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Speaker Boehner said what about immigration? You’re kidding

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Remember Art Linkletter and “Kids Say the Darndest Things”?

Well, it may be time for an updated version called “Politicians Say the Darndest Things.”

Reacting to President Obama’s move last week to defer deportations of some young illegal immigrants, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday:

“The president’s announcement on immigration is -- it puts everyone in a difficult position. I think we all have concerns for those who are caught in this trap, who through no fault of their own are here. But the president’s actions are going to make it much more difficult for us to work in a bipartisan way to get to a permanent solution.”

Uh, Earth to Mr. Speaker: It’s not the other party that’s drawn a line in the sand on this issue. Democrats have been pushing the Dream Act -- you know, the legislation that would address the concerns “we all have” for “those who are caught in this trap”?

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Want to know who’s making it “much more difficult for us to work in a bipartisan way to get to a permanent solution”? You might want to check out Arizona Rep. Ben Quayle (yes, he’s a Republican), who has introduced the Prohibiting Back-door Amnesty Act of 2012 to block the president’s action.

Catchy name, isn’t it? A real positive, nonjudgmental, bipartisan-sounding title, wouldn’t you say?

But here, let’s hear from the congressman, with his bipartisan message:

“President Obama and Secretary Napolitano’s decision to end the enforcement of many of our nation’s immigration laws is stunning in both its arrogance and shortsightedness. It’s time for Congress to send a loud and clear message to the Obama administration that its efforts to circumvent the legislative branch and ignore our nation’s laws will not stand.”

Yes, those pesky Democrats and their president just keep making it harder to find a bipartisan solution.

Of course, Mitt Romney’s perhaps future running mate, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, was working on a Republican version of the Dream Act. It wasn’t as generous as the Democrats’, and even then many Republicans turned up their noses. But after Obama made his move, Rubio -- perhaps at a loss to figure out how he could score political points -- dropped his effort.

And that’s the real dilemma for Boehner, and Rubio, and Romney: The GOP needs to woo Latino voters, but it’s not having much luck when the presumptive nominee is out on the campaign trail touting his plan for illegal immigrants to “self-deport” while the president is announcing a sensible solution to one part of the immigration problem.

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Soon, the Supreme Court will announce its decision on the president’s healthcare reform law.

Regardless of which way that decision goes, I can’t wait for Speaker Boehner’s next “darndest thing” quote.

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