Boehner Reassures GOP Donors: I’m “Hellbent” on Passing Immigration Reform this Year

A big gamble if true, but not a crazy one. He’s betting that nothing the GOP does, up to and including amnesty, will enrage grassroots conservatives so much that they’re likely to stay home in protest in November because of it. Anger at ObamaCare trumps all. When the dust settles, after a week or two of talk radio calling Boehner a traitor for passing an immigration bill and vowing to go third party, everyone will swallow hard and decide that they have no choice but to vote for the GOP anyway in the name of stopping O-Care. The redder the Senate turns next year, the greater the odds of repeal in 2017. Although if they’d sell you out on immigration, I’m not sure why you’d think they won’t sell you out on that too when the time comes.

As much as I suspect an immigration deal under these circumstances will inevitably be terrible, I also think Boehner’s bet is a shrewd one. In fact, I’ll place a bet of my own: If they pass something along the lines of the Gang of Eight bill and I end up writing a bunch of posts in October exhorting people to boycott the midterms because of it, some commenters will be calling me a traitor.

Speaker John Boehner and other senior House Republicans are telling donors and industry groups that they aim to pass immigration legislation this year, despite the reluctance of many Republicans to tackle the divisive issue before the November elections.

Many lawmakers and activists have assumed the issue was off the table in an election year. But Mr. Boehner said at a Las Vegas fundraiser last month he was “hellbent on getting this done this year,” according to two people in the room…

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