OPINION:
Speaker Paul D. Ryan came out in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s widely reported claim to be in the works on an executive order to halt Anchor Baby Syndrome and said, hey you can’t do that, followed quickly by this: Republicans got this.
Except really, they don’t. They haven’t, despite the opportunities that have presented.
“Where we obviously totally agree with the president is getting at the root issue here, which is unchecked illegal immigration,” Ryan said, CNN reported. “We — House Republicans and this president — are in total agreement on the need to stop illegal immigration, to secure our border and fix our laws.”
Well that’s great and all — that spirit of cooperation and agreement and unity of message is rocking. But where’s the action?
As The Washington Post noted in June, at a time when House Republicans — House Republicans under Ryan’s leadership — were poised to vote on two immigration bills: “Even if neither measure passes, the fact that they will have voted on them is remarkable. … For the past decade, the last thing House Republicans wanted to do was vote on overhauling immigration laws.”
Hmm. Seems Ryan, like many Republicans on Capitol Hill, don’t mind paying lip service to the idea of immigration policy reform and better border controls. It’s when the idea moves from the talking phase to the legislating stage things start to crumble.
Republicans in office notoriously dither on tightening America’s borders — same as they notoriously dither on “fixing” Social Security, “solving” Medicaid-slash-Medicare and “overhauling” the ridiculously burdensome tax laws that send Americans’ blood pressures skyrocketing each April.
They don’t want to do it. It’s not politically expedient. It’s not advantageous to their public service careers.
They need a push.
So here comes Trump, tired of the wait-and-see attitudes of Republicans who control both sides of Congress — of the fearful demeanor of GOPers who haven’t yet learned that the leftist members of the media will never like them or support them, no matter how hard they try.
And Trump says: I can put a stop to one of the most hated facets of America’s immigration system with a simple executive order.
Now, suddenly, overnight — and as promised by Trump and a whole caravan of campaigning Republicans through the years — immigration and border control has taken front and center on the political stage and it seems as if action is on its way. The talk may be, maybe, turning to action.
And what’s Ryan do?
He does a Ryan. He gets all scaredy-cattish and tries to calm the situation, soothe the angry — leftist — masses.
“You obviously cannot do that,” Ryan said, when asked about Trump’s executive order idea, CNN reported. “As a conservative, I’m a believer in following the plain text of the Constitution and I think in this case the 14th Amendment is pretty clear.”
Enough of the catering to Democrats masquerading as diplomacy already.
Enough of the undercutting of this president by those of his own party.
If Ryan wants to shut down Trump’s executive order talk before it barely has a chance to take off the ground, then he ought to have a better plan in hand to stop the flow of illegals coming to this country Right Now — to halt headlines like this, from Breitbart, back in December 2017: “Anchor Baby Population in U.S. Exceeds One Year of American Births.”
And if he can’t offer such a plan? Then Ryan, along with all the soft-talking, soft-walking Republicans, are better off being quiet. Conservative voters long ago stopped listening and believing RINO promises, taking RINO words as truths. Put up or shut up is the phrase that comes to mind.
Trump, at least, is pushing the buttons and forcing action.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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