DownWithTyranny!: Sometimes -- not often, but sometimes -- it's not such a bad thing that Master Rahm doesn't really believe in anything but his own aggrandizement

Howie has found an Internet cafe in San Miguel de Allende that's allowing him to use its WiFi to log on, and he flagged the Politico article below. He added the suggestion that I call the office of Rep. Heath Shuler, who has made brutal "send 'em back where they came from" immigration reform his signature issue. He expected that Representative Shuler's communications guy "would be happy to curse out Emanuel." I'm not calling, but I think we can assume that the congressman isn't happy. Who knows? This might lead him to think of not always voting with his fellow Democrats!

by Ken

There are still, unaccountably, people who think that Rahm Emanuel is a political genius. Forget the truly abysmal quality of the candidates he recruits -- chosen for (a) their ability to self-finance, (b) the unshakability of their devotion to the status quo that with very rare exceptions has been very, very good to them, and (c) their acceptance of Rahm as their master. Over these last several years Howie has piled up a mountain of documentation of just how bad he is simply at judging the mood and concerns of the electorate.

Typically, the candidates he supports are under orders to say nothing about any issue that's vaguely controversial, and so he has no ability to elect candidates who could actually inspire passion and loyalty among voters. In 2006, you'll recall, he forbade "his" candidates to mention the war in Iraq, which turned out to be, by general agreement, the decisive factor in the Democratic victories, which weren't so much Democratic victories as Republican losses. Sure, the Dems did well, but how much better might they have done, in terms of both numbers and an influx of congressional members committed to accomplishing meaningful government reform?

Of course, that presupposes that Master Rahm has any interest in meaningful government reform, a supposition for which there is painfully little evidence. In 2008, with voters desperate for candidates they could believe in, the master served up more mush. The anti-Republican tide swept in another tide of new Dems, but again, not as many as there might have been, and more important, including an awful lot of future congressional barnacles.

Fortunately, when you don't really believe in anything, you may display the virtue of "flexibility." And sure enough, Master Rahm as White House chief of staff has apparently done a proverbial 180 on the admittedly prickly issue of immigration. In the 2008 cycle, he was sure that the Republicans were poised to pulverize Democrats by forcing them into taking a stand in favor of reasonable reform and then blasting them with the death ray of xenophobia, even though all the available electoral evidence indicated that it was only among the hard-core rightists that punitive anti-immigration "reform" was a winning issue. In fact, it wound up nearly causing the Republican party to implode -- and sent waves of Hispanic voters into the "D" voting column.

By contrast, the NDN think tank has been arguing for some time now that enlightened immigration reform is not only a winning but a necessary issue for progressives. It's among the signature issues highlighted on the organization's home page:

Our nation's immigration system is badly broken and must be fixed. NDN supports comprehensive immigration reform that would toughen up on the border and in the workplace; deal with the future flow of immigrants more intelligently; and legalize the work status and create an earned path to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants already here, allowing them to work, pay taxes and raise their families. This common-sense, tough and smart plan is supported by a majority of the American people (see other polls here, here, and here).

NDN founder-director Simon Rosenberg has also argued forcefully that progressives need to get immigration reform done to deprive the Right of it as a cudgel, polluting pretty much every discussion of social policy -- as they once again tried to do with the economic stimulus package, playing any imaginable (or even unimaginable) "illegal immigrant" angle.

Well, Master Rahm hasn't gone that far. That would require vision and courage, and those aren't weapons in the Emanuel political arsenal. But as Gebe Martinez reports today in Politico, even if the master was more likely a follower than a leader at many points where he's now only too happy to claim credit, it's still a pretty spectacular about-face.

Rahm's immigration turnabout

By Gebe Martinez
February 17, 2009

It was not so long ago that Rahm Emanuel was on the House Democratic leadership team and being accused of throwing immigrants "under the bus" for the sake of strengthening Democrats' power in the House.
As the engineer of the Democrats' 2007 takeover of Congress [um, sure; heck, he'll be glad to tell you so himself! -- Ed.], Emanuel was viewed as stalling House consideration of broad immigration legislation, fearing that Democrats in Republican-leaning districts would become roadkill at the hands of angry voters. Even a Democratic president would have to wait until his second term to take on the issue, Emanuel once opined.

But now, as President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Emanuel is removing roadblocks that stand in the way of some of the legislative agenda benefitting immigrants, ethnic minorities and their advocates.

Emanuel, a shrewd political mind who also epitomizes the rough and tumble politics of his hometown of Chicago, seems to be firing up the bulldozer on immigration-related issues he once resisted.

