The one image leftover from the health care vote weekend that is still unresolved in my mind is the massive immigration reform rally that was held the Saturday prior to the vote... I remember thinking, "wow, I hope the Democrats remember to keep this on their to-do list after the bill because this seems like a good way to keep the base active."
And immigration reform is one of the big issues I thought of that would get pushed to the back burner yet again with the Justice Stevens retirement (the other was the DADT repeal, but that's not the point of this diary).
And so I came across this Washingon Post report on the skepticism Hispanics are viewing Obama's administration with lately last night and was reminded of how important it will be to tackle this issue as soon as possible.
Here is the list of major issues I see that will take up a chunk of time and political capital this year that I am hopeful we'll have a resolution to before the November elections:
- Financial reform
- SCOTUS nominee
That's it. With the GOP obstructing everything this administration attempts to do, I can see them slowing this down to a crawl and waiting to see what the November elections give them. I expect them to ratify the START Treaty but they'll take longer than usual. This isn't something that I'm outraged over anymore, just business as usual, which is sad. Unless Harry Reid all of a sudden becomes forceful and gets a bunch of votes done, this is all that's left to accomplish this year.
And then what? We still have the DADT repeal and immigration reform which haven't even been announced yet. Not to mention climate change legislation. Gay and lesbian and Hispanic groups were critical to Obama's election, and these are the groups that I see are losing hope that anything will get done.
Among Hispanics, one concern often voiced is that Obama has not moved quickly on changing immigration law. He campaigned on the issue two years ago, but he and his party appear hesitant to take on such a contentious issue soon after the battle over health-care legislation.
Immigrant advocacy groups have ratcheted up the pressure on lawmakers, saying they risk losing the support of Hispanic voters if they do not establish a way for the 12 million people thought to be in the United States illegally to achieve legal status. They say there could be political consequences in swing states such as Colorado, where Hispanics made up 13 percent of the electorate in 2008
Obama does have two years left, but given the way Republicans have been doing everything in their power to have the President fail, I understand losing hope. It's unfair, but this is the reality.
So what happens this year? Will we get to immigration reform and keep the Hispanic vote?
What can we do?
The only thing I can think of is to contact our congress people and the White House and ask them to take on immigration reform and DADT repeal this year. We need to build on the HCR win and keep the coalitions that supported the party in 2008 active and involved, and most importantly, not to lose hope.
But what else can we do? And do you guys think we will get to immigration reform this year?
UPDATE: Didn't see this until now, but andystitt has a diary up on an immigration reform rally in Philly yesterday. There's another thing we can do, keep making noise.