Boehner cornered at breakfast by young immigration advocates.
House Speaker John Boehner today declared comprehensive immigration reform
effectively dead:
“Frankly, I’ll make clear, we have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill,” Boehner told reporters Wednesday morning.
And since House Republicans aren't about to propose similarly scoped reforms themselves, that means comprehensive reform has stalled for the indefinite future, at least not until Boehner has a change of heart on that one. At issue is Boehner's
desire to keep his job; while immigration reform is popular, it is not popular among the far-far-right to which the party remains beholden.
In a good demonstration of how the Boehner approach to killing reform is itself fraught with party peril, Boehner had just come from a breakfast meeting in which he was interrupted by two immigration advocates:
The two teenage girls who approached Boehner told him personal stories about how U.S. immigration laws affected their families, with one – Carmen Lima – telling Boehner about her father who was deported.
“How would you feel if you had to tell your kids at the age of ten that you were never coming home?” Carmen, who is from California, asked Boehner, according to a transcript provided by Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a pro-reform coalition. Jennifer Martinez, a 16-year-old from Washington, shared a similar story with Boehner.
“That wouldn’t be good,” Boehner responded.
Yes, and that is why John Boehner usually has people dedicated to making sure he doesn't have to talk to you unpleasant people with your sad stories about how John Boehner's decisions are screwing people. Why else do you think he drinks so much? [Note: While it may be charitable to think that John Boehner drinks to forget the consequences of rotten decisions, there is no evidence to support this claim, or the claim that John Boehner gives even the slightest sober damn about those decisions. —ed.]
Let's keep in mind, though, that Mr. That Wouldn't Be Good here could pass actual immigration reform anytime he wanted:
Actually it is easy, @SpeakerBoehner. With 190 cosponsors on H.R.15 and 28 Rs vowing support, we have the votes to pass #immigration reform.
— @NancyPelosi
But making the lives of other people easier is not what John Boehner signed up for. John Boehner is a bit to preoccupied with defending John Boehner.
Sign our petition urging your House member to sign a "discharge petition" to bring comprehensive immigration reform to a floor vote.
