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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Old, Alone, and Bitter

Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Old, Alone, and Bitter

by Anne Laurie|  April 9, 20192:43 am| 13 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Dolt 45, Immigration, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republicans in Disarray!

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.@ChuckGrassley, infuriated over the prospects of more DHS ousters (particularly of those who had worked under him), tells me of Stephen Miller: “I think it would be hard for him to demonstrate he’s accomplished anything for the president” https://t.co/zPgU1ag9yh

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) April 9, 2019

WHY DUN’T THA GUBMINT DO SUMPIN ABOUT THEM EEE-LEGAL ALIENS?!?

Also, WHY IS THA GUBMIT BOTHERIN MY GUYS (who possibly have different opinions about workers who were not born in Iowa, or even America)?!?

… The most senior Senate Republican is warning the White House not to oust another top immigration official, making appeals to the administration against dismissing Lee Francis Cissna, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, amid a purge of Homeland Security leaders.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said he was “very, very concerned” regarding reports that Cissna could be next in a series of rapid-fire DHS dismissals that began late last week when the White House suddenly pulled the nomination of Ronald Vitiello, who had been tapped as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement…

Grassley had already worked closely with Cissna, who had been detailed from the administration to work on the Senate Judiciary Committee when the Iowa Republican served as its chairman. Other Grassley alumni hold senior positions at the citizenship agency, including Kathy Nuebel Kovarik, who is the chief of USCIS’s Office of Policy and Strategy.

“The president has to have some stability and particularly with the number one issue that he’s made for his campaign, throughout his two and a half years of presidency,” Grassley said. “He’s pulling the rug out from the very people that are trying to help him accomplish his goal.” …

Earlier Monday, Grassley said he texted Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, to relay his concerns about Cissna’s potential departure. Once the two men got on the phone, Mulvaney said he would look into the issue, according to Grassley.

“He didn’t seem to know who I was talking about,” recalled Grassley, whose top aides were also talking with senior White House staff about those concerns. Asked whether he wants to speak with Trump directly on the matter, Grassley said: “I’ll see if it’s necessary.”

Grassley also said he was going on Fox News — Trump’s favored cable news channel — to make his case publicly. Cissna was confirmed in October 2017 on a 54-to-43 vote.

The GOP senator was also critical of Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser who has been one of the leading voices within the administration that has lobbied for the wholesale housecleaning at DHS.

“I think it would be hard for him to demonstrate he’s accomplished anything for the president,” Grassley said. When asked to elaborate, the senator chuckled and added: “It’s pretty hard to elaborate on it when there hasn’t been any accomplishments.”

I suspect that what Grassley really wants — just like his constituents — is for the kids to come back to the Heartland(tm), marry a member of the opposite sex and the same ethnicity, and start producing kids who aren’t half-breeds, weirdos, and/or Catholics. But since he’s accepted that’s not gonna happen soon enough, he at least wants to be sure he can find folks to pick the crops, work the production line, and clean the toilets at a price he considers affordable. Trump’s dementia-fueled meltdown and the Konservative Klown Korps taking advantage of their Oval Office occupation are making life just that much harder for Sen. Chuck, and the old man is not having it.

Me, I’m just rooting for injuries curious to see which side Mitch McConnell decides to support. Because McConnell’s Repubs, after all, are the party of Pecunia non olet…

As one part of the government tries to seal the border, another wants to double the number of visas for housekeepers and landscapers, most of which go to Mexican workers.

"Many areas of our country simply lack the working-age population to meet demand."https://t.co/RRcQ7N86bT

— Hannah Dreier (@hannahdreier) April 8, 2019

Trump administration nearly doubles H-2B guest visa program, which brings many Mexican workers https://t.co/9SVTKbjyTW

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 7, 2019

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Previous Post: « Just a Quick Note Regarding the President, Members of His Administration, and Operational Security Matters
Next Post: Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Catch the Fire »

Reader Interactions

13Comments

  1. 1.

    Plato

    April 9, 2019 at 2:59 am

    #bebest, I guess.

  2. 2.

    Duane

    April 9, 2019 at 3:05 am

    Another repuke who has concerns. Not a damn backbone amongst them.
    Grassley gets tough with poor people. Don’t have the nerve to do anything about Trumpov. Go cower in the corner jackass. You’ve got plenty of company. Traitors everyone of them.

  3. 3.

    Sab

    April 9, 2019 at 3:17 am

    Where has he been for the last five years? His constituents need to check him inro an Alzeimers unit and get a new Congresscritter.

  4. 4.

    Jay

    April 9, 2019 at 3:41 am

    Can’t H1B1’s just unplug the life supports in the “noheartland”?

    Or, at least Faux?

  5. 5.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 9, 2019 at 4:04 am

    Grassley can go fuck off. He’s part of the problem, not part of the solution. He’s been an accomplice to treason the last two years.

  6. 6.

    Jay

    April 9, 2019 at 4:13 am

    “100 Years Ago the Flu Killed Hockey’s Bad Boy, and the Stanley Cup Too
    Most everyone hated ‘Bad Joe Hall,’ until he died. He left behind family in Vancouver.”

    thetyee.ca/Culture/2019/04/08/100-Years-Ago-Flu-Killed-Hockey-Bad-Boy/

  7. 7.

    Arclite

    April 9, 2019 at 4:41 am

    “The president has to have some stability and particularly with the number one issue that he’s made for his campaign, throughout his two and a half years of presidency,” Grassley said. “He’s pulling the rug out from the very people that are trying to help him accomplish his goal.” …

    As ye shall sow, so shall ye reap, muthafuckaz.

  8. 8.

    JR

    April 9, 2019 at 5:04 am

    As one part of the government tries to seal the border, another wants to double the number of visas for housekeepers and landscapers, most of which go to Mexican workers.

    The name of the game is leverage. That’s exactly how Trump sees the situation and that’s pretty much how his top supporters do, too. They want immigrants they just don’t want them to have pesky rights.

  9. 9.

    trnc

    April 9, 2019 at 7:01 am

    What’s the over/under on Cissna being called a Grassley spy for the deep state?

  10. 10.

    SFAW

    April 9, 2019 at 7:11 am

    @trnc:

    What’s the over/under on Cissna being called a Grassley spy for the deep state?

    What’s the over/under on Grassley being called a spy for the deep state?
    What’s the over/under on the Traitor-in-Chief tweeting about “Fishmouth Grassley”?

  11. 11.

    SFAW

    April 9, 2019 at 7:14 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Grassley can go fuck off. He’s part of the problem, not part of the solution. He’s been an accomplice to treason the last two years.

    Seconded, thirded, fourthed, etc.
    But he’s aided-and-abetted Traitor Turtle for a lot more than two years.

  12. 12.

    stinger

    April 9, 2019 at 9:50 am

    @Sab: I’ve tried. I’ve tried and tried and tried. Will keep on trying.

  13. 13.

    JaneE

    April 9, 2019 at 2:54 pm

    Trump et. al. want cheap labor. Agriculture has spent millions if not billions on ways to reduce labor and the cost of labor. If they can make a robot to clean rooms, the inventor will be a billionaire and another human job will bite the dust. In the meantime, hate on immigrants while you exploit them. It’s the American way. (for now).

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