kalikshama
Posts: 14805
Joined: 8/8/2010
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quote:
"We’re going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends"
Context:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/10/transcript-of-president-barack-obama-with-univision.html
...EPS: Many Hispanics feel disappointed with you because comprehensive immigration reform has not been passed. What can you tell them?
POTUS: Well, I'm disappointed, too. As you heard in the introduction, this is something that I've been committed to for many years. I committed to it when I was a U.S. Senator, I committed to it when I was a state senator. It's something that I deeply believe that we've got to solve our immigration problem so that we're both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws so that people can come out of the shadows, that people who are productive and otherwise law-abiding are able to get on a pathway to citizenship. They pay a fine, pay back taxes, learn English, become part of this beautiful American community of ours. And the fact that we have not got it done is something that frustrates me and I know that it frustrates many people in the community. But I think it's important for people to understand why it hasn't gotten done. In the United States Senate, over the last two years, many Republicans who used to support Comprehensive Immigration Reform, like John McCain, decided not to support it and in the Senate, you've got a rule that says 50 votes is not enough. That you can't just pass a law with 50 or 51 votes, you have to have a super majority of 60 votes. We have the majority of Democrats supporting us, so I could easily get 50 votes, Democratic votes, but I'd need some help from our Republican friends. And what happened was we still have 11 Republicans in the United States Senate who voted for Comprehensive Immigration Reform four years ago, but now are not willing to step up. And so the problem that we have is, is that until I can get some cooperation from the other side, then people who are anti-immigration reform can continue to block it. And that's why this election coming up is so important because we essentially have to say that those who are politicizing the issue, who are supportive of the Arizona law, who talk only about border security but aren't willing to talk about the other aspects of this, who don't support the Dream Act, who are out there engaging in rhetoric that is divisive and damaging that -- those aren't the kinds of folks who represent our core American values.
EPS: But Mr. President, you were able to pass a healthcare plan and you worked a lot for that. And most of my listeners, they haven't seen that, the same way that you worked for healthcare for immigration reform. The same effort.
POTUS: Well, here's the difference, Piolín. First of all, on immigration reform, I can't get 100 percent of Democrats. I can get 90 percent of Democrats, but I can't get 100 percent. So with healthcare reform, we were just, like, a vote short, just one vote, and so if we've worked so hard, we could finally tip it over the edge. Right now on immigration reform, we're eight votes short or 10 votes short, so we have do the work behind the scenes to build the groundswell of support that can get us then over the finish line. What I don't wanna do is start this thing like we did several years ago and then it just collapses because if you start it and you don't finish it, then people say, well, this can't be done and four years from now, five years from now, we'll still be talking about immigration reform. What we're trying to do is to build a consensus in the country that says, this is the right thing to do, that we've got some bipartisan support. I've met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus many times, I've met with immigration rights groups many times. I have not backed off of this issue. Just a few months ago, I gave a speech outlining very clearly my support for comprehensive immigration reform. My cabinet has been working very hard on trying to get it done, but ultimately, I think somebody said the other day, I am president, I am not king. I can't do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress to work with the Executive Branch to make it happen. I'm committed to making it happen, but I've gotta have some partners to do it.
EPS: Yes. And that's why last year, I put together a group of well-respected leaders to help you, but I never heard back from your office.
POTUS: Ah, but Piolín, look, the truth of the matter is -- here's the question that I think all your listeners have to ask themselves. If the vast majority of Democrats support this issue, if I as the President support this issue, if we've been willing to speak out on this issue forcefully and we have the other party, which not only is not supporting it, but actually doing things that are damaging to the Latino community, then the question I have is why are we spending time talking about us instead of spending time focusing on getting Republicans to do what is right? Because I'm not asking for 100 percent support from Republicans, I'm not asking even for 50 percent support from Republicans. I just want a little bit of support so that I can actually get this thing passed. Now, the fact of the matter is, is that we have worked this issue hard; we will continue to work this hard. I'm only in the first two years of my presidency and, by the way, I had a huge economic crisis. The issues like healthcare reform that we worked on are hugely important to the Latino community. By far, Hispanics are the most likely to work and not have health insurance. The issues of the economy hugely affect the Hispanic community. A lot of them were in construction and when the housing market collapsed, that meant a lot of people were laid off. So it's not as if the issues that we're working on are issues that aren't important to the Latino community. They're very important. Immigration reform is one of those issues we're gonna get it done, but I'm gonna continue to need some help from the other side.
EPS: When is it going to happen? You will tell me after this.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
POTUS: Well, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna see how well we do in this election and I think a lot of it is gonna depend on whether we still have some support not only from Democrats, but also Republicans, but they're gonna be paying attention to this election. And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder and that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2.
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