For example, he recently cleared the path for increased benefits for legal immigrant children and pregnant women in the State Children's Health Insurance Program, Obama's first major legislative victory.

The debate was set up by Latino leaders and immigrants' rights backers as a test of Obama's and Congress' commitment to their issues. In negotiations with key senators, Emanuel warned that the bill would not be signed without the immigration benefits.

Obama's gatekeeper also kicked up a lot of dust by promising black and Hispanic lawmakers that the White House would closely monitor the director of the Census Bureau on the 2010 count -- legally under the purview of the Commerce Department -- since the census will determine future political representation and the distribution of federal dollars.

The pledge was meant to assuage minority lawmakers' anger over Obama's appointment of a Republican, Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, to head Commerce. Gregg eventually had second thoughts about becoming a Cabinet secretary -- citing disagreement with the administration on the economic stimulus bill and the census -- and he backed out.

On both issues, Emanuel showed an appreciation for the high Hispanic voter turnout and support for Democrats in 2008 that dramatically shifted the political landscape. The election also proved that all voters want the immigration system repaired, instead of demagogued.

SCHIP "would not have happened without Rahm," said Janet Murguia, president of National Council of La Raza. "SCHIP demonstrated that not only could they take that stand, but they could take that stand and win."

Emanuel's evolution reflects the change in the thinking of Democratic Party elders -- Obama excepted -- who shied away from the immigration debate before the 2008 election, said Frank Sharry, who heads America's Voice.

"Emanuel is a symbol of going from running away from immigration to someone who now says, 'Lean into immigration. It will help Democrats,'" Sharry added.

In most races since 2006 in which Republicans tried to use immigration as a wedge issue, Democrats won, Sharry said. He points to Idaho freshman Democrat Walt Minnick, who defeated Republican incumbent Bill Sali in 2008 by favoring a tough enforcement and legalization program over Sali's deportation strategy. The Idaho district is 7 percent Latino, and Minnick won just over 50 percent of the vote.
Emanuel himself pointed to SCHIP as a sign of the changing contours in the immigration debate.

During a recent interview with a dozen Hispanic journalists in the Old Executive Office Building, Emanuel said the administration purposely pushed a more complicated SCHIP proposal that relaxed rules by extending benefits to immigrants who have been in the country for less than five years.

SCHIP shows that "the arrow is pointing in a different direction in relation to immigration politics in this country," Emanuel told the Hispanic media during the second week of the new administration. SCHIP can be viewed as a down payment on what will be forthcoming from the Obama administration, Emanuel added, according to La Opinion, a Spanish-language newspaper.

Reaching out to Hispanic reporters for his first interview with a "constituency" media group also is noteworthy, given the strong influence of Spanish-language media in expanding Latino communities.

Though forceful on some issues, Emanuel remains evasive about whether Obama will keep his campaign promise to produce a comprehensive immigration plan this year.

While major players agree the economic crisis is the first priority, Democratic lawmakers such as Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, from Emanuel's home state of Illinois, have not let up the pressure on Emanuel to act this year.

The White House also stayed out of the early debate over whether to include in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill a proposed extension of E-Verify, the error-ridden federal computer system that is supposed to confirm the legal residency status of all U.S. workers. Hispanics and business groups managed to delete from the final bill House language that would have forced employers receiving stimulus money to use E-Verify.

And after having stepped out in front of the census, civil rights groups now expect the White House not to back down, even if Gregg did.

The Census Bureau was so badly managed in recent years that Democrats and Republicans worry about its readiness for the 2010 count. The dispute over Gregg, however, highlighted the ever-present politicization of the process, regardless of which party occupies the White House.

When Rep. William Lacy Clay of Missouri, who oversees the House subcommittee on the census, was personally reassured by Obama and Emanuel that they would oversee the 2010 count, he was thrilled. "I do welcome the president's, and Rahm's and the entire White House team’s involvement," Clay said, adding that they understand how an undercount can hurt minority communities.

House Republicans, led by Rep. Darrell Issa of California, complained of a "Chicago-style" power grab by Emanuel, a charge that probably will not go away as long as Emanuel is Obama's right-hand man.

Immigrant advocates await the administration's review of immigration raids that were stepped up by former President George W. Bush and that terrorized immigrants and even Hispanics who are U.S. citizens. But Emanuel remains "very mindful" of Obama's campaign pledge to "rise above the fear and demagoguery," Murguia said.

Emanuel is not just being a "good soldier," Sharry added. "I think he's actually revised his views on this [immigration] issue. If that's true, it's huge."