"Just say it: Immigration is good. We should consider ourselves lucky to have had so much, and we should strive to have more." Thank you, @felipedlh.bsky.socialnewrepublic.com/article/1864...
Kamala Harris apparently believes—wrongly—that she has no influence on anti-immigrant sentiment in America, because she has effectively capitulated to MAGA messaging.
I don’t understand why the democrats can never pander to THEIR base. Why is the other side the only one that ever fucking panders. Like I know I’m a registered democrat in California but also I wouldn’t mind my leaders trying to inspire *me*
heh. I just posted this. bsky.app/profile/stin...
Does anyone think the Dems could win with a softer immigration policy?
![Fast-forward to 2014. Attempting to undercut criticism of Democrats' supposed leniency on immigration, Obama instituted harsh border policies, including the family separation policy that evolved into the infamous "kids in cages" under Trump.
How many Republican votes were won over by this infliction of cruelty? Well, according to one veteran of the Obama White House: "There was a feeling that [Obama] needed to show the American public that you believed in enforcement, and [that we weren't pushing for] open borders. But in hindsight I was like, what did we get for that? We deported more people than ever before. All these families separated, and Republicans didn't give him one ounce of credit. There may as well have been open borders for five years."'l OK, so zero. It won zero votes.
Republicans accused Democrats of being open-border lovers anyway, and Democratic voters who cared about immigration felt betrayed, like they were sold out in an attempt to satisfy the right. Grea](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:obzgiyh5vnhtwrtewot77mi4/bafkreic7phsrsdsdvlcxl4jeac7h7ryevoet5mhexxre44qeujknfv5bha@jpeg)
LOL, immigration is how GDP will stay above 1.5%, it's how we'll be able to continue to pay social security and medicare, how we'll have enough labor for the jobs..... The fear mongering is intellectually lazy BS.
It's wild that they've shifted to the right of Bush and Reagan on immigration. I think it's pretty disgusting anyway. And their capitulating to right wing framing has allowed the right to move the goal posts to the point where they're chirping constantly about mass deportation now.
Same unforced error as all over Europe. Giving in on that just feeds the right wing momentum, appeasement never works.
But this is similar to the legalize hard drugs and funnel the money into effective treatment programs argument. Sure it's logical and likely more effective but making Billy Bob the Teamster sit and discuss it carefully is just an impossible lift.