As President Obama “mounts a new effort to simultaneously push two major domestic policy initiatives — immigration reform and energy legislation — that seem politically impossible before the fall elections, one Republican has a bit of advice: Go small,” Talking Points Memo reports.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Tuesday that Obama should do a "smaller version" of the energy measure that he worked on with Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Kerry (D-MA) and return to the issue next year. (Graham bailed on that working group in April.) As for immigration, Graham thinks securing the border first is the only option for beginning a productive debate, and suggested that a post-election measure doing that will set up Congress to consider a comprehensive bill with a pathway to citizenship next year.
Graham said that Democrats and Obama can’t do anything to bring him back into the fold on either issue until after the elections, adding that it’s "foolish" to try for comprehensive plans on either issue.
[…]
Graham added that if Obama tries to pass a cap and trade system without GOP support, that would lead to "failure for decades."
(credit image – daylife/associated press)
Congress in Your Pocket
