@niceguy Like I said, a Republican will probably win the next election. Then there will be no excuses, no stagnation. It will be a glorious time.

@tb505 I certainly hope and wish that this were true. But I don't see it. With people not looking for leaders, only worrying about their own agendas instead of what is best for the country, with the political party machines requiring total commitment to receive funding support, it has become nothing more than a popularity contest. Like voting for prom king and queen. And we have to accept that Hillary is the most popular candidate out there right now. We need leaders. Leaders are people who MAKE things happen, not just try to make things happen and find an excuse when they don't. And, IMO, most of the leaders in America today are staying way away from politics.

@niceguy We'll see. Hell, I might even vote Republican (my will my sister be proud) this time just to help ensure the Republicans don't have an excuse anymore.

@nikkiole Can you name a corporation who is sponsoring illegals? ROCKET only mentioned visa violators which technically they are not illegal aliens just individuals who violated the status of their visa. Most illegals I encounter work in what I called the poorly regulated jobs meaning landscaping, construction, restaurants, and farms. I agree about your position on the lack of enforcement as I am also affected by that policy.

@tb505 This is not a democrat or republican issue but a serious problem which is coming.

@cbp210 There is no technicality when it comes to immigration. Either an alien is authorized to be in the country or they're not. If this did not matter then Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) would not have units dedicated to arresting those that have overstayed their visas, no?

@niceguy
I think you're over-dramatizing the comment, again...If you have a group of voters, whose numbers have been growing quickly, that feel one party is addressing issues that are important to them while the other party is doing nothing on the subject, where does your vote go? The party addressing their concerns gets those votes even if the party's efforts are slowed/blocked, simple as that...
You forgot to mention the money...
Neither of those men had to deal with the amount of polarization Obama has had to...
Not so...That was typical election dynamics...The "minority party"(there's that word again, NOT talking about race here) usually picks up seats before a President's second term...Has to do with voter turnout...

@niceguy
Don't forget most experienced, connected, and qualified...
Would be nice...To make things happen requires legislation...May want to see where the past couple of Congresses have stood on passing some as compared to other Congresses historically..Of course, if they waste time on stuff like constantly trying to kill The Affordable Care Act when they know the votes aren't there, that's what you get...

@tb505Before you do, you may want to take a short trip down memory lane and revisit that whole World Financial Crisis ordeal and consider if it would be worth repeating...Also, keep those soldiers in mind who lost their lives in Iraq believing that they would find "Weapons Of Mass Destruction"...

@cbp210Working? You mean they aren't mooching off the Government?

@EddyFree
Emergency rooms are filled with them day and night...hard working folks...but they ain't paying their hospital bills.
And with their low wage, menial jobs...they still qualify for government subsistence. Who in the world has gotten all of these food stamps...look up the numbers.

@EddyFree 1) No, I don't think that I am over-dramatizing the comment. I am saying that people are rewarding based upon effort and not results. The Dems tried but he didn't get it done. Why do we want to put in the same party to try again?
2) I did not say "money", you are correct. I did however say "whatever". If you meant giving one Congressperson "legal" money in the form of some sort of funding or grant for his home territory, then yes, that is politics. And is done all the time. If you meant direct payoffs, I choose to believe that Congresspersons do not pay each other for votes. Maybe they do, and if they do, they face the consequences, if there are any.
3) Again, to my way of thinking, this is an excuse. The situation is what the situation is. That is the environment that they have to work in, polarized or not. Are you saying that, since the Congress is so polarized, nothing can get done? Ever? I feel that they have to find a way to get something done - in the environment that exists.
4) You MAYBE could make that argument for regaining the House in 2010, but to counter that argument - the Repubs picked up 63 seats which is about 15% of the entire chamber. That is enough of a swing that the argument could be made that there was a political statement there. I don't know if I buy that argument for the Senate. They lost seats in both the mid-term and Presidential election years. And, it was well known that the Senate was at risk in 2014. If losing the Senate is not an impetus to turn out voters, maybe there is a statement there also.

@EddyFree 1) Don't forget sketchy ethics, political double talk, and a lack of transparency.
2) My point exactly. Obama was unable or unwilling to lobby the Congress, politic them, to get them to move. He was unable to get things done. When you are at the "top of the house", in business, military, government, etc., your JOB is to get things done. If not, they will find someone who WILL get things done. If Eisenhower had failed on his invasion of Normandy, there would not have been any "Well the water was colder than we thought", or "The Nazi's brought in more re-enforcement's than we expected" or "The boats didn't work the way we planned". It would have been an unmitigated disaster and Ike would have born the brunt. Period. The Repubs had Obamacare rammed down their throats. If this legislation had been handled better, the Repubs would not have spent so much time trying to knock it down. If the Dems had played the politics better, and done what was needed to pick up some Repub votes, then the Repubs would have moved on. You do not vote to repeal a law that you voted for initially. But the Dems decided that this had to go through, go through now, and that they were going to ram it through while they had enough of a majority to do it down party lines. Would there have been some changes in the legislation? - yes. Would the Dems have had to give some things that they really wanted to keep? - of course. That is politics, That is how the system works. Give and take. Middle ground. Find the common areas people can agree on. But the Dems had the "plan" and it was going in - come hell or high water. What did they think was going to happen? America was going to see what a great idea this was and fall down at Nancy's feet? Did they not think that this would leave a bad taste in the mouth of a significant portion of the country (the Repubs)? Or did they not care? While I realize that this is not a thread about Obamacare and I am truly not trying to hijack the thread, it goes to my overall view that I have been talking about on a number of different threads on this board. "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." I believe that the Dems tried to eat the entire elephant at one time by ramming Obamacare through. It would have been much more effective, reduced a lot of gridlock, and fostered more bi-partisan cooperation on many issues if they had just pushed the legislation through bit by bit - one bite at a time. And the stagnation continues.

@Fairlane67
A humanitarian law signed by Reagan I believe, and it's the right thing to do...I'd bet there are way more "documented" immigrants using it than "undocumented" ones though...Those who are "undocumented" tend to fear getting caught and deported and would only use it for actual life-threatening events...
Low wage, yes...But I wouldn't characterize their jobs as menial...Many are actually "skilled" laborers being taken advantage of due to their "legal" situation...It would be very interesting to see what would happen to New Home Prices if all the "underground labor" would magically vanish...I'd bet there would be some serious sticker shock when builders would have to pay real citizens a market-based wage for those jobs and pass that cost onto the customer through increasing the prices of the homes...
There are no numbers to look up because "undocumented" people can't qualify for food stamps...A large portion of the food stamps are going to the "working-poor", a group which many refuse to believe exists in this country...We'll be visiting this topic quite a bit soon...

@niceguy

Because they didn't screw it up as much? Most economic metrics are on the upswing...No utopia to be sure, but the direction isn't headed down...
Never mind...
He had/has a "do-nothing" Congress to deal with...I didn't give it that label, it was earned...What are their good plans that he's received legislation for and vetoed? At least tell me what their plan is to solve the immigration issue...
Yeah, the statement is that, historically, most Democrats typically don't show up until the "Big Dance"(Presidential Election), and then they do so en masse...Historical Midterm Election Seat Gains And Losses