Steve Benen: Refusing to take ‘yes’ for an answer

Initially, congressional Republicans told Democrats, “We won’t consider immigration reform unless President Obama starts taking enforcement seriously.” The White House agreed and deportations reached a record high.

Soon after, congressional Republicans added, “We won’t consider immigration reform unless there’s a bipartisan bill.” Congressional Democrats agreed and a bipartisan compromise agreement took shape and passed the Senate.

Congressional Republicans then said, “We won’t consider immigration reform unless we can break up the legislation into chunks and approve the provisions piecemeal.” Democrats again agreed.

Finally, congressional Republicans concluded, “We can’t consider immigration reform because we perceive President Obama as an out-of-control radical who ignores federal laws.” Yesterday, Democrats signaled a willingness to accommodate this concern, too.

More here: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/refusing-take-yes-answer

Found on the Obama Diary