ALPERN AT LARGE-Maybe it's a presidential boot in the collective American heinie to work on our festering problems, and maybe it's a proclamation that the President's political demise after the last mid-term elections is greatly exaggerated, and maybe it's the first of several pardons to those who got the President elected and re-elected...but the recent "amnesty" is, as with "Obamacare", fraught with blowback. But let's make one thing clear:
If those "undocumented immigrants" were likely to be future Republicans, the President wouldn't be granting any executive actions. As with the ACA, this recent executive action on immigration is a Democrat-only initiative, and suggests that the President is comfortable only with one-party rule--and this nation remains a two-party system:
1) American dissatisfaction with both parties is still alive and well, but now it appears greater against President Obama and the Democratic leadership.
Whether it's the House GOP's lawsuit to the Affordable Care Act, or the multiple lawsuits over the recent presidential action for "undocumented immigrants" that are now occurring from all corners, blowback is blowback.
Take the recent midterm elections--while Millennials voted in droves to re-elect the President in 2012, they either voted in droves for a GOP-dominated Congress, or chose not to vote at all.
And while the President might claim that his failure to act before the election prevented Latinos from going to the polls and keeping Congress in Democratic Party control (listening to those "who didn't turn out to vote"), the fact remains that many Latinos--especially those who are registered to vote--did not, do not, and will not, support an executive order as per a new NBC poll. Being Latino does NOT mean being unable or unwilling to follow the law.
Furthermore, it's not only Saturday Night Live lampooning the President's executive order, but rather many of his otherwise-supportive Democratic allies in the Senate who are criticizing the order.
As evidenced by the recent throwing of Senator Mary Landrieu under the bus by failing to pass the Keystone XL pipeline, Democrats did and will continue to run from the President in the same manner that Republicans were doing during the last few years of President George W. Bush's term in office...
...and we may see a divided Democratic Party in 2016, torn between those trying to adhere to the Obama Era, and those trying to eschew it and reach out to moderates and conservatives.
2) There remains plenty of blame to go around--while the nation isn't happy with the President, it isn't too bullish on the GOP, either.
While it's pretty obvious that Barack Obama is no Bill Clinton when it comes to putting politics aside and working with his political adversaries (and even enemies), the decrying of President Obama's lack of cooperation is as loud among Americans as is the lack of cooperation by the GOP.
There are many Republicans, conservatives, independents and even Democrats angry at Senator Graham and Senator McCain, as well as the Bush family, about their own perceived favoritism towards amnesty, but Senator Graham is not without some sympathy in his decrying a failure of GOP action on the immigration issue.
Whether it's media bias or poor public relations, the GOP has too often been portrayed as noncaring (or even bigoted) against Latinos and immigrants. It's not hard to conclude that Democratic leaders have their own bias against Latinos and other minorities (such as taking them for granted and appealing towards their feelings rather than their intelligence), but it is the GOP that has a tougher and more urgent need for minority outreach.
Hence the example of Senator-elect Cory Gardner and other GOP politicians in Colorado is the right way to approach Latinos--stop being bombastic, speak a little Spanish, and reach out to those "undocumented" immigrants who will join the military and work very hard to prove themselves worthy of American citizenship.
3) There is a middle ground, and many Latinos, Asians and Filipinos prefer to have both political parties working for them. The answers include:
a) Stop lying and treating the American public like idiots.
Even before Jonathan Gruber was quoted as suggesting the Affordable Care Act was accepted by the American public and Congress because they were "stupid", the falsehoods and lies about its details and consequences (both intended and unintended) were increasingly being made clear to Americans of all socioeconomic, racial and political backgrounds.
The same can be said for the Executive Amnesty just proclaimed by the President--the constitutional and legal and fiscal problems of his "action" are very real.
b) Acknowledge illegality for what it is, so that we can finally move on.
Whether it's recognizing that people sneaking into the country or overstaying their visas, or employers trying to thwart the minimum wage and employment law, the acknowledgement that the law was broken MUST occur to stop this nation from being divided. E-Verify and aggressive prosecution of law-breaking employers is fundamental to restoring American faith in our immigration system...
...and admission of illegal behavior by all who broke the law to get/stay here is also long overdue.
While the honest and sincere acknowledgement that some are desperate to stay here won't be sufficient to please all parties, such a statement would work well with a true demonstration of work and service (more than just back taxes) to PROVE that "illegal aliens" can be reconsidered by many as true "undocumented migrants".
Furthermore, the intent of the Fourteenth Amendment (allowing African American and Native Americans the rights of citizenship) was never meant to encourage lawbreaking or abuse of citizenship rights, and this must be confronted by all ethnic and other segments of our nation.
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c) Confront and deal with the financial and cultural impacts of immigration in a manner that unites, not divides, this nation.
This confrontation is particularly true for American taxpayers who are footing the bill and are forgiving to those born and brought here illegally as children...but who do are NOT so forgiving to their parents, and who have reason to demand some form of payback (a K-12 education alone costs taxpayers ~$100,000 for each child).
What shall we say to those who played and still do play by the rules of immigration (legal immigrants and naturalized citizens)? What shall we say to those worldwide who long to come here but have no methods to get into this nation? What shall we say to tech companies who want more temporary visas for high-skilled workers, or for those wanting specific protections to farm laborers and their employers?
Our answers have to make both financial and moral sense to all Americans--including the hard, tough question of why so little attention ever gets focused on why there are virtually no complaints towards Asian/Filipino illegal immigrants...who all speak English and are virtually all becoming highly-educated professionals.
Those choosing to remain loyal to their home country, and choosing not to speak even limited English aren't just unwilling to speak to their white neighbors but to their black and Asian and Latino neighbors--and it is these individuals, if they truly wish to be accepted as immigrants who do NOT have an asterisk by their immigration status, who must do the right thing to PROVE that they are a worthy addition to the United States of America...
...and the President must show that he is willing to do the right thing to PROVE that he a worthy leader of this United States. To date, he has shown a willingness to attack his enemies--and it will either be his epitaph as a failed leader, or proof that he was able to be a great leader, if he can work with Congress to get past this and other issues in a manner that will establish his role in future history books.
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] He also does regular commentary on the MarkIsler Radio Show on AM 870, and co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 95
Pub: Nov 25, 2014