If you're enough of a weirdo to be following Congress' attempts to pass a budget before tonight's deadline, you've heard about the "CRomnibus," the oh-so-clever combination of bills Republican leaders devised to avoid a shutdown and simultaneously convince their members that they're really, truly going to give it to Barack Obama over his executive actions on immigration. The "omnibus" part is the bill that will keep every department but one operating through the end of the fiscal year (next October), while the "CR" part is the continuing resolution that applies only to the Department of Homeland Security, keeping it operating only until the end of February. At that point, tea partiers in Congress were told, we can have another shutdown fight and we'll really get that Obama, just like you want to.
Now that the thing (in whatever final form it arrives) is about to pass, it's time to marvel at just what a bunch of fools those Republicans are if they think that come February they're going to manage anything other than a frustrating and humiliating defeat when they try to undo Obama's executive actions. Here's how it's going to play out:
GOP: Reverse that immigration order!
Obama: No.
GOP: Do it or we won't fund DHS!
Obama: Really? You're mad about me not deporting people and splitting up families, so you want to shut down the department that protects the borders?
GOP: We mean it!
Obama: Thing is, most of the DHS' workforce are considered to be essential employees, which means they stay on the job during a shutdown.
GOP: We're not kidding!
Obama: Also, the agency responsible for carrying out my orders on the parents of kids who are legal residents or citizens? It's funded by user fees, so it can keep going whether you pass the budget or not.
GOP: We're super-serious! Everyone will blame you!
Obama: No they won't. You'll get the blame for this because you're forcing it, just like you did before. Now will you just pass the DHS budget and we can all move on?
GOP: Oh, fine. We hate you so much.
Obama: Whatever.
If you want a more detailed version of my little dramatization, see here. Why Republicans think they'll have more "leverage" to carry out this brilliant scheme when they're in control of Congress is beyond me.
