar.
Freedom Caucus members held up the latest farm bill in protest of the leadership’s performance on immigration but also to protest what they expect to be significant watering down of the farm bill in the Senate.
Gosar says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has no intention of fighting to keep welfare work requirements in the legislation but does plan to push hard for legalizing industrial hemp.
Gosar says it’s another example of leaders unilaterally deciding what legislation will look like, just as House and Senate leaders hammered out an agreement for the $1.3 trillion omnibus earlier this year.
The congressman says new GOP leadership is desperately needed but there will be no leadership elections anytime soon because current Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy cannot get 218 Republicans to support him.
The One Issue that Could Keep GOP Base at Home in Midterms
A rebel band of moderate Republicans in the House are on the verge of teaming with 200 Democrats to sidestep GOP leaders and advance legislation granting amnesty to people brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Led by Reps. Jeff Denham, R-Cal., and Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., at least 20 Republicans are on board with what’s known as a discharge petition. If a majority of House members sign a petition in solidarity on a given issue, they can force the issue on the House floor in defiance of leadership in the majority party.
“That allows them to leapfrog over leadership and take control of the House floor, and (House Minority Whip) Steny Hoyer has promised them 200 Democrat votes. Right off the bat, you’re scratching your head. Why would 25 Republicans give the floor over to the Democrats to pass a bill,” said Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy are imploring Republicans not to join the discharge petition. Brat, whose 2014 primary stunner over then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor was due largely to his tough stance on immigration, says Ryan and McCarthy know that this move could be lethal to the party in November.
“This is the one issue that has the capacity to keep our base at home in the elections coming up, which are just so critical,” said Brat, who is a prime target for Democrats in Virginia’s seventh congressional district.
If the discharge petition succeeds, supporters would then proceed to the “Queen of the Hill” strategy, which would allow for votes on four different measures that would address the fate of people in the country illegally but who are eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The bill getting the most votes would then advance to the Senate.
One option is the Goodlatte bill, which is favored by immigration hawks because it confers legal status but not a pathway to citizenship for DACA enrollees and does not grant legal status to those eligible for DACA but failed to enroll. It would also limit chain migration, scrap the diversity lottery, tighten internal enforcement, mandate E-Verify to screen all job applicants and beef up border security.
But that bill doesn’t have enough votes to pass, and with 200 Democrats champing at the bit, it’s a clean amnesty bill that would attract the most votes.
“The one with the more Democrat votes wins. The American people didn’t give the House and the Senate and the White House to Republicans in order to do a giant, huge amnesty bill,” said Brat, who says the amnesty plan would extend a lot farther than just the DACA enrollees.
“The Democrats would have an all-out amnesty bill, which grants amnesty to about four million folks and then ten million folks over ten years without any border control, without any E-Verify to make sure you’re having legal hiring, without taking any account of chain migration,” said Brat.
Brat says this discharge petition tactic shows the Democrats and their GOP allies cannot win an open debate and they must resort to other tactics to advance their agenda.
“Democrats know they can’t win politically. They know they can’t win in the public realm on the exchange of ideas, so they try to do it behind the scenes with these tricky little procedures,” said Brat.
Brat says he’s surprised that 25 Republicans have not yet signed on to the discharge petition, noting “they have plenty more ready to roll” but wonders whether Ryan and McCarthy warning them about the possible midterm calamity caused some to back away from the idea.
The debate took on a new dimension this week when Democrats savaged President Trump for allegedly referring to illegal immigrants as “animals.” Even when they learned the president was specifically discussing members of the Latin American MS-13 gang, known for sadistic murders and sex trafficking, some, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, still chided Trump for questioning the humanity of the gang members.
“When you have these people on record battering children over the heads with baseball bats and these gruesome activities, I think the left has to agree something has gone wrong with the humanity of that person,” said Brat.
Even if the discharge petition succeeds, the effort will not result in the bill becoming law. The legislation would still require 60 votes to pass in the Senate and even then it would face a certain veto from President Trump.
While Brat hopes the issue won’t tank Republican hopes in the midterms, he says this issue and many others present a stark choice to voters in November.
“If you want more federal government running your life, vote Democrat, and if you want to return to all the principles that made the country great in the first place, vote for that,” said Brat.