Hmmm: Senators worried about Obama granting amnesty via executive order?

And we all know how much he likes doing things by executive order.

Even so, and mindful of the fact that some O critics consider him capable of anything, I’m skeptical.

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Several Senators have learned of a possible plan by the Obama Administration that would provide a mass Amnesty for the nation’s 11-18 million illegal aliens. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), eight Senators addressed a letter to the President asking for answers to questions about a plan that would allow DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide an amnesty if they can’t secure enough votes for a bill in the Senate.

The letter that was sent to Pres. Obama earlier today asks the President for clarification on the use of deferred action or parole for illegal aliens. The executive actions are typically used in special cases and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but if 60 votes can’t be secured in the Senate to pass a mass Amnesty, the Administration may use the discretionary actions as an alternative.

The boss emeritus reminds us that there’s a long, dismal history of the feds granting de facto amnesty via non-enforcement orders, which is true, of course — in individual cases. A mass amnesty of millions of illegals is a different ballgame, and if done by fiat would strike me as being … oh, what’s the term? Ah yes: Political suicide. Yeah, granted, after promising Latinos the sun, the moon, and the stars on immigration, Democrats are desperate to make a move on amnesty. But they’re also keenly aware of how popular Arizona’s law is — to the point that Arizona Dems are now pleading with The One not to challenge it in court lest the voter backlash wipe them out in the fall. If Obama slammed his fist down on the national immigration chessboard by granting some sort of blanket legalization, not only would border enforcers go berserk but it would cement the narrative that his statist ambition has become dangerously authoritarian and desperately requires checking by a GOP Congress. The Republican wave would become a Republican tsunami, which means even if he wanted to do it, the politics are simply too poisonous to allow it. That’s why, I assume, only eight senators signed the letter that’s quoted above (McCain and Kyl both passed on it). It’s simply not a credible enough possibility for most of them to worry about it.

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