This embarrassing cretinism is why Americans have no respect for politicians, and it is the kind of utter nonsense that explains how a non-politician was able to win the Presidency. It also makes me giggle, I must confess, in light of the serious statement of late by a generally perceptive commenter here that “only one party plays by the rules,” meaning Democrats.
Sure.
Over the Fourth of July, Democrats indulged their more deranged radical base by encouraging calls to “abolish ICE.” The motto is a direct challenge to common sense, national security, national integrity, sovereignty, oh, lots and lots of things, but you know: “think of the children,” the President is a Nazi, all of that. Hey, politics is only about figuring out how to govern effectively and responsibly, so why not encourage policy insanity, if it lets “the resistance” blow off steam between episodes of harassing Republicans in grocery stores and restaurants?
Former Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., attacked the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as being a part of a “cruel, dysfunctional immigration system.” Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. said that ICE “has become a deportation force” which should be abolished. She was joined by New York City’s socialist mayor Bill de Blasio, who called the agency “broken” and “divisive,” and tweeted that it should be abolished. Then the grandstanding Democrats really got carried away in their dishonest political science fiction theater: some of them actually submitted a bill to abolish ICE. The Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act was introduced this week by Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), and was instantly supported by major Democratic Party leaders like Sanders, Gillibrand, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, as well as the party’s’ new rock star, House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
And what did those mean old Nazi Republicans do to squash the illegal immigration lovers’ efforts? They announced that they will let the insane bill go to the floor for a vote, thus forcing Democrats to go on record as opposing the enforcement of immigration laws, which the overwhelming majority of American citizens (aka “voters”) support.
The shocked response of the Democrats, having set a trap and fallen into it was priceless. They did a swell imitation of Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, when he was caught in one of his foolish schemes…
On the day after the GOP agreed to put ICE’s existence to a vote, the always risible Ted Lieu (D-Cal) insisted that “Abolish ICE!’ was never meant to be a cry to abolish ICE. “Democrats who have said this are not saying abolish ICE and do nothing,” he humina-ed. “They’re saying we should have a new agency that has principles and values more consistent with what the American people believe.” Ah. So Democrats saying that they wanted to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement really want Immigration and Customs laws enforced! Thanks for clarifying that, Ted, you pathetic weasel.
But Lieu was instantly outdone by the double-talking sponsors of the bill. Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Adriano Espaillat of New York—the Three Open Borderskateers who launched the faux bill, told The Hill,
“We know Speaker [Paul] Ryan is not serious about passing our ‘Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement System Act,’ so members of Congress, advocacy groups, and impacted communities will not engage in this political stun.If Speaker Ryan puts our bill on the floor, we plan to vote no and will instead use the opportunity to force an urgently needed and long-overdue conversation on the House floor.”
Interesting theory. If the Speaker “isn’t serious” about passing a Democratic bill up for a vote, then it’s not a real bill? Not a good bill? Not a statement of Democratic policy? Said House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), admirably suppressing a grin, “I think everyone ought to be on record about where they stand on that issue.”
You see, and I know you can see, the Democrats who were calling for the abolishment of ICE were posturing, faking, lying. They were faking their indignation, and pandering in the certainty that they would never have to back up their words with actions.
Snarks Ann Althouse: “This story is the perfect illustration of the phrase ‘It’s all politics.'”
That’s a nice way of describing it.
Ethics Alarms 
Democrats are ALWAYS trying to gin up faux outrage from their vocal base of imbecile pawns and this time it’s going to bite them in the ass in the next elections and probably a few more elections down the road! Their own words are going to be televised from coast to coast in political ads in the next elections. Democrats have a serious case of Foot-In-Mouth Syndrome.
Hey Democrats…
Jack wrote, ” They were faking their indignation, and pandering in the certainty that they would never have to back up their words with actions.”
This is what they’ve been doing every single day since Trump was elected.
I call it a waste of the taxpayer’s time and money.
