Democrat candidates across the nation have promised to abolish ICE as a means of either weakening national security, sticking it to Trump, screaming into megaphones at uncomfortable passersby, or some combination thereof.
Houston, do they ever have a problem. According to an Associated Press poll, released today, fewer than a quarter of Democrats surveyed actually want to abolish the agency.
While this won’t affect the electoral prospects of present and future liabilities apparent rising stars, such as Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Socialist whose district is safely liberal, it begs the question: what do Democrat candidates in swing districts and states across America think?
Heck, what does Jared Polis, the Democratic nominee for Colorado Governor, think? Polis refused to vote on a Congressional bill plainly entitled, “Supporting the officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
To put this in context, approximately 31% of Colorado’s voters are Democrats. One quarter (or the percentage of Democrats who support abolishing ICE) of 31% is about 7.7%. Polis’ stance puts him in the most liberal 8% of the electorate on this issue. So much for his attempts to conceal himself as a moderate.
As Polis has bajillions of dollars to pay for things like polling, surely he knew before the rest of us just how unpopular this liberal cause célèbre is with actual human voters. Rather than infuriate his frothing base by taking a stance on the subject like an adult, he chose to bag it altogether.
It is our sincere hope that Democrat candidates continue to make the abolition of our nation’s immigration agency a top platform between now and November. As Mark “Uterus” Udall can attest, Democrats sure know how to pick winning policy positions.