I am pleased to report an unusual display of common sense in unusual places.
A Democrat Who Can Talk Trump, or a Reckless Maverick?
In an interview, Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania says the party needs to be part of the conversation, not get ‘freaked out’.
Please consider the WSJ article A Democrat Who Can Talk Trump, or a Reckless Maverick?
As Senate Democrats agonized over a looming vote that could boost deportations of immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S., the first Democrat to sponsor the Republican-led measure wasn’t even in the room.
Instead, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was meeting on Thursday behind a different set of closed doors with President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi. Television crews waited outside, eager to ask Fetterman about the news that he planned to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago, becoming the only Democratic senator so far known to meet with him after the election.
“If somebody is shocked or freaked out if I’m going to take a conversation with the president, I’d like to remind you that I’m not just for Democrats—I’m for everyone,” Fetterman said in an interview. After all, he said, “Most Pennsylvanians chose Donald Trump as our next president.”
“It’s like our phasers are set at freakout,” Fetterman said of Democrats, using a “Star Trek” reference. “You have a right to react any way you want, but I’m not that guy, and I am here to have conversations with our nominees and look for the ways we can possibly be a part of the dialogue.”
On Thursday alone, Fetterman met with three Trump selections, including Bondi as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be America’s top health official and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to serve as secretary of homeland security. In his sit-down with Bondi, Fetterman said he found common ground with the former Florida attorney general over the idea that federal prosecutions had targeted political opponents, an idea other Democrats have long portrayed as baseless Republican spin to defend Trump.
In the new Congress, Fetterman was the first of two Democrats to co-sponsor the immigration bill known as the Laken Riley Act—named for a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens, Ga., who was murdered by a Venezuelan national living in the U.S. unlawfully.
That bill is providing an early sign that Democrats are reconsidering their stances. On Thursday, the Senate voted 84-9 to open debate on the bill, with the support of 33 members of the Senate Democratic caucus, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.).
“There was a blinding flash of common sense,” Fetterman told reporters when asked to account for the shift among Democrats, drawing a cheer of support from a nearby Senate Republican. Last year Schumer declined to bring the same measure up in the Senate after it passed the House.
Senate Advances Laken Riley Act
NBC News reports Senate Advances Laken Riley Act to crack down on illegal immigration in bipartisan vote.
The Senate voted Thursday to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act, clearing a key hurdle to advance a Republican-led bill aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration that has garnered significant support from Democrats.
With a vote of 84-9, the bill easily cleared the 60-vote threshold to advance in the GOP-controlled Senate. But many Democrats have suggested they want to amend the bill, so it’s unclear whether it will get enough support for final passage.
The Laken Riley Act would change federal law to require Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, to take custody of people in the country illegally and detain them over theft-related crimes. It would target people who are charged, arrested or convicted for committing acts of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting,” according to the bill text.
The legislation would also empower state attorneys general to sue the federal government for alleged failures of immigration enforcement “if the State or its residents experience harm, including financial harm in excess of $100.”
This Will Succeed
NBC said “it’s unclear whether it will get enough support for final passage.”
I disagree. This will sail easily.
Democrat Senate Endorsements
- Ruben Gallego, Arizona
- Mark Kelly, Arizona
- John Fetterman, Pennsylvania
- Jon Ossoff, Georgia
- Elissa Slotkin, Michigan
- Jacky Rosen, Nevada
That’s six known with only one more needed to break any filibuster.
And even if it stopped at 6, I doubt senators would put their career on the line with a filibuster of this bill against clear national sentiment.
I expect another 6-12 Democrats will sign on, if not more.
Biden Concerned Over $3 Billion
Politico reports Biden Admin to GOP: Immigration Bill Will Cost More than $3 Billion.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would require more than $3.2 billion in additional funding to implement the Laken Riley Act, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO that the agency prepared last year.
All of a sudden Biden is concerned over $3.2 billion after wasting hundreds of billions on nonsense.
Blinding Display of Expected Idiocy
In a blinding display of expected idiocy, the extreme Left-wing lunatics at The Slate call the bill a Horrifying Trojan Horse.
It is baffling that so many Democrats would sign on to such a cruel and constitutionally dubious scheme.
A handful of Senate Democrats have proposed modest amendments to the Laken Riley Act, including provisions that would protect Dreamers and limit states’ right to overrule federal immigration policy. But it is frankly difficult to see how tweaks around the edges could fix the foundational flaws of this legislation
If Democrats cannot recover their nerve and stand up to this extremism, they will be complicit in the devastating consequences of its passage.
Heading Toward a Sensible Policy
On December 24, I commented Trump Backs Down From Strong Sweeping Deportation Promise
Both Trump and his border czar are sending strong messages that Trump’s deportation plan won’t live up to his campaign hype.
Deal for Dreamers
I suspect Trump privately got some heat from some governors who understand the economic insanity of “deport them all”.
Regardless why, I get to say “I told you so” once again to those who cling to every word Trump says.
To get a bill through congress for more border patrols, ICE agents, and to finish the wall, Trump is going to have to cut a deal.
And that deal will be amnesty for dreamers.
If you want to know what kind of dreamer deal to expect, please see my November 7, 2024 post The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party
The great news today is there is a clear majority for sensible actions.
Deport them all won’t happen, but deport the criminals and seal the border will. That’s what I wanted all along.
We are rapidly heading in that direction due to “A Blinding Flash of Common Sense”.
Wow.