NEWS AND OPINION:
News of instant executive immigration reform is a call to arms for Republicans who cringe over the idea of White House interference in a complicated issue. But there will be a sizable percentage of the population who will be glued to the TV at exactly 8 p.m. Thursday when President Obama makes his prime-time announcement from the White House — “low-wage workers, DREAMers, undocumented parents and many directly impacted by the announcement” — according to CASA de Maryland, an activist group, which is among the dozens of organizations hosting festive watch parties around the nation, to be followed by press conferences, commentary and other public outreach.
And hola: With massive nightly audiences that often best English-language counterparts, Univision — the mighty Spanish language network — will break into the 2014 Latin Grammys the moment the speech begins. CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX will not pre-empt their programming; fall finales and dramatic cliffhangers are underway, along with the all-important November sweeps ratings.
For cable news networks, Mr. Obama’s solo performance at the podium is a bonanza. Fox News Channel, for example, will present the speech, followed by three hours of specially tweaked live programming and analysis by Bill O’Reilly, Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity. For those who seek just the speech, C-SPAN will also cover it live.
AND IN SUMMATION
Yes, some will celebrate President Obama’s immigration revelations — and some are bracing for impact.
“What is about to happen may be the low point in a presidency filled with them. Mr. Obama is acting in a way that he himself knows — that he himself has said — is unconstitutional and indefensible,” says Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a columnist for Commentary. “No matter. In an act of unmatched narcissism and selfishness, the president will create — he is thirsting to create — a constitutional crisis that is utterly unnecessary and will further polarize our political culture. Mr. Obama is about to commit an act of constitutional infamy.”
SEE ALSO: Hey, wait: 46 percent of Americans want Obama to delay executive action on immigration
THEY’RE FRIENDS, SORT OF
GOP governors are obviously in touch with their inner Republicans. For the initial dinner at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting at a swank, pink stucco Boca Raton, Florida resort, the august group dined upon surf-and-turf. No delicate vegetarian fare here. This is lobster and steak land for the likes of Govs. Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, John Kasich, Mike Pence and more. They left it to Mr. New Jersey himself for the ultimate reality check, though.
“We are all friends, but let’s be fair. If a group of us decided to run for president, we’ll compete with each other. I don’t think any of us have spent any time here trying to come up with some secret handshake or, you know, blood oath to each other about what we’ll do or we won’t do,” outgoing RGA head Gov. Chris Christie told journalists in an opening press conference.
DOING THE GRUBER MATH
Two conservative news organizations have figured out the economic and cultural dynamics of Jonathan Gruber, the Obamacare “architect” known for his “stupid Americans” comment, among other things. National Review columnist Deroy Murdock declares that the health care economist has received at least $5,886,150 in taxpayer-funded consulting fees, from four federal agencies and the states of Minnesota. Vermont, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“This income puts Gruber well within the Left’s much-hated 1 percent,” Mr. Murdock observes. Indeed.
“Confirmed taxpayer dollars that Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber was paid from 2009 to 2014 — about $1 million per year — is roughly 24 times the average salary earned by full-time American workers in the same general time frame,” says Brittany Hughes, a reporter for CNS News. “The average annual full-time U.S. salary was about $41,600 in those years, which multiplied 24 times is $998,400, or nearly $1 million a year.”
Ms. Hughes consulted public records to discover that the consultant also made more than President Obama, whose salary is $400,000, and a gaggle of Democratic luminaries. “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also an outspoken proponent of Obamacare, earns an annual salary of $193,400. That’s less than one-fifth Gruber’s yearly Obamacare earnings,” she points out.
PONDERING THE ’UTILITY OF HIS RESEARCH’
Two Republican lawmakers are mighty vexed by all these reports. Reps. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health, and Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland have fired off their own letter to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, regarding the $2 million in grant money provided to Mr. Gruber. The pair are concerned about “his objectivity and judgment and thus the utility of his research.” Yes, that pesky old utility. Among many other things, Messrs. Pitts and Harris also want to know who is behind the agency’s decision to fund Mr. Gruber in the first place.
And a little tidbit of interest: Dr. Harris is a physician, and the only member of Congress who has performed medical research funded by the federal agency.
UBER GRUBER
“Gruber is quite clearly conservative catnip. But why?” asks Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza. “The key to understanding why Gruber has become a cause celebre — but not in a good way — for conservatives is that his comments about the ACA confirm two things that the right has long believed about Democrats and the law: (a) The ACA was made purposely vague to keep the public in the dark about its depth and breadth; and (b) liberals think conservatives are stupid.”
SIGN OF THE TIMES
“GOD BLESS AMERICA — UNITED WE STAND — NEVER FORGET”
— Homemade banner hung on an overpass above I-95, spotted by a Inside the Beltway reader north of Baltimore
THE GRAVITAS OF TIM SCOTT
It is a simple but telling message from the South Carolina Republican who was re-elected on Nov. 4 by a healthy margin. That would be Sen. Tim Scott, who addresses the Heritage Foundation’s 2014 Antipoverty Forum in Washington Thursday morning.
“During his address, he will discuss the importance of families as a powerful tool to prevent poverty,” a spokesman says.
Now there’s a thought — and more on the content of Mr. Scott’s address in the near future.
POLL DU JOUR
• 75 percent of Americans say it is better to have a simple wedding proposal rather than something elaborate; 77 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of independents and 74 percent of Democrats agree.
• 70 percent overall say the proposal should be made in private; 76 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 70 percent of Democrats agree.
• 57 percent overall say they did not “practice” before making a proposal; 57 percent of Republicans, 58 percent of independents and 53 percent of Democrats agree.
• 48 percent overall say it doesn’t matter if the man or the woman makes the proposal; 35 percent of Republicans, 49 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats agree.
• 46 percent overall say the man should make the proposal; 61 percent of Republicans, 43 percent of independents and 42 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 11-13.
• Scintillating discussions, disgust to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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