Awesome: Obama Full Steam Ahead on Amnesty Despite Recession

I'm starting to think he's only planning on one term. Maybe he has a mind to do as much as possible to Transform America (TM) and then get the hell out of Dodge before the public can reject him.

Either that or he's hoping to mint 12 million new Democratic voters for 2012.

Yeah. That seems more likely.

While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama plans to begin addressing the country�s immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

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Mr. Obama plans to speak publicly about the issue in May, administration officials said, and over the summer he will convene working groups, including lawmakers from both parties and a range of immigration groups, to begin discussing possible legislation for as early as this fall.

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But with the economy seriously ailing, advocates on different sides of the debate said that immigration could become a polarizing issue for Mr. Obama in a year when he has many other major battles to fight.

Opponents, mainly Republicans, say they will seek to mobilize popular outrage against any effort to legalize unauthorized immigrant workers while so many Americans are out of jobs.

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Administration officials said that Mr. Obama�s plan would not add new workers to the American work force, but that it would recognize millions of illegal immigrants who have already been working here. Despite the deep recession, there is no evidence of any wholesale exodus of illegal immigrant workers, independent studies of census data show.

Opponents of legalization legislation were incredulous at the idea that Mr. Obama would take on immigration when economic pain for Americans is so widespread.

�It just doesn�t seem rational that any political leader would say, let�s give millions of foreign workers permanent access to U.S. jobs when we have millions of Americans looking for jobs,� said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, a group that favors reduced immigration. Mr. Beck predicted that Mr. Obama would face �an explosion� if he proceeded this year.

�It�s going to be, �You�re letting them keep that job, when I could have that job,� � he said.

The number of Jobs Americans Just Won't Do (TM) has dropped quite a bit in the last year, hasn't it?

Timing: �He intends to start the debate this year,� an adviser says.

Starting the debate this year means no legislation this year, presumably. So when?

Next year? Just before the midterm elections?

Perhaps -- but only if the economy is doing gangbusters business and Obama and the Democrats calculate they can take this big political hit. Otherwise, it will have to be put off until it's safe to do so -- after the 2010 elections, in 2011.

Although he could try to ram this monstrosity through at any time, it appears that he's just pandering, playing for time. Voting present. At least for the moment.

But he's extraordinarily arrogant, and believes his own press clippings, so who knows.

posted by Ace at 10:03 AM

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