After a narrow victory over the Romans that caused his side irreparable damage, King Pyrrhus of Epirus said “one more such victory would utterly undo me.” That is a sentiment Barack Obama should echo during his next appearance on “The View” or in any other discussions in reference to the U.S. District Court’s decision on the Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070.
While U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton granting a preliminary injunction to the U.S. Department of Justice and preventing the most potent sections of the law from going into effect would seem like a boon for Attorney General Eric Holder and his boss Barack Obama, the reality, both in regards to policy and politics, is the opposite
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has immediately confirmed that there will be an appeal filed with the Court of Appeals, which will likely take up the issue in short order. However, whichever way the Court of Appeals leans, the side that loses in that decision will inevitably, based on the states’ rights, federalism and other constitutional questions involved, file for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court.
Due to the summer recess, the earliest the Court could hear arguments in this case would be October, therefore pushing the actual decision on the issue past the November elections. Under this very likely scenario, the mid-term elections will take place after two years in which the Democrats’ most notable achievement has been to block a crime-prevention law from going into effect and to place it in complete limbo.
With the President’s and a Democratic Congress’ approval ratings dropping as if weighed down by a multitrillion-dollar anchor, the Republicans have just been given another term with which to brand the party in power: obstructionist. The Democrats have obstructed the State of Arizona from exercising its constitutionally granted right to protect itself.
Every time an illegal immigrant in Arizona commits a violent crime, which we have seen a steady stream of; from an illegal immigrant killing a 2-year-old child for screaming during the World Cup, to shooting law enforcement officers in cold blood, the American public will be reminded that it was the Democrats who obstructed the law that would protect Arizona and Arizonans, and they will remember that all the way to the polls in November.
This “victory” will do nothing to solve the stubbornly high joblessness in our country (it won’t even help to enhance the “saved jobs,” a phantom term invented by the Democrats). It will not make the economy recover faster and it certainly will not help the United States on the international security arena.
Finally, there is a very high likelihood that when the issue is decided by the Supreme Court, the conservative Court will stand on the side of states’ rights and let Arizona protect itself, so the protracted efforts undertaken by the Democrats to score their Pyrrhic Victory will all have been a waste from every perspective, especially considering the irreparable losses that are awaiting the Democrat party in November.
Boris Epshteyn is a political strategist, attorney and business consultant in New York City. He served as a communications aide on the McCain/ Palin 2008 presidential campaign and is a frequent panelist on FOXNews.com's "Strategy Room." Contact him at boris@strategy-llc.com.
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