Republicans and the 14th Amendment
I am loath to quote Slate on politics, but they do a good job of putting this 14th amendment nonsense to bed:
“Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham last week proposed amending the Constitution to change the law that grants citizenship to the children of immigrants born in the United States. More specifically, he would change the language of the 14th Amendment to bar birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented parents. Graham’s Senate Republican colleagues John McCain, Jon Kyl, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all agree that hearings should be held on the proposal. This effort is just the latest evidence of how insincere they are about supporting a meaningful attempt at immigration reform, opting instead for pointless political chest-thumping.
They cannot be serious about amending the 14th Amendment (which may explain why key Republicans are already backing away from the proposal). The Constitution can only be amended in two ways: The first is for a bill to pass both houses of Congress, by a two-thirds majority. Good luck with that, especially in this age of partisan politics. Once the bill has passed both houses, then it’s on to the states for approval. Congress will normally put a time limit (typically seven years) for the bill to be approved as an amendment that must be ratified by three-fourths of states. Again, good luck.”
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: There is no reason why this should be an issue now. Deportation is up under Obama, and crime is down in the border states. The only reason that this is being brought up now is because Republicans are hoping they can use it as a bludgeon for the 2010 elections. But in doing so, they are basically screwing themselves in 2012. They should have reshaped their party when they saw just how much they got walloped by the Dems when it came to minorities in 2008. Instead of showing the country that they are a party that can change with the times, they have chosen to cling to their white conservative base (the Tea Party is proof of that) and have effectively driven the nails into their own coffins. You can’t be a nationally viable party without minority votes and they have done even more since the 2008 election to drive those votes away. It is utterly absurd.