Humane Immigration Enforcement System
Hie: verb–to go quickly.
These people are stupid beyond fucking belief.
That’s right up there with the creative genius that came up with Win The Future
Silicon Valley Wants to Reinvent the Democratic Party With a Group Called “WTF”
http://fortune.com/2017/07/05/win-the-future-wtf-democratic-party/
All I gotta say is: Brain Trust!
I would go with Brainless Trustworthinesslessness, if it didn’t sound so exclusively Lithuanian. (nothing against Lithuanians, either)
”nothing against Lithuanians, either”
The LAL, Lithuanian Anti-Defamation League, would like a word.
To the extent that it doesn’t involve effort or cost money, I’m there for you!
During our trip, we were able to stop in Philadelphia and wander around during the afternoon and evening. After supper, we headed over to the city hall area. While I was photographing a statue, my husband said, “Don’t look left”.
Sure enough, it was an Abolish ICE rally. They’d blocked a whole section of sidewalk around city hall. There was a stuffed pink unicorn on one of the statues. There were signs, but, frankly, it looked like more of a party than anything else.
If I’d been inclined to take them seriously before, I certainly couldn’t now.
Who came up with “we need to have a conversation about … [fill in the blank}?” Obama may not have invented it but he sure popularized it. It always precedes a pil of condescending bulllshit double talk to be laid on the unwashed. It really means, “Listen up, all you honkey assed yokels. He’s what the enlightened think and you better wise up or your collective ass is grass.” Annoying.
“Conversations” are supposed to be presumed and limited exclusively to mimic CNN-hosted “town halls” like that one that followed the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting massacre.
Is the abortive attempt to abolish ICE just another rigged “warning shot” against any move in Congress to abolish, say, the Department of Education? After all, when is the federal Executive Branch, and all its myriad departments, NOT going to keep expanding every year?
Jack, I suspect the Dem random talking point generators would call this speaking truth to power or protecting our democracy or working families or not letting democracy die in darkness or … whatever. Speaking of talking point spouters, what ever happened to the font of all talking points, Debbie Wasserman Schultz? I can’t recall any pathetic thing she’s said in about the last year.
Hasn’t Joe Biden been awfully quiet, too? I almost miss his cop-a-feels.
What do they mean by saying Ryan is not serious about passing our bill? Is he supposed to whip the Republicans into supporting the Democratic bill that the Democrat sponsors themselves are unwilling to support? Is this a parallel universe to upside down world?
When is allowing a vote a political stunt?
This would all be fun and amusing if the fact didn’t remain something needs to be done about immigration in this country. Something needs to be done about a whole lot of issues in this country, but we languish in inaction, stalemate, and games. I for one am incensed and don’t find all of this game playing funny in the least. I am sick and tired of our supposed “best and the brightest” representation acting like nincompoops. They fiddle while Rome burns. They are playing us for fools. I am over it, and I know I am not alone. I want something done, and I want it done now! It is not too much to ask for them to do their jobs.
“Something” is not much of a position, in fact a lazy and irresponsible one. In the absence of something better, “enforce the damn law” is the default and ethical course.
Granted.
And thank you for commenting on a July post. Does my heart good, and helps me convince myself that I’m not wasting my time.
Junior, do you have any specific suggestions, such as streamlining the visa process, changing the asylum rules (not a good idea) and causing it to take less than 10 years and several thousand dollars to attain citizenship? All of which should be preceded by SECURING THE BORDER!
Junior, you should be railing against Democrats. As bad as they are, the GOP has presented bill after bill to start a solution to this mess.
The Democrats want this to continue (as some of the GOP does, just for different reasons)
I thought this move was brilliant by Ryan. Congress does need to get to work on the tough issues but nothing of significance will get done until after the election now.
Does anyone who is sane really trust these people to be civil, civic or able to govern on any issue?
No. The key word is ‘sane’, defined as knowing the difference between right and wrong.