House Democrats Pass Dreamer Protection Bill, But...

Gottheimer visits Lodi-- but not for a town hall

Tuesday evening the House passed Lucille Roybal-Allard's bill to protect Dreamers-- the Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (HR 6)-- 237-187. Every single Democrat-- even hardcore anti-immigrant Blue Dogs-- voted for the bill, along with 7 Republicans, most of whom are in swing districts and vulnerable to defeat in 2020. The bill, according to Politico, is the House Democratic majority's answer to Señor Trumpanzee’s hard-line immigration agenda. Trumpanzee and his top officials have "pressed Congress, unsuccessfully, in recent months for billions to build a border wall, and changes to asylum and detention laws to discourage the arrival of migrants from Central America. The Dream and Promise Act carries a more welcoming message. The bill would allow an estimated 2.3 million undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to apply for legal status and eventual citizenship, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute. The population eligible for legalization under the measure would include 673,000 people covered by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump has sought to terminate. In addition, the bill would offer legal status to more than 400,000 people covered by Temporary Protected Status, a humanitarian program that allows people to remain in the U.S. and work legally if their home countries suffer a natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary event. The measure also would legalize roughly 1,400 Liberian nationals covered by Deferred Enforced Departure, another humanitarian initiative."

McTurtle has already said the bill will not be allowed onto the floor of the Senate and will get no vote.

Perhaps a more interesting story, politically, was the GOP attempt to derail the bill with a motion to recommit, a naked ploy that ostensibly seems to be instructions to rewrite the bill to include the use of information about criminality, terrorist threats and gangs in immigration enforcement. Joe Neguse dismissed their bullshit efforts for what they were-- a chickenshit attempting to stop passage of the legislation. "I would ask my colleagues to spare me this false outrage. At the end of the day, there is no question that no one is interested in allowing gang members to benefit."

However, 10 Democrats went along with the Republican trick, 9 freshman members with the reputations as political cowards, led by GOP cat's paw Josh Gottheimer, widely considered the Democrats' worst player.

• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
• Angie Craig (New Dem-MN)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Abby Finkenauer (IA)
• Jared Golden (ME)
• Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)
• Josh Harder (New Dem-CA)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Elissa Slotkin (New Dem-MI)
• Jefferson Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ)

I spoke to several members of Congress about the divisive tactic and naked subterfuge and most of them cited Gottheimer's bad faith and grandstanding as an example of GOP quisling but no one was willing to go on the record. One wrote to me saying-- literally-- "I know why and can discuss with you, but will not comment on the record."

I'm getting the idea that he's the most hated member of Congress. Bergen County deserves better. (So far there is no announced primary opponent to Gottheimer.)