Crossing the Line

The Senate, under the leadership of arch-conservative Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma (below), has conceived a tough immigration bill that cracks down on border crossings and offers no pathway to citizenship for migrants already here.  It also provides aid to Ukraine and Israel, fro a total of $118 billion.  Of course, progressives are against it, as it is too tough against people breaking the law by crossing the border illegally.  But the biggest opposition comes from MAGA Republicans who don't want the bill - which some say is the best possible border bill to be negotiated - to pass, and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson ahs promised to stop it.  Why?  Because it will help Joe Biden and hurt Donald Trump.

So, the GOP doesn't really want to solve a problem because keeping it alive is good politics.  

And why would they do this? Mainly because it works.  Americans who don't follow politics regularly already blame Biden for the crisis at the border, which is why Trump leads him in the polls in six swing states.  Biden has already indicated he will support this Senate bill, and he's prepared to remind voters that he wanted to sign it but MAGA Republicans in the House wouldn't send it to him.  The only trouble is that voters won't care.  Because the President takes all the blame with failed legislation he had nothing to do with stopping.  Voters don't seem to get that Biden can't do everything.  He's only the President.

The bill also ties aid to Ukraine with border reform, so if this bill does fail, Ukraine won't get any aid and Putin will get the upper hand with the war in Ukraine that the Russian leader started.  A lot of people have a little problem with that.  Because if Putin were to emerge victorious, he would likely start a new war against the Baltic States and reincorporate them into the Russian state.  The last time the Kremlin annexed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into what was then the Soviet Union, Republicans were as isolationist as MAGA Republicans are now.  Only now they're letting the Kremlin take over small countries not because they're not paying attention.  They are paying attention - to Donald Trump.  

There might be a chance for border reform, and maybe sme aid will get to Ukraine, but I wouldn't bet on it.  

Oh, and by the way, on the subject of immigration, Martin O'Malley would have done something about it . . .