King, Grassley, Rubio Throw A Fit Over Obama's Immigration Order

06/15/2012

Conservative leaders got their panties in a knot after Obama ordered his administration to stop deporting Dream-Act eligible illegal immigrants. Here’s a brief rundown of conservative responses to the President’s executive order:

Steve King

On Mike Huckabee’s radio program, Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King announced his intentions to sue the Obama administration, claiming to have successfully sued his own state governor for a similar issue: "I have done it once in the past successfully when then-Governor Tom Vilsack thought he could legislate by executive order — and the case of King vs. Vilsack is in the books."

Maybe, but remember that King says a lot of things, factually incorrect things. Two years ago around this time, he said, "The president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race—on the side that favors the black person." Around the same time, he also said the vote scheduled for the Health Care Bill was an "affront to God."

He might be crazy, but he might also have firm legal ground to stand on. Ross Baker, a political scientist from Rutgers University, said Obama’s actions have exceeded the "typical scope" of the presidential powers. He proceeded to call Obama’s order the "back-door Dream Act" because of the way it circumnavigates the Congress of No.

Chuck Grassley

Surprisingly, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa borrowed King’s language when he called Obama’s executive order "an affront to the process of representative government." On his website, he went on to say, "Our first order of business must be to secure the border and enforce the laws on the books, not look for back channel ways to reward illegality." His position is based less in the threats of immigration and amnesty, and more in legal attack on the President’s roundabout executive order.

Mitt Romney

Romney, of course, opposes Obama’s executive order. According to Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Romney once said he would veto the Dream Act. Romney has consistently (this, perhaps, might be the first time Romney’s name has appeared within three words of 'consistent') opposed any proposal that wouldn’t force immigrants to leave the country before gaining legal status. Such measures, Romney has argued, would offer amnesty to illegal immigrants, thus inspiring a mass of illegal immigration.

Trent Lott

Trent Lott, the former Republican Senate leader, offered a similar statement, saying "It continues to encourage illegal conduct."

Marco Rubio

Sen. Marco Rubio said,

There is broad support for the idea that we should figure out a way to help kids who are undocumented through no fault of their own, but there is also a broad consensus that it should be in a way that does not encourage illegal immigration in the future.

Rubio, a prospective in the Veepstakes, has been trying to strike a balance: encourage immigration reform and mollify the conservative base. His reaction to the President’s order stunk of political coddling:

Today’s announcement will be welcome news for many of these kids desperate for an answer, but it is a short-term answer to a long-term problem. And by once again igning the Constitution and going around Congress, this short-ter policy will make it harder to find a balanced and responsible long-term one.

Rubio has has been pursuing an alternative to the Dream Act in order to shift the way Republicans approach immigration reform.

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