Rep. Jacky Rosen, a progressive lawmaker hoping to defeat Sen. Dean Heller, isn't endorsing the push to abolish ICE. When asked about the issue on Monday, a spokeswoman for her campaign pointed to a recent CNN interview, where Rosen said ICE "Does a lot of other things people don't realize," and Congress should instead "Ask the president to stop his reckless and harmful policies right now."
The spiraling fight over ICE highlights divisions between progressives who want to play hardball and energize the base, and centrist Democrats focused on the 2018 midterm elections, where the party is trying to hold seats in several states that Trump won in 2016.
Sen. Doug Jones - a red-state Democrat up for reelection in 2020 - told CNN on Sunday that he wasn't in favor of abolishing ICE. Meanwhile, Jeh Johnson, who served as secretary of Homeland Security under former President Obama, is warning Democrats that pivoting to abolish ICE could provide political fodder to Republicans who are eager to paint them as weak on border security.
"The reality is that abolishing ICE is not a serious policy proposal; it's about as serious as the claim that Mexico's 'gonna pay for the wall,'" Johnson wrote July 6 in a Washington Post op-ed, adding that such rhetoric gives Trump "a useful weapon for bludgeoning Democrats politically" and "a good portion of the American public will listen to him."
The fight over ICE is laden with political landmines for Democrats, underscoring the widening divide within the party and similar divisions among voters they'll need in November.
The fight over ICE comes as Democrats are viewed more favorably on broad immigration policy.
Republicans are eager to exploit the narrative that Democrats are weak on border security, saying calls to abolish ICE are a sign the party has grown out of touch with moderate voters.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/396213-democrats-break-with-left-on-ice
The spiraling fight over ICE highlights divisions between progressives who want to play hardball and energize the base, and centrist Democrats focused on the 2018 midterm elections, where the party is trying to hold seats in several states that Trump won in 2016.
Sen. Doug Jones - a red-state Democrat up for reelection in 2020 - told CNN on Sunday that he wasn't in favor of abolishing ICE. Meanwhile, Jeh Johnson, who served as secretary of Homeland Security under former President Obama, is warning Democrats that pivoting to abolish ICE could provide political fodder to Republicans who are eager to paint them as weak on border security.
"The reality is that abolishing ICE is not a serious policy proposal; it's about as serious as the claim that Mexico's 'gonna pay for the wall,'" Johnson wrote July 6 in a Washington Post op-ed, adding that such rhetoric gives Trump "a useful weapon for bludgeoning Democrats politically" and "a good portion of the American public will listen to him."
The fight over ICE is laden with political landmines for Democrats, underscoring the widening divide within the party and similar divisions among voters they'll need in November.
The fight over ICE comes as Democrats are viewed more favorably on broad immigration policy.
Republicans are eager to exploit the narrative that Democrats are weak on border security, saying calls to abolish ICE are a sign the party has grown out of touch with moderate voters.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/396213-democrats-break-with-left-on-ice
No comments:
Post a Comment