Even Ezra Klein knows a dead-end …

Even the liberal Ezra Klein knows a Dem dead end when he sees one: Ezra Klein makes a fuss over Sen. Reid’s “decision to reintroduce the DREAM Act.” But was there ever any chance Reid wouldn’t reintroduce the DREAM Act? Introducing bills is easy. … That said a) Klein notes the administration is “in a tough spot” on immigration, after having promised to pass a misguided mass amnesty law they couldn’t possibly have intended to make a high priority.  Klein is sympathetic to the White House’s plight, of course. But he notes that ” promising to pass laws that actually can’t pass hasn’t worked out for them,” which I suppose for Klein amounts to a searing attack on Obama’s strategy. … b) Klein rescues his rep by carrying some water for the White House,  pooh-poohing the idea that the President could make dramatic changes through executive actions–thereby exonerating Obama from the main criticism currently being lodged by Latino activists like Rep. Luis Gutierrez. You don’t have to be as wacky as Politico‘s Roger Simon–who thinks Obama could just issue an order making all employers check all new hires electronically–to suspect there are probably some things Obama could do that would please Rep. Gutierrez, but that Obama doesn’t do because they would (rightly) be politically suicidal. … c) Klein is unfortunately right that there is still a slim chance some type of DREAM Act will pass, but it would almost certainly have to be narrowly drawn and included in a package with serious enforcement measures (e.g. mandatory electronic checks of new hires) Gutierrez’s followers might find hard to stomach. As an enforcement-firster, I worry that it’s perilous to even discuss such a compromise. Why not just pass the enforcement measures by themselves–then, if Obama vetoes them, see how that helps him in 2012? It’s become obvious that the biggest impediment to the clear way forward–enforcement now, amnesty later–is the visceral resistance within the world of Latino politics to the first step: doing something that would permanently and effectively stanch the future flow of further illegal immigration from the south. That’s the attitude that needs adjusting, the dream that needs to die. I don’t think a few election cycles in which Latino activists taste utter defeat will necessarily do the trick. But it’s worth a try. …