How sad to find nativist Democrats dashing the hopes of patriotic young DREAMers eager to honorably serve their new country. Why so much hate?

If you read this post earlier, you already know what the strategy here is.

But blocking the military provision is considered important politically for Democrats’ bigger plans on immigration this year. One Democratic aide said Democrats didn’t want to push anything that would give House Republicans a reason to not go further on broader immigration legislation this year.

“We don’t want to give them an excuse to say, ‘OK, we’re done now,’” the aide explained.

Sen. Chuck Schumer not-so-subtly suggested why Democrats wouldn’t push to get the ENLIST Act through the Senate at a press conference on Thursday. Senate Democrats attempted put all the pressure they can on House Republicans to pass a comprehensive immigration bill, or bills that would allow the two bodies to conference, instead of acting on smaller fixes.

“We are not going to go along with minor fixes that fail to address the huge systematic problems of our immigration system today,” he said. “If the oil is leaking in your car, your muffler has a hole in it, and you have a flat tire you don’t change the windshield wipers But that’s what they want to do with this ENLIST Act. Republicans are barely even considering that, but it doesn’t even scratch the surface of our immigration system.”

All or nothing. If Senate Dems pass ENLIST, there’s a real chance that Boehner will declare victory, knowing that Republican presidential candidates now have a small but tangible achievement on amnesty to show Latino voters, and promptly drop immigration reform entirely for the next two years. That would leave Democrats royally screwed, having handed the GOP a small political win and received next to nothing from it except permanent residency for military-minded DREAMers who might exit the service later a bit more conservative than they were when they went in. If Boehner and Cantor want something done on amnesty, they need to include a broader class of illegals than just young adults who are prepared to enlist. Maybe that’s the next round of negotiations — figuring out just how broad the class can be to satisfy Dems eager for a mass amnesty and Republicans eager for an amnesty small enough that it wins them some friends among immigration activists without alienating too many conservatives. In the meantime, we’ve now reached the point where Democrats are in the lead in killing potential immigration compromises.

I wonder what happens if Boehner turns around and offers Schumer a bill that would amnestize all DREAMers, not just the ones headed for military service. Would Schumer take that or continue to drive a hard bargain in the name of amnestizing all illegals? There is, theoretically, a point here where the public would view a GOP proposal on amnesty favorably enough that it would be risky for Democrats to oppose it. Maybe DREAM is that point. But even if we reach that point, will hardcore immigration activists let Reid and Schumer make that deal? They’re the vanguard of the “all or nothing” approach. They might not agree to anything short of full amnesty.

Here’s Harry Reid doubling down on his trollishness this morning by offering to pass an immigration bill that delays implementation until President Rand Paul or “President Theodore Cruz” is sworn in. He warned Boehner that the House GOP has six more weeks to get its act together and pass something. If they don’t, President Overreach is going to start handing out free passes on deportation.