Colorado Congressman Ken Buck thinks Democrats don’t really want to solve America’s immigration problems, because if a solution is found, Democrats won’t be able to hammer Republicans about migrants in the next election.
During a radio interview on KOA 850-AM in Denver, Buck said he agreed with Trump that Democrats “for the most part” are sabotaging any progress on immigration.
“They want to see this issue continue through the election,” said Buck on air, “because they think it is a good issue that divides Americans and will help energize their base.”
That’s what the Congressman said last week, before Republicans were unable to pass two immigration bills in the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives.
Even immigration legislation tailored to the conservatives wing of the GOP went down in spectacular flames by a vote of 300-121. A more moderate Republican bill did better, but was still unable to clear the GOP chamber with a losing vote of 231-193.
“From the beginning, it’s been a tough, tough, tough road to get to anything that our members can agree on. Again, you have members in our conference that don’t want to do anything, whatever we do is amnesty,” one GOP aide told the Hill.
Trump also made it difficult for GOP leaders to make any progress, though he did urge lawmakers to back the measure on Wednesday, in an all capital-letters tweet, hours before the vote.
In the wake of the Republican failures this week, does Buck still think Democrats are the problem, when it comes to immigration.
Buck didn’t return a call seeking an answer to that question.
The two votes in the House this week came after House Republicans failed for years to allow a vote at all on an immigration bill, reflecting deep divisions among House Republicans, fomented in part by Buck himself, who is a member of the ulta-right Freedom Caucus.
A bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill cleared the U.S. Senate in 2013, only to die in the Republican-controlled House.
Listen to Buck on KOA 850 AM June 22.
