Really - Why Won't President Obama Visit The Border And See The Situation First Hand?.....

[global1]

I know he says that he doesn't just want a photo op - but couldn't he make it more than a photo op and really shame Congress into doing something about this problem first and then immigration as a whole - second.

He has the bully pulpit - why doesn't he use it. What is he afraid the Repubs & MSM will do if he actually visits the border?

I really don't know if he thinks he's dealing from a position of strength on this matter or what?

Any comments about this?

[tk2kewl]

1. maybe this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110224248

[joeglow3]

4. How can that crazy get him in TX, but not CO?

[mylye2222]

2. The security dispositions might be just

Complicated to organize???

[treestar]

3. Stop letting the M$M decide what is needed

or not. If he went there, they would be having a problem with that.

[Fred Sanders]

13. CNN and Fox do not get to decide the when or the why, this is all a media tripe. Do not buy into the

propaganda, give your head a shake and stand back from the media bombing.

[onethatcares]

5. exactly what would he do?

shake the hand of a few border agents, look out over the river, speechify and then go back to D.C.

It's not like he's going to see hordes of Honduran children swimming accross the Rio.

If he did that the pukes would be complaining about the money he spent for a photo op. We both know that.

trying to please the repukelican base is like rolling a shitball up Pikes Peak.

[Mike Nelson]

6. It doesn't matter if he does or does not, because...

...the Conservative Media will report either decision negatively. He probably figured this was the better option.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. This. If he did go, they would report it as if he had gone to issue personal invitations for people

to cross the border.

[JaneyVee]

12. OBAMA STAGES BORDER PHOTO-OP TO DISTRACT FROM BENGHAZI!!!

[Fred Sanders]

14. Yep, you know it, the media would be all over it as a political ploy....I detest the MSM...CNN as

much as Fox, all the rest are close behind.

[treestar]

21. Exactly

[oldandhappy]

7. He knows what is happening.

I am more interested in all of us turning out to support the President and the Border Patrol people as they struggle with the processing situation. I live an hour south of Murrietta. That is ugly. I want all of us to turn out in these instances and support the people caught in this tangle. I am grateful to San Diego people who turned out, gave supplies, stood for sanity. We will get thru this. It takes times. TV has led us to think everything can be solved in half an hour! Not so. First we have to get this Congress into retirement. And then and then. Step by step.

[atreides1]

8. What's he going to see?

Miles of empty desert...maybe a coyote(four legged) or two?

And so he goes to the border and sits out in the middle of nowhere...I can see the Republicans using all that stock film and photos in their political ads...to discredit him and the Democrats for doing nothing!

[TwilightGardener]

9. It's a political trap to make him take blame for the problem, as Repubs

refuse to deal with immigration in Congress, and it also will make the issue worse if he meets with these immigrants, since they're in the act of DOING WHAT WE DON'T WANT THEM TO DO--do we want to encourage more of this? Obama needs to ignore the hounding and pressure--I'll be disappointed if he gives in. His presence would do nothing but harm. His political instincts are right on this issue. It's not in any way similar to visiting a disaster site to give support to the victims.

[Louisiana1976]

27. +1 million

[forthemiddle]

11. Now instead of a photo op he has a sound bite

And I don't think it is going to be a good one.
As he says he doesn't do photo ops, the networks are going to show the mirage of photo ops he has been doing. You know the late night comedians will run away with this.
It is probably a good thing that Saturday Night Live is no longer the power house it used to be (is it still on?) Because we could almost write the skit right now.
I hope I'm wrong.

[Fred Sanders]

15. Nice twisting of words. President Obama never said he never does photo ops, nice try.

Propaganda is easy because you can just make stuff up and run with it.

[HangOnKids]

22. Here since 2001?

Forgive me if I have to fucking say that is hilarious.

[TBF]

24. You're funny.

[Vinca]

16. The whole "border visit" brouhaha is manufactured by the right wing and it's driving me nuts.

If the POTUS decides to go there, enormous resources will be taken away from the current problem in order to accommodate his safety, his entourage and the whole spectacle that is a presidential visit. Chances are, he'd get to the border and look at a river with nothing going on. If he visits any of the places kids are being held, what is the purpose? What can he accomplish? He can pat them on the head and say something nice and hand them a candy bar, but that's about it. Don't fall for the smear machine baloney. The fact is, the border enforcement is working or all these people wouldn't be caught. Secondly, they are only being detained because of a 2008 Bush-signed law the same Republicans now carping voted in favor of.

[global1]

17. Please Enlighten Me - What Is The Law In 2008 That Bush Signed?s......

Why haven't we heard more about that?

[Control-Z]

18. I've heard a lot about it.

It is regarding the welfare, treatment and processing of unaccompanied children.

[herding cats]

19. It's the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/113178.htm

Originally pushed by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers as well as by evangelical groups to combat sex trafficking, the bill gave substantial new protections to children entering the country alone who were not from Mexico or Canada by prohibiting them from being quickly sent back to their country of origin.

Instead, it required that they be given an opportunity to appear at an immigration hearing and consult with an advocate, and it recommended that they have access to counsel. It also required that they be turned over to the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the agency was directed to place the minor “in the least restrictive setting that is in the best interest of the child” and to explore reuniting those children with family members.

The Obama administration says the law is partly responsible for tying its hands in dealing with the current influx of children. Officials have suggested that the White House might seek flexibility in the law’s requirements when it asks Congress to provide emergency funds to contend with the latest immigration crisis, a request that could come as early as Tuesday. About 52,000 minors without their parents have been caught at the Southwest border since October.

“Giving the secretary of homeland security additional authority and discretion that he can use to confront that situation more efficiently, making sure that we are acknowledging the humanitarian issues that are at stake while also enforcing the law, is a priority,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Monday. “It’s the priority of this administration, and if you listen to the public comments of Democrats and Republicans, it sounds like it’s a bipartisan priority.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/us/immigrant-surge-rooted-in-law-to-curb-child-trafficking.html?_r=0

[GeorgeGist]

20. Please Proceed.

[TBF]

23. What would you like him to do?

And please be specific.

[BainsBane]

25. You mean so he can use all the local police for traffic control

and back up the area for the day?


This is the type of thing I'd expect to hear from a cable news pundit.

[LadyHawkAZ]

26. yeah, why WON'T he go face a crowd of armed lunatics that think he's

the Muslim Antichrist, to get his picture taken looking at an empty stretch of border and give a speech about a problem that his presence there will do absolutely nothing to fix?

The bastard!