In the wake of an appeals court ruling that handed President Obama a major defeat for his plan to grant executive amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, on her MSNBC show on Tuesday, host Andrea Mitchell only saw victory for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign: “...this is a win-win proposition for Hillary Clinton. She has actually gone farther in her proposals than Barack Obama...”
Spinning hard for the Democratic frontrunner, Mitchell explained her liberal logic: “But in a general election context, the Democrats can say, ‘We pushed the envelope,’ and even if they lose in the Supreme Court by June, if it's taken up, they can say, ‘We were on the side of this.’ It's a big issue with Hispanic Americans and others.”
For Mitchell, the Democrats can never move too far left, it only helps them.
The Washington Post’s Anne Gearan touted Clinton’s political strategy:
I mean, it's no accident that one of the very first and most detailed proposals she put forward was her immigration program, which just as you say, would go significantly beyond actually what the White House has currently done. She was careful in announcing it not to overtly criticize the White House, but she made the point that more is actually available to President Obama on paper than he has taken advantage of.
Here is a transcript of the November 10 exchange:
12:10 PM ET
(...)
ANDREA MITCHELL: And in fact, Anne Gearan, you know, in covering the Democrats as well, this is a win-win proposition for Hillary Clinton. She has actually gone farther in her proposals than Barack Obama, as you well know, proposing that the parents of the DREAMers actually also be exempted from deportation.
ANNE GEARAN [THE WASHINGTON POST]: Right. I mean, it's no accident that one of the very first and most detailed proposals she put forward was her immigration program, which just as you say, would go significantly beyond actually what the White House has currently done. She was careful in announcing it not to overtly criticize the White House, but she made the point that more is actually available to President Obama on paper than he has taken advantage of.
Now, the White House comes back and says, “Look what's happening today in the Fifth Circuit, look where this – look what happens when you test this in the courts. We are trying to be prudent, we’re trying to do the maximum that we think is available and that has any realistic chance of surviving court scrutiny.”
MITCHELL: But in a general election context, the Democrats can say, “We pushed the envelope,” and even if they lose in the Supreme Court by June, if it's taken up, they can say, “We were on the side of this.” It's a big issue with Hispanic Americans and others.
GEARAN: Yes. And she made that original proposal in Nevada and she has done several other immigration oriented events in that early voting state. Again, no accident. Same thing as she's doing to a degree with African-American voters and issues geared to appeal to their desire to vote Democratic in South Carolina where the black vote will be very important for her. Those are the two states that vote after Iowa and New Hampshire of course, and that's where we begin to see Democratic attempts to go well beyond the primarily white voter base and issues that appeal there in Iowa and New Hampshire.
(...)
