At this rate, the “Abolish ICE” gimmick is going to hurt Democrats, even with supporters who agree the agency should be disbanded.
As it turns out, voters often are unforgiving when they think their team is selling them false promises. Just ask the party that is still trying to figure out how an outsider like President Trump won its nomination.
Calling for the abolishment of the nation’s largest immigration law enforcement agency is the hot new get-out-the-vote scheme on the Left, akin to the Right’s years of promising to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act.
However, unlike Republicans, Democrats keep overplaying their hand. It won’t be long before their supporters catch on that it’s not seriously considering it.
[Trump: ‘Democrats have a death wish’]
Three Democratic lawmakers already scored a goal against their own party this year when they introduced a stunt anti-ICE bill in the House, only to retreat from it after GOP leadership called their bluff.
If you think that makes Democrats look unserious about the issue, the fallout this week is worse.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., pulled the stunt ICE bill and replaced it with a resolution stating the House’s support for the immigration enforcement agency.
The House of Representatives “expresses its continued support for all United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement … officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of ICE,” the resolution reads, adding that it also “denounces calls for the complete abolishment of ICE.”
The resolution adds that the House, “supports the efforts of all Federal agencies, State law enforcement, and military personnel who bring law and order to our Nation’s borders.”
Democrats had a chance this week to vote “nay” on the pro-ICE bill, making their opposition to the agency clear. But they didn’t do that. They didn’t even vote “yay.” They hid.
Of the 193 Democrats currently in the House, a whopping 133 Democrats voted “present” on the resolution (18 voted in favor, and 34 voted against).
Amusingly enough, some Democratic lawmakers are sore that Speaker Ryan put them in a position this week to stake out a pro- or anti-ICE position.
“It is a meaningless stunt,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said before the vote, adding he voted “present” because “we have more important things to do.”
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., added elsewhere: “This is exactly the kind of ‘gotcha vote’ which alienates Americans from their government… Democrats refuse to play the Republicans’ game. We’re not falling for this trap.”
Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., gloated a little, saying, “We stand up for our ICE agents and the people that are keeping America safe. They want to get rid of them. It’s a radical idea they have, and this resolution’s really important.”
He has a right to gloat! After all, 133 Democrats voting “present” on a pro-ICE bill is a worse look than if they just voted “nay.” What’s the message they’re sending anyway by voting “present”? That they don’t support ICE, but they don’t dislike it enough to say so? Bold.
By taking the agnostic road, those 133 Democrats confirmed what I suspected last week: that they’re willing to entertain the notion of abolishing ICE just enough to keep the base happy, but not enough to actually do something about it. God help them if their supporters figure this it out.
Good luck in November, guys.
