Obama Holds Off On Immigration
Obama delays immigration action after pressure from Senate Dems. NYT: "What had once looked like a clear political imperative for both parties — action to grant legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants — had morphed instead into what appeared to be a risky move that could cost Democrats their majority in the November midterm congressional elections ... 'If we were to act in this political hothouse environment, that would undermine the long-term ability to finish the job on immigration reform,' one official said..."
"While Obama Waits, Thousands More Deportations Likely" notes TNR's Naomi Shavin: "...in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, our country carried out 419,384 'removals,' ... The math works out to roughly 1,149 deportations a day and there are two months to go until Election Day. If the rate stays the same, another 70,088 deportations will take place in that time."
Obama should wait, argues Univision America host Fernando Espuelas: "There is a bigger battle raging that will impact our nation for many years -- and, if lost, will doom comprehensive immigration reform for a long time. The midterm elections ... A poorly timed and sweeping executive action on immigration might upset this delicate balance and tilt the race firmly into a Republican sweep and subsequent control of both chambers of Congress."
"Republicans Gain With Amnesty Claim in Close Senate Races" reports Bloomberg: "[Scott Brown] was trailing Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen by 12 points in a July poll. Now, he’s down by just two after focusing most of his broadcast ads on what he calls her support for allowing undocumented workers to stay in the U.S. The Republican focus on the issue is being played out in other close contests this year, and it’s jeopardizing Democrats’ efforts to retain control of the U.S. Senate."
Arkansas Senate candidate "Cotton earns Four Pinocchios" for immigration ad. W. Post's Fact Checker: "[The ad says] 'liberals in Washington want to let illegal immigrants get Social Security for work they did with forged identities. And when they needed one vote, they got it — from Sen. Mark Pryor' ... Cotton is highlighting a minor vote from eight years ago, ignoring Pryor’s more recent and more substantive votes — not to mention the fact that law was changed to prevent the processing of such claims ... there’s certainly no justification for the ad to assert that 'on illegal immigration, Pryor never takes your side' — given that he voted three out of four times against undocumented immigrants on this issue."
Congress Back For Short Sept. Session
Shutdown possibility looms. Politico: "With Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) facing a tough race, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) eager to gain more than a handful of seats in the House and early voting starting later this month in states represented by endangered Senate Democrats, virtually everyone is ready to get back home — quickly ... The House’s government funding bill, which would extend funding until Dec. 11, sources say, will be ready for public viewing by Tuesday. There’s serious talk about loading up the government-funding bills with multiple items, including an extension of an Internet tax moratorium and a renewal of the Export-Import Bank, an entity reviled by conservatives but strongly backed by the business community ... 'We’ve got a split conference on that issue,' said [Sen. Mitch] McConnell, who said he’d vote against extending the Ex-Im Bank charter."
Republicans hope to derail Senate votes on minimum wage, student loans. Roll Call: "Senate Democrats are facing the prospect of Republicans voting to prolong debate on a campaign finance constitutional amendment, a move that could interfere with Democrats’ plans for a barrage of pre-election votes on issues from student loans to the minimum wage to equal pay for women."
Sen. Chuck Schumer releases plan to curtail inversions, retroactively. Bloomberg: "A top Senate Democrat’s proposal to limit future deductions for companies that moved tax addresses out of the U.S. as many as 20 years ago would penalize dozens of so-called inversion deals ... would reduce the amount of deductible interest for inverted companies to 25 percent of U.S. taxable income from 50 percent ... The proposal isn’t final and is subject to change ... Schumer hasn’t decided when he will introduce it..."
Populist Challenges Emerging For 2016
Sen. Sanders weighing merits of Democratic vs. independent presidential run. USA Today: "On one hand, Sanders believes many people are dissatisfied with the two-party system and think Democrats aren't doing enough to protect working-class and middle-income Americans. On the other hand, a Democratic presidential bid has definite advantages. 'If you run as a Democrat, it would obviously be much easier to get on the ballot,' Sanders said during an interview. 'And the advantage, again, running as a Democrat, is that you would be in the middle of Democratic primaries, you would be in debates and you would, I think, attract more media attention for your ideas.'"
Former Sen. Jim Webb weighs populist run against Clinton. Bloomberg's Albert Hunt: " He was in Iowa last month; a New Hampshire trip may be in the offing, and he is giving a major speech at the National Press Club in Washington on Sept. 23 ... What he does possess is a long-held and forceful opposition to American interventions in Iraq and Libya, and potentially Syria, as well as solid anti-Wall Street credentials ... [But he's] is against gun control, and he has made comments that angered feminists, many of whom consider Mrs. Clinton a cause as well as a candidate, and environmentalists. "
Economic changes pushing middle-class toward Democrats, argues Prof. Steven L. Schweizer in W. Post: "...an increasing number of the middle class are employed in the relatively lucrative knowledge, professional and high-tech sectors, and they benefit from Democratic initiatives in education, alternative energy, scientific research and civil rights. Moreover, younger people, whites and men who have encountered deepening employment challenges profit from Democratic employment initiatives."
"Wall Street gets put on trial: We can still hold the 0.1 percent responsible for tanking the economy" says Salon's Thomas Frank: "...a trial just ended in Sacramento in which a jury was convinced that 'executives intended to make fraudulent loans.' Here’s the thing, though: It wasn’t the government that made the case against the financiers; it was the defendants."
