Immigration reform tying House Republicans in knots

House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that immigration reform will not come to the floor without majority Republican support, hurting its prospects. Yet the House GOP is also planning outreach to Hispanic voters.?

By Jennifer Skalka Tulumello,?Contributor / June 18, 2013

A protester shouts out against the tough enforcement measures in the GOP-proposed Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, as he and others are removed from the audience during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Enlarge

The House GOP is tied up in knots over immigration reform.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio said Tuesday that he won?t bring a bill to the floor for a vote without a majority of his own caucus expressing support for it. And yet the party could face a gloomy political future if it doesn?t help pass some sort of package. Snubbing one of the nation's growing voter constituencies, Hispanic Americans, could doom Republican prospects for holding the House after the 2014 midterms or winning back the White House in 2016.

So what?s a conflicted Republican Party to do?

Host a series of meetups with Hispanic voters, reports Yahoo News. Because when politicians can?t deliver for a constituency, more gabbing with their leaders is always the answer.

The House Republican Conference, chaired by Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is planning four sessions between Hispanics ?and Republican lawmakers at the Capitol this summer, according to Yahoo.

?It?s important that we?re having this two-way conversation and hearing the ideas and concerns from a broad base of people from around the country," Ms. McMorris Rodgers told the site, in an interview. ?More than anything we want them to know that we want to have this relationship with them.... It?s our effort to build relationships with people all around the country to talk to them about issues that impact their daily lives.?

The GOP conference plans to host the first meeting tomorrow with Hispanic faith leaders; on July 18, with Hispanic women and, separately, with young people; and a final confab Aug. 1 that will focus on jobs and the economy, per Yahoo.

Still, the drumbeat is getting louder for the GOP to make a move on reform sooner rather than later. And not just because some believe it?s the right thing to do, but because others see an insurmountable political obstacle for the party should lawmakers not pass comprehensive reform.

?House GOP could commit political suicide by defeating immigration reform,? suggests one columnist for The Hill newspaper.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/xkjKsG3gsJ8/Immigration-reform-tying-House-Republicans-in-knots

fergie new years looper New Years Eve New Year Outback Bowl washington redskins