On Wednesday, President Obama called House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to wish him a happy Passover and the topic of immigration reform came up. Earlier in the day, the president had
slammed House Republicans for blocking immigration reform and even voting for "extreme measures" that would deport Dreamers, but instead of using the call to chart a different path for the GOP and show the president was wrong, Cantor used it to
launch a whiney attack on the president—and in the process, conceded that the president's criticism was correct:
Today, President Obama called me to discuss his desire for comprehensive immigration reform. The President called me hours after he issued a partisan statement which attacked me and my fellow House Republicans and which indicated no sincere desire to work together. After five years, President Obama still has not learned how to effectively work with Congress to get things done. You do not attack the very people you hope to engage in a serious dialogue. I told the President the same thing I told him the last time we spoke. House Republicans do not support Senate Democrats' immigration bill and amnesty efforts, and it will not be considered in the House. I also reiterated to the President there are other issues where we can find common ground, build trust and get America working again. I hope the President can stop his partisan messaging, and begin to seriously work with Congress to address the issues facing working middle class Americans who are struggling to make ends meet in this economy.
To recap:
- Eric Cantor is very offended that the president called out Republicans for being obstructionist Neanderthals on the issue of immigration reform.
- Therefore, Eric Cantor is committed to making sure that Republicans continue to act like obstructionist Neanderthals on the issue of immigration reform.
I'm pretty sure that when the president talks about finding common ground, he means coming up with an immigration reform plan that Republicans like Cantor will allow through the House. That would be far preferable to the current state of affairs, but at least everybody now agrees on the problem: House Republicans do not want meaningful immigration reform, not now, not ever.
Tell your Congressmember to bring immigration reform to the House floor