Congressmen To Obama: Push Amnesty or We'll Tell Latino Voters To Stay Home

The problem with basing a political coalition on blatant identity politics is that sooner or later, people start demanding what you promised them. And those demands usually conflict with the demands of other groups you want to keep in the fold:

A congressman from the president’s home state is threatening that he will urge Latino voters to stay home this November if the Democratic Party does not make a concerted effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) is arguably President Barack Obama’s biggest Democratic critic in Congress. And he’s not fond of Obama’s top advisers at the White House, either.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) member has strongly criticized the administration’s policy on deportation and questioned its commitment to far-reaching reform.

Some Democrats have felt little urgency in pursuing the controversial issue, partly because they see no risk that Hispanic voters will bolt the party for the GOP. But Gutierrez says they are missing the real political consequence of inaction.

“We can stay home,” Gutierrez said in an interview with The Hill. “We can say, ‘You know what? There is a third option: We can refuse to participate.’ ” {...}

Gutierrez says Latinos have lost patience with Obama, and he predicts an “escalation” of activism aimed at forcing immigration reform to the fore of the party agenda.

“We’re going to make it uncomfortable for the Democratic Party,” Gutierrez said, adding that immigration advocates would step up the pressure by drawing lessons from the movements for civil rights and women’s suffrage. “There’ll probably be civil disobedience. There will probably be a number of different actions. What we have to do is we have to break through this wall of silence, because we’re invisible.”

Gutierrez is not alone. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), a CHC member who serves in the Democratic leadership, said earlier this month that Latinos view the president with “suspicion” for failing to meet expectations.

Prez Zero has his hands full here.Amnesty for illegal aliens is markedly unpopular,even more so than his Obamacare bill with today's record unemployment. And amnestia is especially unpopular with African-Americans,one of the few constituencies the president still has decent popularity with.

On the plus side, Barack Obama is going to need more Democrat votes in a hurry, and especially Democrat voters who will get behind a socialist agenda where they can vote for benefits for themselves at other people's expense. Legalizing illegal aliens is one sure way to get them.

it will be interesting to see how this goes down.

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