Bill Kristol: Obama Immigration Policy Shift “The Right Thing To Do”
In another sign that the right is not by any means united in its reaction to the President’s immigration policy shift, Bill Kristol all but endorsed the idea completely this morning on Fox News Sunday:
KRISTOL: I think its a sensible policy. I think it would be much better if that were the law of the land, and I think the president’s pushing the edges of prosecutorial discretion in saying we’re not going to enforce a law in order to leave these people in the country. But I think it’s the right thing to do, actually.
Meanwhile, over on Face The Nation, Mitt Romney again refused to commit to repealing the policy should he become President, instead concentrating his argument on the idea that the change should be made permanent via legislation:
(CBS News) President Obama’s new policy allowing qualified children of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States is a short-term solution to a long-term problem, and was driven in “large part” by politics, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Sunday on “Face the Nation.”
“I don’t know why [the president] feels stop-gap measures are the right way to go,” Romney told Bob Schieffer in an interview from the campaign trail in Pennsylvania.
“With regards to these kids who were brought in by their parents through no fault of their own, there needs to be a long-term solution so they know what their status is,” Romney continued. “This is something Congress has been working on, and I thought we were about to see some proposals brought forward by Sen. Marco Rubio and by Democrat senators, but the president jumped in and said I’m going to take this action – he called it a stop-gap measure.”
The former Massachusetts governor wouldn’t elaborate on the fate of the policy should he take office next year. Pressed by Schieffer on whether he planned to repeal it, Romney said it would be “overtaken by events, if you will, by virtue of my putting in place a long-term solution.”
Welcome to political reality, Republicans.
wait, so does this mean its actually the wrong thing to do?
CB:
I don’t think you understand: everything Obama does, or even could do, is the wrong. If he cured cancer that would be the wrong thing.
But in this case Mr. Obama timed it perfectly, just as he did with gay marriage, like a surfer who doesn’t cause the wave merely rides it at the exactly right moment.
Pot decriminalization next?
@michael reynolds: No, I think CB is referring to the fact that Bill Kristol has a pundit accuracy record that rivals that of Dick Morris. in other words, he’s been largely wrong about everything.
Hopefully Dick Morris will come out against it… because otherwise, taken with Kristol’s support and the fact that John Cole and Doug agreed on something, we could be looking at a Ghostbusters style “biblical event” in the near future. You know, Dogs and Cats living together, Mass Hysteria.
Gee, the president can’t seem to get anything through Congress, so why would he go it alone, with a “stop gap” measure? I just don’t understand.
… and he finishes with his usual arrogant flourish.
@mattb:
Of course, you’re right. I’m a bit slow this morning.
Romney could have used this as an opportunity to show some simple humanity, display his moral compass and take a stand notwithstanding Marco Rubio’s non bill and imaginary friends.
Romney shoudld “display his moral compass”????
How does one put on display something which one does not posess and would not understand if it were explained to him?
He has shown himself to be a man with no compass whatsoever for anything except making pandering, empty statements on any given day on any given subject to any given audience and then standing by what he does not remember saying!
I’m sure Sheldon Adelson will be telling Romney exactly what his position is sometime soon.
W. C. is just another cheap labor, open border, neo-con who has proven multiple times that he does care at all about the white, middle class, private sector employed voter that is the base of the Republican Party.
I was in favor of Obama’s policy shift, but now that I know Bill Kristol is in favor of it, I’ll need to reconsider whether it is as good as an idea as I thought at first glance.
This kind of comment from Kristol is one reason I’ve been pretty much ignoring the idiot for years. Far from helping us toward the solution to big government, Kristol’s become part of the problem.
@Stormy Dragon: Stopped clocks being right twice a day might apply here.
@superdestroyer: you forgot to mention the one party state!
@Rob Prather:
This is just another example of how too many conservatives cannot count. How does adding millions of additional automatic Democratic Party voters help conservatives. How does adding millions of future voters who the conservatives will get 1/3 of their votes help conservatives.
Whether the Republicans support open borders or not, the only way that conservatives can hope to survive is by increasing their share of the white vote. Adding millions of non-white voters is political suicide. And too many Republicans like Romney, Jeb Bush, and Kristol will obvously commit political suicide rather than let someone accuse them of racism.
@superdestroyer: if white voters are the future for conservatives, the conservatives are screwed, even if we lock out every additional immigrant, Demographics are in favor of Democrats.
@Rob Prather:
Of course it is, That is why I believe that the U.S. will be a one party state and why most progressives and moderates refuse to think about the demographic situation.
The demographics favor the Democrats and all the Democrats need to do is promise to tax the rich (read whites) and give the money to the non-white blocks of the Democratic Party. See the District of Columbia local government to see the future of the U.S. (and take note of the total lack of middle class whites in DC).
@superdestroyer: it won’t lead to a one party state, the Republicans will just have to change to match the demographics.
@Rob Prather:
But the Democratic Party does not have to make any changes. If the Repulblicans become the Democratic -LIte Party (which is what Jeb Bush and Jon Huntsman want) will just be one route to failure.
Have you see the Republicans in DC, Maryland, Chicago, or even California making any changes that will appeal to poor non-whites who are currently eligible for government set asides?
@superdestroyer: Indeed.
Crap. Given the general truth that Bill Kristol is always wrong…
@superdestroyer:
Your general characterization of all non-whites being poor and having no money shows an astounding lack of comprehension of things outside the bubble you’re living in.
@dennis:
Where did I say that non-whties are poor. I just said that non-whites will support a political party that will tax whites and give the money to them. The motivation applies to middle class non-whites as much as poor non-whites. Just as long as white have, on average, higher incomes and more wealth than non-whites, non-whites will be very loyal Democratic Party voters.
Every year in March and April I have to liston to all of my black co-workers complain about their taxes even though all of them are very loyal Democratic Party voters. Blacks seem unable to connect their voting patterns with governance and government policy.