Thursday, July 11, 2013

GOP Has Nothing To Fear From Doing Nothing On Immigration

Border War: Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, believes that "doing nothing is not an option" on immigration reform. Translation: The trap that Democrats are setting might work. - IBD Editorial

...Today, principled House Republicans are told they can't just do nothing when it comes to America's estimated 11 million illegals. But nothing is far better than another 1986-like amnesty....

The White House, in a classic political pump fake, issued a report this week claiming amnesty would stimulate the economy (though Obama never campaigned on that). For a president whose Keynesian economic policies have so utterly failed to, in effect, lecture House Republicans on how to revive the private sector is risible.

No, the millions of new votes for future Schumers and Obamas will not rejuvenate American business. And no, Schumer's warning that GOP is "going to be a minority party for a generation" by opposing amnesty and lose the less than 9% of the electorate that constitutes the Hispanic vote is not to be taken seriously.

But is Schumer right that Boehner fears doing nothing? Even a piecemeal approach can get Republicans enmeshed in another 1986-like amnesty disaster if they're not careful.

A Democratic president once assured the nation we have nothing to fear but fear itself. On immigration, beyond the obligation to secure the border, Republicans have nothing to fear from doing nothing.