Washington politics are beginning to look like a serial drama on TV. Every day brings a new conflict with power struggles and strategic ploys to rival any fictional episode of your favorite show.
Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is being claimed by all sides as a victory, but in the present tense it favors the Obama Administration more than Arizona to be sure. The only part of the law that was not overturned was the ability for local officials to check for immigration status if they have reasonable cause in the course of regular law enforcement. While this is, as Governor Brewer has said, the heart of the law; if the Feds won’t enforce immigration issues raised by local authorities, which they have already suggested they will not, then the law has no teeth since the locals can’t enforce the law themselves. This does underline Justice Scalia’s dissenting opinion asking what a sovereign state is to do when the executive branch of the Federal government chooses not to enforce a a duly enacted law that the President disagrees with. About the only thing that the Scotus unanimous decision to leave this part of the law intact does do, is allow a principle to survive that can be incorporated into future legislation. In any event, this decision will make it more difficult for Obama to criticize the court for Thursday’s decision on the Affordable Care Act. He can’t claim that the Court is a political hack court on Thursday, when it clearly wasn’t on Monday!
The less publicized conflict in Washington this week is the contempt of congress charges against Eric Holder in the Fast and Furious gun walking scandal, and the President’s claim of executive privilege to withhold documents subpoenaed by Congress. The spin doctors are working overtime, but with the death of a border patrol agent seemingly partially due to the actions of the Department of Justice… it’s hard to make this look ok for the administration that promised transparency as its hallmark. The one saving grace on this issue is that most media outlets besides FOX NEWS seem somewhat disinterested in the subject. One might ask if there is nothing to hide why the administration wouldn’t just try to put this behind them. But one might also have asked why the footdragging on the birth certificate issue. Sometimes it is wisdom to jump out of the fire into the frying pan, especially if the frying pan’s not actually hot. This President needs distractions from the one issue he cannot look good on to anyone, and that is the economy. If he can work his magic to get his conservative adversaries to divert their attacks to something that will likely be a long drawn out controversy, on balance he wins, especially if he can turn it at the last moment to make the Republicans look like vindictive fools.
IMHO: President Obama’s statement regarding his decision to selectively enforce immigration law raises questions about whether a law actually is the law if the President disagrees with it. Nevertheless, the response from those less concerned with such questions than the immediate immigration situation, coupled with victory in the case against Arizona, has only served to increase Obama’s standing with the latino community, and presents Romney with a serious hispanic problem. What this virtually guarantees is that Marco Rubio will be the pick for the GOP veep (though another interesting possibility would have been New Mexico governor Susana Martinez).
Look for the Fast and Furious brouhaha to move ahead at a snail’s pace, with smoke, but no fire… and then, poof! the evidence will be gone!
Thursday’s episode is the season finale, I can hardly wait!
