Yeah, C. Stewart, Jr. is quite a dude. He served as assistant secretary for Homeland Security back in the George, Jr. years and before that general counsel to the Senate Republican Whip. He is the CEO of “Monument Advocacy”, a “cutting edge” (I guess) DC shop handling “government relations, public affairs, strategic and crisis communications, and digital services” for those in need, a sort of “Wire Paladin” for the 21st century. Unfortunately, as my headline suggests, he’s just a wee bit of a babe in the woods as well.
My evidence lies in a recent post that Stew wrote for “The Hill”, to wit, History confirms Republicans rejected a once-in-a-lifetime immigration opportunity. In their desperate desire both to obtain funding for Ukraine and take substantial action to reduce the “crisis” at the Rio Grande, congressional Democrats were willing to swallow a virtual Republican immigration wish list. Writes Stewie, in near desperation and despair,
For immigration hardliners, the moment of leverage had finally arrived: More enforcement without amnesty. However, instead of seizing this likely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, House Republicans and former President Trump argued that the bill was not the hardliner wish list they preferred and successfully convinced most Senate Republicans to block the bill.
This one-sided deal that favors Republican enforcement policy is unlikely to ever reappear. There has never been another moment this century when Democrats agreed to enforcement legislation without meaningful legalization provisions. Nor have they ever agreed to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to anywhere near the level needed to locate and deport millions of individuals already in the country illegally.
Stewie tries to explain the facts of life to Republicans:
Conservatives holding out for a better outcome are ignoring recent history that Democratic presidents have won the popular vote in every election this century except for one while congressional control has been narrow and divided. Our future politics are much more likely to produce an outcome that passes a legalization and enforcement compromise, not a hardline Republican wish list.
This 2024 window for an enforcement-only bill is briefly open and will likely never reappear. Border hawks may be cheering the demise of the Senate bill, but they will regret it.
Well, I hope I won’t be deep-sixing Monument Advocacy hopes for a bright and prosperous future (for themselves), but I’m afraid Stewie doesn’t understand a damn thing about Republicans in Congress. They’re not here to pass legislation! They’re here to obstruct legislation! Any legislation! Any legislation at all! And as for that part about Democrats winning “elections”, well, Republicans don’t believe in those either!
As people like Paul Krugman, Damon Linker. Peter Suderman, and, well, me have pointed out, repeatedly, the Republican Party stopped thinking decades ago. It was too damn much work! And now they have someone who will do their thinking for them! Just put Donnie in charge, for like forever, and all our problems will melt away!
Afterwords
There’s another reason why Republicans might want the continued “broke” system to continue besides making Uncle Joe and the Democrats look bad: increased opportunity to exploit starving immigrants, just like in the good old days! As the Economic Policy Institute reports, Republicans at the state level are pushing, and, often, enacting, legislation that reduces restrictions on child labor, in some cases eliminating requirements of parental consent.
In Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed into law a 2023 bill repealing restrictions on work for 14- and 15-year-olds. Under the new law, children under 16 will no longer need to provide an employment certificate from the Division of Labor that verifies proof of their age and parental consent to work. A spokesperson for Sanders called parental permission requirements for children to work an “arbitrary burden” (Picchi 2023). Removing requirements to provide proof of age or permission to work can, however, easily facilitate the exploitation of migrant youth while giving cover to adults who connect them with illegal employment.
Who says the Republican Party isn’t the party of ideas! It’s just that they’re all bad!
