GOP should lead on immigration

Like many of you, I am sorely disappointed with the leadership in Washington, D.C., that has plunged this great nation into a fiscal and international mess of historic proportions.

But the lack of leadership that disappoints me the most is the miserable failure and continued incompetence of the Republican leadership -- and I use that term loosely.

Though my memory is fading, I seem to recall an election night last November when we conservatives -- and most Americans -- rejoiced in the amazing GOP landslide that handed the Republican Party the greatest Congressional strength in 70 years.

That election did not signal the end of the Obama slide to the left, but it did give hope that the GOP would apply congressional brakes to the massive buildup of the federal growth that has become the Obama legacy.

Pundits on that election night from both sides of the political aisle clearly saw the writing on the wall and universally agreed that a new era was to soon begin in our nation's capital.

Fast forward a mere four months, and that promising election night has all but disappeared.

The Republican Party is in such disarray as to make a mockery of that election. And not one single step has been taken that was promised and the Republican majority remains at the whims of the Democratic minority.

Few issues bring this disappointed point to clarity as the talk of immigration reform.

Last November, the president unilaterally issued an executive order that would bring an estimated five million undocumented aliens into the mainstream.

Because of the obvious political impact, no issue -- not even the polarizing Obamacare -- was as roundly criticized by the Republican Party.

And yet, perhaps before this week is out, the weakened and dysfunctional GOP will likely tuck its tail and relent on the very topic that carried many into office.

And if for some strange reason you still believe that the issue of open borders and free pass immigration is not that important compared to other issues, just read part of a report out of the Texas Department of Public Safety: "There is ample and compelling evidence that the Texas-Mexico border is not secure, and this lack of security undermines public safety and homeland security in every region of the state. An unsecured border with Mexico is the state's most significant vulnerability as it provides criminals and would-be terrorists from around the world a reliable means to enter Texas and the nation undetected. This is especially concerning today, in light of the recent attacks and schemes around the world."

That statement from officials in Texas should be a sobering reminder of the folly in which we find ourselves.

But much more important, if the Republicans cannot stand strong on this one single issue, then the failure and worrisome future falls directly on their shoulders.

It's time the conservative members of Congress quit relying on their limited leadership and raise their voices regardless of the consequences.

Where are the delegates from Missouri on this critical issue, and why are they not burning the midnight oil to have their voices heard?

I long ago quit worrying about the leadership failures of the Obama administration. We should have seen that coming from miles away.

But still enjoying perhaps too much of the success from the November elections, I never would have imagined such a passive and cowardly response from the GOP.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat.