For whatever the reason there seems to be more than a few conservatives out there are more than a little infatuated with Rep. Paul Ryan. Personally I just don’t get it. Now I will admit that in the last election I found myself being quite pleased with his being selected as Romney’s running-mate. And what I based that on was solely, or nearly so, on what I had seen from Ryan during the Obamacare debates. But over the course of the last year or so I have become less than enchanted with him because of what appears to be the approach he has chosen to take on what are some very important issues.
And with it now coming to light that he as has been in private talks with, of all people, Chuckie Schumer to discuss the topic of immigration reform, and I’ve become all the more leery about Ryan, especially when it comes to his supposed conservative credentials. I fail to see what there is about our immigration system that can’t wait until after the next election to be addressed. Why is it that we cannot simply enforce the laws that are already on the books, at least in the meantime? And then, if Republicans to in fact gain control the Senate, we can better address this complex issue.
It sometimes seems like, at least to me, that far too many House Republicans are in their own little universe when it comes to rewriting the nation’s immigration laws. But since late last year, key House Republicans have been meeting with House and Senate Democrats as they try to reach some sort of ‘deal’. The talks haven’t led to any agreement on hugely controversial issues like a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. But they provide a window into the urgency that many see surrounding the immigration reform debate.
And it’s these sideline chats that would seem to illustrate that House Republicans aren’t acting in a vacuum. And even if Senate Democrats don’t have a seat at the House Republican table, they have a good idea of where the chamber might be heading. And the argument is that these cross-party and cross-chamber talks, no matter how limited the scope, show leading figures in both parties are serious about finding common ground. Personally, I think these talks are much less about finding common ground than they are about engaging in arm-twisting of a sort, and political threats.
Schumer has been a particularly busy little fellow, especially when it comes to the issue of immigration ‘reform’. It was back in 2013 Chuckie, with the enthusiastic help of yet another RINO, Marco Rubio, led immigration negotiations in the Senate. It was then that he first approached RINO Ryan, and the pair have met four times since then, at least according to multiple sources with knowledge of these talks. I just don’t understand the need for all this secrecy. And it doesn’t do much to reduce the level of distrust that I have for Ryan, or anyone else who would get involved with Chuckie.
And something else that is more than just a little disconcerting here, at least for me, is the involvement of Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, in these rather clandestine immigration talks. Because we now find that he too has also sat down with Chuckie Schumer. Gowdy, a former prosecutor, chairs the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, and is a respected figure on the right. He is also known to have the ear of a broad swath of conservatives. Gowdy, it appears, choose not to respond to an email from POLITICO about his discussions with Schumer. Makes you wonder.
The one-page of "principles" released by House leadership at its retreat last week did illustrate a step in the right direction in the eyes of most Democrats. Still, even immigration reform’s biggest advocates have doubts a bill can pass in 2014. "The biggest impediment to making progress on immigration that I’ve seen over the last year … is a complete lack of confidence that the law will be applied, that the enforcement measures will happen," Marco Rubio said on Monday. He added, "And I think that’s only been exacerbated by the actions the president and this administration have taken over the last year."
And for whatever the reason, Boehner and Ryan have both advocated for some form of legislation this year. However, several top Republicans, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, are much more cautious in their approach, concerned about a backlash inside the House Republican Conference. But having said that, both seem to favor taking some sort of action ‘before’ the election. And to me that simply makes no sense. But as our ‘leadership’ team has made quite clear before, it matters very little what we the people think on this issue.
Frankly, I’m tired of being ignored by those we have elected to fix things, not to make matter worse. We don’t need more people trying to make things worse because we have the Democrat Party doing all that they can to bring about an end to this country. I just feel that there is no one I can trust anymore, and if these RINOs do succeed in pushing through immigration "reform" BEFORE the election, my plans for November 4 of this year will be to stay home. Because at this point what difference does it make who I vote for if the outcome is going to be the same regardless of who wins.
I’ve never before been an advocate for sitting out an election. The reason we had Barry reelected was because 14 Million people who voted in 2008 decided to stay home in 2012. But maybe I’ve allowed my frustration level to affect my opinion on that. After all, where’s my incentive to vote for someone who tells me one thing before I vote for them and something else entirely after? It all comes down to a matter of trust. And right now I don’t trust Ryan, I don’t trust Cantor or McCarthy and I most certainly do not trust Boehner. And I seem to be out of options when it comes to making them listen to me. But still, I do have one option left, the option to stay home.
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