Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) has been the single loudest voice criticizing President Obama for not issuing his promised amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants. But Gutierrez is also making himself the main man on immigration for the media, and some think he may be doing so as a prelude to running for president himself.
Previous to the midterm elections, Gutierrez was pushing as hard as he could to force Obama to announce his amnesty before the November elections. In March, for instance, Gutierrez noted that the “pleas from the community” got through to Obama, that the President heard them, and was sure to issue a mass amnesty earlier this year.
The congressman also tried to clear the way for Obama’s announcement. At one point, in September, Gutierrez warned Democrats squeamish on amnesty to “step aside” and let Obama have his head on amnesty for illegals.
Gutierrez went on like that for months, appearing on every TV show and speaking to every media outlet that would have him, saying that Obama promised him that he would issue that much sought-after amnesty. But, thus far at least, all the congressman’s efforts have been for nothing.
For the man who told Newsweek that his “only loyalty is to the immigrant community,” Obama’s breach of promise is inexcusable.
Before all the votes were even counted and the winner of every office determined, Gutierrez was railing against Obama for shying from his promised amnesty announcement. Gutierrez criticized Obama and maintained that waiting until after the elections got Obama nothing at the polls.
The man that many in The Windy City call “Mexico’s Congressman in Chicago” also tore into Obama adviser David Axelrod for his efforts to make Obama “shelve” his amnesty announcements until after the election.
But coinciding with all his efforts to push Obama on amnesty have been rumors that Gutierrez himself is eyeing a 2016 run for the White House. And now, even as the midterms are fading in the rearview mirror, rumors persist that Gutierrez is considering a run for president.
Despite saying in the past that he is not running, this month, Gutierrez changed his tune and told Crain’s Chicago that he “has not ruled out the possibility of running” for the White House.
The question remains, can a man who has said that his “only loyalty” is to foreigners who are here illegally gain enough votes from actual, legal citizens to become president of the United States?
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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