Today's Cartoon Twofer - Immigration And The Republican Rage Machine

As President Obama prepares to issue an Executive Order addressing the immigration crisis in America, the howls from the right wing are starting to rise.  (Read, if you must, New York Times Republican scold and would-be moral arbiter "Cardinal" Ross "I Seriously" Douthat's piece if you want to experience full-on crackpot hyperbole.)  Meanwhile, Republicans are threatening to use budget bills to pressure Obama to back down on immigration.  If only consistency and humanity guided them rather than pure racist partisanship.  At the risk of their tiny heads exploding, these right-wingers might want to see what other recent Presidents took executive action to shield immigrants from deportation =cough= St. Ronnie =cough= Poppy Bush =cough=.  But, seriously, you were expecting something different? Our rule of thumb applies here as elsewhere:  the louder the Republicans squeal, the more certain you can be you're doing the right thing.

In the meantime, here's your cartoon twofer:

(click to enlarge)

(Jim Morin, The Miami Herald)

(Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Please Proceed, Rethugs

It appears that Congressional Rethuglicans who intend to "sue" President Obama over what they laughably consider his overuse of Executive authority to actually get something positive done have a cheerleader.  That would be President Obama, as Steve Benen notes.

Whether it's a Government shutdown, failure to raise the debt ceiling or other shenanigans, the teahadist Rethuglicans are stuck in their extremist bubble and fail to recognize the general public's disdain for their tactics.  Much like when Congressional Rethugs tried to overturn the 1996 Presidential election by an impeachment coup, and former President Clinton's approval numbers shot up, the White House is anticipating a backlash against Congressional Rethuglican obstructionists in advance of the 2014 mid-term elections.  On immigration, he's taking action to provide work permits and protection from deportation to thousands of undocumented immigrants.  Taking on an obstructionist Congress over policies that are popular with the public might give Rethugs up for reelection something to think about.

In the meantime, please proceed, Rethugs.

Do-Something Cartoon of the Day

So little action, so much time.  The latest absurd diversion of the Rethuglican political class is suing the President -- twice elected by a healthy majority -- for fulfilling his promises to the American people.  In the face of their continual obstruction, Obama is no longer under the illusion that Congressional Rethugs will work with him on anything, including measures that they once showed interest in (cap-and-trade, immigration reform, etc.).

(cartoon: Clay Jones, via Gocomics.com.  Be sure to visit him at http://claytoonz.com)