Unfortunately, this shows the reality of the Democratic Party. It is disjointed, and unable to organize one vote. This leaves Latinos out in the cold, and with no clear option as to which political party to turn to. Maybe now is the time for an Independent candidate to come forward for 2012, uniting the Latino vote and taking it away from both parties.
Even worse, is that the DREAM Act failure comes on the heels of the passing of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy reversal, which allows for gays in the military to be as openly gay as they may. The country is focusing in celebrating this great success, of course, however, very little has been said in the media about the irrational vote on the DREAM Act.
Why irrational? Because who can possibly think that the youth - who didn’t come to this country willfully, but were brought by their parents - who will become well educated adults, paying their taxes, their social security, expending in consumer products, is not something that our country will benefit from? We’re talking about 1.2 million immigrant youth in this group, according experts. Republicans, frankly, are blindly obsessed with fighting anything that could appear like an amnesty. Whether it could be beneficial or not, they don’t care.
As upsetting as the failing of the DREAM Act is, it is not surprising to those who have been paying attention to the writing on the wall. When the Democrats had the majority in both houses, the Democratic leadership wasn’t able to cash in on that political power. Now things have changed, the fight for the presidential race on 2012 is on, and Republicans will for sure obstruct anything that Obama wants to do.
Although Republicans say that they are interested in passing a comprehensive immigration reform, it is not expected that they will act on it, until “our borders are secured”, as they have expressed. But, curiously enough, they keep opposing the bills that fund border security. It seems that the “statuos quo” is working fine for them. In the meantime, we can expect more abuse of power, and inhumane treatment for those undocumented.
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1 comment:
Very interesting article and great blog site! I don't want you to give up on the Democrats, though. Not for one minute. We have to be in this for the long haul. There is no "independent" candidate at any level that is strong enough to win in 2012, and the democratic vote can't afford to be watered down anymore. I can't imagine how complex the decision process of our elected leaders must have been in the first two years of Obama's presidency. There were so many problems that needed solutions. These dems didn't get everything right, but they did a lot of great things that would never have come about under other circumstances. Remember that the reason the Democratic leadership wasn't able to get more done when Democrats had a majority in both houses is because of the unprecedented filibustering that went on. No longer was a simple majority enough; impossible super majorities were necessary. I have a hunch that democrats are going to regain seats in 2012 and I hope that dems can count on the Latino vote. If Latinos abandon the democratic party, you can bet on more and more of the disappointing status quo and even greater disasters. Yes, we have to keep pressing leaders on all sides to act on immigration reform, but I think it's clear that the change that serves our interests is more likely to come from progressive thinking democrats than any other kind of politician. We have to be patient and stay committed. Again, great blog!! -N de León-Jones, Riverview, FL
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