When DACA was first put into effect, my immediate thought was what would happen if the Republicans went and shut the whole thing down. Now it has happened. And all these kids have given all of the information to the government. Will the information be given to ICE so that they can all be picked up easily?
The word is that it isn’t. But I don’t believe that. Sure, the government hasn’t given ICE all the information yet. But just give it time. Let a terrorist attack happen that was committed by an unauthorized immigrant and see how quickly that all changes.
DACA Is Just Another Norm Set for Destruction
When DACA was first passed, there was an unstated assumption. This kind of thing in government is not supposed to be partisan. Things aren’t supposed to change that much from administration to administration — even when parties change. This is somewhat similar to the way that nations are responsible for the spending of previous despots.
But now what I originally feared is coming to fruition. The only question is how bad it will be. And now quickly it will happen.
The State of DACA Repeal
The whole DACA situation has been very annoying to me. It all started last week with a discussion with my father. He assured me that Donald Trump would not repeal DACA. For all of my father’s negative political beliefs, he is very pro-immigrant, given that he is the son of immigrants.
When Trump did do DACA repeal, my father went ballistic. But then a good 10 minutes of Fox News viewing and he saw things entirely from Trump’s stated position. It was all about process. Trump didn’t want to hurt close to a million young people. He just wanted it done by Congress. Thus, the Congress would have to pass a law. And of course they will. That didn’t mean much coming from the man who said of course Trump wouldn’t repeal DACA.
DACA Has to Go Because of “Process”
This is the typical excuse that all politicians and those who favor their policies use when they do something that is both cruel and unpopular. Supposedly, Trump didn’t want to screw over these kids. But he had to, you see, because Obama use the wrong procedure.
But suppose that if Trump really did think that DACA needed to be on a more stable political grounding. He could have let it continue to make its way through the counts. But he didn’t do that, because he doesn’t care about process. He knows his political support is based on white resentment. He killed DACA because it hurt Latinos and his base hates Latinos. So he talks about process so that ABC News doesn’t report on him as the monster he is. And his supporters know that he is the monster he is.
Republicans Don’t Care About Norms
Given that Republicans will do anything they want without thought of precedence or anything else. And given that they can always find a justification for it that will be accepted by the mainstream media, what are we to do? Should Obama have simply let the Dreamers languish in their uncertain legal status?
What is clear is that the Republicans cannot be trusted about anything. If they can do something they will. They have no commitment to normal political order. And this is why the Republicans must be destroyed as a political concern. As much as I dislike much of the democratic party, at least it is a normal political party. The Republicans are a pox on our nation. And we cannot continue on as a stable nation if the Republicans continue to wield any kind of power.
I haven’t paid the slightest attention to politics since the results of the election became apparent on that awful day back in November. I haven’t watched the news or read a newspaper, and I’ve been avoiding Facebook like a plague. (Sorry, by the way, I accepted your friend request shortly before signing off. I imagine my hiatus will end soon, though; people have been bugging me for photos of my flint knapping).
I just can’t handle it. Recently, however, I caught a part of a discussion on the news about the filibuster. They were talking about Republican intentions to get rid of it and I was reminded of your prediction years ago that they would destroy it as soon as they took power. So much of what you (and I for that matter) predicted has come to fruition. At least conservatives are predictable.
My plans were to avoid current events until 2020, but I’m just too much of a political junkie to stay in the dark for too long.
I understand! I went for months not writing anything. And even today, I don’t think my writing is very insightful. What is there to say about a country that would elect Donald Trump President of the United States? It’s not like I’m surprised. The people don’t care about policy. People vote with their guts. It was fun when it was Stephen Colbert. This is how fascism happens. We are well past rational analysis. People are unhappy about income inequality? People think the system is rigged? So they elect a president who is a billionaire who accumulated all that money by working the system.
But I’m glad to have you back around!
That’s how this works. If you disagree with the GOP on immigration, you give it a pass because it promises to end welfare (which ended 20 years ago). If you disagree with Trump’s embrace of Nazis, you agree with his notions of “running government like a business” (proven ridiculous 20 years ago). There’s always something stupid and vile on the right wing which is so atavistically appealing, it overcomes your rational objections to the other parts.
Of course, it would help matters if the Democratic Party stood for absolutely anything besides old Heritage Foundation ideas, but party leadership decided liberalism was imprudent. 20 years ago.