In Responding To Obama’s Executive Action, Top GOPers Worry About Further Alienating Latino Voters

Top Republicans worry that their party’s response to the President’s executive action will alienate Latinos. However, there’s little they can do about that.

How Obama Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Imperial Presidency

A critic of the imperial presidency becomes an imperial president.

Obama’s Executive Action, The Law, And The Constitution

On a preliminary examination, the President’s executive action on immigration appears to be within the boundaries of applicable law. However, as with other exercises of Executive Branch authority, it raises some important concerns about the precedent that it sets.

DOJ Finds President Lacks Authority to Take Action He Took Next Day

The Office of Legal Counsel told the president Wednesday he couldn’t do what he did on Thursday.

Obama Announces Immigration Plan, But Constitutional Confrontation Lies Ahead

On substance, the President’s immigration actions aren’t very objectionable. How he is implementing them, though, is problematic and seems needlessly confrontational.

GOP Options In Response To Obama’s Executive Action Are Limited, Perhaps Non-Existent

In the end, there appears to be very little, if anything, the GOP can do to stop or roll back the executive actions the President will announce Thursday evening.

Americans Oppose Unilateral Executive Action On Immigration, But Support Immigration Reform

A new poll provides some interesting context to the political context to the President’s expected executive action on immigration.

President Obama Was Against Unilateral Executive Action On Immigration Before He Was For it

If the President now believes he can act unilaterally on immigration reform, why did he spend the last five years saying that he couldn’t?

Public Wants Obama To Wait On Immigration Action

A new poll shows that Americans would prefer President Obama to wait to act on immigration until after the new Congress has had a chance to act on the issue.

If Obama Pulls The Trigger On Executive Action, Republicans Have Limited Options

Republicans don’t really have many options if the President pulls the trigger on immigration reform via executive action.

White House Hints At Content Of Obama’s Executive Action On Immigration

The White House is now leaking out details of what seems like an inevitable decision by the President. How it plays out politically, though, is the big question.

With GOP Wins, The Tea Party v. Establishment Battle Moves Into The Halls Of Congress

The GOP’s big wins last week seem to be just guaranteeing that this year’s battle between the Tea Party and the “establishment” will continue.

President Obama’s Immigration Threat Is Politically Naive And Unrealistic

President Obama’s threat to take action on immigration if Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year ignores political reality,

2014 And The Latino Vote

Republicans performed better among Latino voters this year than they did in 2012, but that doesn’t mean they’ve solved their problems.

Don’t Expect Anything Out Of Washington In Obama’s Final Two Years

Despite the conciliatory language after Tuesday, it’s unlikely that much will change in Washington in the next two years.

Rand Paul Is Right. The GOP’s Brand Sucks, But That’s Only Part Of The Problem

Rebranding alone isn’t going to fix what’s causing the GOP to lose ground among a whole host of demographic groups.

Voters Still Not Caring Very Much About The Midterms, And That’s No Surprise

Polls continue to show that most Americans are largely tuning the midterms out.

Republicans Have Little Incentive To Move Forward On Immigration Reform

Despite conventional wisdom, there remains little incentive for the GOP to change its position on immigration reform.

Obama May Punt On Executive Action On Immigration, Even After The Election

Will the President back track on his promise of further action on immigration if the GOP wins the Senate?

The Tea Party Lost Badly In 2014, But It’s Not Going Anywhere

The death of the Tea Party is greatly exaggerated.

Lindsey Graham Says He’s Thinking About Running For President

It has nothing to do with winning, but it does have a lot to do with the foreign policy debate inside the Republican Party.

Americans View Both Major Parties Equally, Which Probably Helps The GOP

The GOP has bounced back significantly from the lows it experienced after last year’s government shutdown.

Obama To Delay Action On Immigration Reform Until After Election

For purely political reasons, the Administration is delaying the announcement of new executive action on immigration.

White House May Hold Off On Immigration Action Until After Election

Cowardice, or politically prudent?

Mitch McConnell Promising More Showdowns And Shutdowns If The GOP Wins The Senate

If Republicans win the Senate, what we’ve seen for the past three years could end up seeming tame by comparison.

The GOP Establishment Won The Primary Battles, But They Let The Tea Party Win The War

Tea Party backed candidates may have lost most of the GOP primary battles, but they’ve won the war for control of the Republican agenda.

House Republicans Are Dooming Their 2016 Nominee With Latino Voters

Republicans in the House seem determined to make life difficult for whomever wins the GOP nomination in 2016

Obama To Take New Executive Action On Immigration?

According to some reports, President Obama may be about to make an end run around Congressional inaction on immigration reform.

Majority Of Americans Say Children Who Have Crossed The Border Should Be Treated As Refugees

The American people don’t want to turn those migrant children from Central America away after all.

Ted Cruz Ready To Force A Showdown Over Immigration?

The Texas Senator is threatening to block any bill dealing with the border crisis that doesn’t defund the relief President Obama granted to children of illegal immigrants last year.

Majority Of Republicans Support Obama’s Impeachment

A lot of Republicans dislike the President enough to think that he should be removed from office, but will that make impeachment more likely to happen?

Jose Antonio Vargas Is A Symbol For Immigration Reform, Not A Candidate For Deportation

Jose Antonio Vargas was brought to the U.S. at the age of 12 and never left. Now, some are suggesting he should be deported as soon as possible.

Only Congress Can Do What’s Needed To Deal With The Border Crisis

That ball is in your court, Congress.

GOP Establishment Pushes Back Against Calls For Impeachment

Led by Speaker John Boehner, Republican leaders are trying to placate calls for impeachment.

The Border Crisis: Many Causes, No Simple Solutions

Trying to make sense of a very complicated issue.

113th Congress Set To Break New Ground When It Comes To Being Unproductive

The current Congress is on course to be the least productive in decades.

Sarah Palin Says It’s Time To Impeach Obama

What could possibly go wrong?

Presidential Overreach Should Be More Than Just Another Partisan Fight, But That’s What It Will Be

There are legitimate issues regarding Presidential overreach and separation of powers that President Obama’s actions while in office have raised. But none of that will be discussed in our hyperpartisan political culture.

Institutional Design and Governance

A piece at Foreign Policy provides a chance to give some thought to institutions.

Could Republicans Taking Control Of The Senate Be Good For Obama?

Republican overreach could end up helping the President and his party.

Could The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Make It Through Congress Today?

The sad truth is that the bipartisanship that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 no longer exists today.

On Many Issues, The Tea Party Is Out Of Step With The American Public

The people with the biggest voices in the GOP seem to be leading it to positions that most Americans disagree with.

Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise Win Leadership Elections, But The Battle Resumes In November

The House leadership elections turned out about as expected, but we may be doing this all over again in five months.

On Immigration, David Brat And The Tea Party Stray From Their Own Principles

There is no such thing as a consistent free market, limited government case in favor of restricting immigration, whether legal or illegal.

Eric Cantor’s Loss Means A Lot Less Than You Think It Does

There aren’t nearly as many “meta” lessons in Eric Cantor’s loss as pundits have been claiming.