Immigration Reform, Intelligence, DoD, Hijackings.

A few thoughts this morning...

1) House Republicans are making an awful mistake on immigration reform. I get and respect that many members of the Republican caucus oppose the Senate's immigration bill. That's fair enough. But to simply offer intransigent opposition without response would be terrible mistake. It would play to Democratic caricatures of the GOP as a party that has no interest in governing. It would reinforce negative perceptions of the GOP in the eyes of Hispanic Americans. Most of all, it would represent a stunning neglect of the ultimate responsibility of elected officials to govern. There can be no doubt that America's immigration system is broken. It deserves and requires resolution. Yet, I fear that in much the same way as was the case with health care reform, by ceding the debate, Republicans will also effectively cede control over the contours of immigration reform. This will lead to the worst possible outcome - open borders, unfettered amnesty and a tremendous political defeat for the GOP brand. House Republicans need to listen to conservatives like Paul Ryan.

2) Members of Congress are complaining that the Intelligence Community regularly obfuscate their reports to the intelligence oversight committees. This is nothing new (see The Deep State). Yet, it's open airing speaks to a dysfunction at the heart of the US Government. Many intelligence professionals simply do not believe that politicians can be trusted to make objective decisions on the merits of particular intelligence operations. As a result, they do their utmost to sell those programs in uncontroversial ways. Don't get me wrong, misleading Congress is absolutely unacceptable and where it occurs, it must now stop. Nevertheless, Congress bears responsibility for its shifting rhetoric on the constitution of appropriate intelligence activities.

3) I share Chuck Hagel's concern over the looming impact of the sequester on the US Military. Unfortunately, until Democrats accept the inevitability of major entitlement reform, the prospects of an appropriate defense resolution are very low. It's stunning to me that liberals still refuse to engage in meaningful dialogue over entitlements. The numbers speak for themselves. In the interim however, it's crucial that Hagel resists efforts by President Obama to play politics with the sequester (a preference for which Obama has previously shown significant sympathy). For one example, it makes no sense that USN/USAF fighter squadrons are seeing degraded readiness. We should be closing bases before degrading our power projection capabilities.

4) A new book on air hijackings has been released. The author covers the 'epidemic' in hijackings that afflicted the world in the 1960s/70s. Of course, things have since changed. The threat of suicide hijackings and the rise in politically motivated attacks (especially by Palestinian affiliated terrorist organizations) forced western governments to develop highly trained counter-terrorism capabilities. For example, the United States lead agency for plane focused hostage rescues is ACE (aka Delta Force). Combined with greatly improved airport security efforts, the ability to respond to and effectively resolve hijackings has meant that air travel is now substantially safer.

Why House Republicans Should Support Immigration Reform

With the Senate having passed an Immigration Reform bill, the House of Representatives will now take up this critical issue. The internal GOP debates are sure to be both fierce and passionate.

From my perspective, Republicans should regard this reform effort as one deserving of their support. Most importantly, the bill offers a flawed but real opportunity to address the two great weaknesses of our immigration system: The presence of over 11 million undocumented illegal immigrants in a state of legal limbo and a border that remains effectively unsecured. This reality poses significant challenges to the well being of the United States. It creates significant financial burdens (for example in uninsured health care costs), it sustains a massive underground economy and it poses major challenges in terms of both criminal/terrorism related concerns. This dysfunction must find resolution.

However, there's another reason why GOP representatives should support reform - politics. 

It's true, in the short term, it's very likely that immigration reform will favor Democrats. The President will sign a law (if it reaches his desk) and as a result, he will be perceived as the primary agent of its creation. In short, Democrats will bear the immediate dividends. Yet, this being said, Republicans need to begin a perception rapprochement with Hispanic Americans. National elections require the engagement of a broad spectrum of voters - this dynamic will only accelerate going forwards. By illustrating a willingness to engage in serious compromise and in a way that meets key conservative concerns (in this case- border security imperatives), the GOP will earn a 'second look' from Hispanic voters as a viable alternative to the Democratic Party. 

Immigration reform won't weaken the Republican brand, it's passage will re-frame and renew that identity.

For conservatives to meaningfully assert those messages most likely to appeal to Hispanic voters - strong families, personal responsibility and social mobility, Hispanic Americans must first be listening. At the moment, we're being ignored.