Obama goes large on immigration

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Buzz Cut:
• Obama goes large on immigration
• States face double digit ObamaCare price hikes
• Team Obama dampens Landrieu’s last ditch pipeline ploy
• Cruz allies create campaign cash cow
• We should have named him ‘Harry’

OBAMA GOES LARGE ON IMMIGRATION
Pressured by Democratic lawmakers and activists concerned over an erosion in support from Hispanic voters, the breadth of the President Obama’s unilateral move to shore up this critical Democratic bloc is coming into focus, and he’s going large. No longer encumbered by the pleas of vulnerable Democratic candidates, who took a drubbing last week, and un-phased by the warnings from Republican leaders in Congress not to poison the well, Fox News has learned Obama could unload a massive plan for overhauling U.S. immigration policy via executive action as early as next week. The 10-part plan is packed with enough toxins to heavily pollute the water at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. “The most controversial [of the plan’s initiatives] pertain to the millions who could get a deportation reprieve under what is known as ‘deferred action.’  The plan calls for expanding deferred action for illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children -- but also for the parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. The latter could allow upwards of 4.5 million illegal immigrant adults with U.S.-born children to stay, according to estimates… Another portion that is sure to cause consternation among anti-“amnesty” lawmakers is a plan to expand deferred action for young people…estimated to make nearly 300,000 illegal immigrants eligible.”

[“Congress can stop it and must stop it in my opinion. It’s really a threat to the Constitutional order.” –Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., on “The Kelly File.” Watch here.]

Asked about the report, the White House said the president is still taking recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security and hasn’t made up his mind on specific measures to be taken. Republicans have reiterated the explosiveness of Obama’s use of executive action on immigration, though there’s concern in the GOP that some legislative tactics being pushed by conservatives could backfire. WSJ: “A bloc of Republican lawmakers is seeking to use must-pass spending legislation in the final weeks of the year to place limits on President Barack Obama’s ability to loosen immigration rules, threatening to split the party in Congress.” Regardless of when and how Republican choose do battle, if the president follows through on his plan, a bitter fight is certain.

[The Judge’s ruling: Overreach litmus test - Today at Fox News Opinion, Senior Judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano offers key questions he would like to see answered by attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch: “If she agrees that the Constitution is not a neutral instrument as between the people and the government because it was written to keep the government off our backs, she will be an antidote to Mr. Obama’s law breaking. But I think I may be wishing for too much. She is, after all, his nominee.”]

STATES FACE DOUBLE DIGIT OBAMACARE PRICE HIKES
A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals ObamaCare prices could spike by double digits in several states. Colorado could see rates spike by as much as 35 percent. Daily Caller: “Louisiana and Kansas are facing Obamacare premium hikes of more than 15 percent on average. Iowa, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee will see rate lower double-digit rate hikes as well.”

[WSJ: “In a twist, an influx of lower-priced health plans on HealthCare.gov could lead many Americans to pay more for coverage next year thanks to smaller insurance tax credits… many people who re-enroll in their 2014 plans face higher insurance costs even if their premium remains flat. To avoid paying more, they would have to switch plans.”]

GOP plans radical surgery - While some feel a full repeal of ObamaCare is implausible, Republicans are eyeing other legislative maneuvers to dismantle the unpopular health law. Washington Examiner’s David Drucker explains: “The Senate’s complicated ‘reconciliation’ rule, designed to ease the passage of deficit-reduction legislation, won’t permit Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. But the tactic will allow them, with the support of a simple majority [51 votes] rather than the customary, filibuster-proof 60 votes, to eliminate key provisions of the law, like the individual mandate to purchase health insurance, so as to render it effectively inoperable.”

Not as stupid as he thinks - Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, says a congressional investigation may be in order as more damning videos of ObamaCare architect Johnathan Gruber continue to surface. “We may want to have hearings on this. We shouldn’t be surprised they were misleading us,” Jordan told WaPo. Meanwhile, the Daily caller reports a third video has surfaced in which Gruber brags about pulling the wool over the public’s eyes in order to help implement ObamaCare. “‘It’s a very clever, you know, basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter,’ Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said during a speech at the University of Rhode Island in November 2012.”

[“[T]he process associated with writing, passing, and implementing the Affordable Care Act has been extraordinarily transparent. We all sat through many town hall meetings and discussions where this piece of legislation was vigorously debated on both sides…The fact is I think it is Republicans who haven’t been transparent or particularly honest about the true impact of this.”— White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest responding to a question from Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry about Gruber’s comments during a press briefing Thursday.]

WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE...
If you find it difficult to sleep straight through the night, at times awakened by an idea that escaped you during waking hours, you’re not alone. The sudden surge of creativity could have much to do with your body’s natural rhythms. Aeon explains: “Sleep patterns of the past might surprise us today. While we might think that our circadian rhythm should wake us only as the sun rises, many animals and insects do not sleep in one uninterrupted block but in chunks of several hours at a time or in two distinct segments…Night also triggers hormonal changes in our brains that suit creativity…during night-waking, the pituitary gland excretes high levels of prolactin. This is the hormone associated with sensations of peace and with the dreamlike hallucinations we sometimes experience as we fall asleep, or upon waking.”

Got a TIP from the RIGHT or LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM

POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 41.8 percent//Disapprove – 53.4 percent
Direction of Country: Right Direction – 27.7 percent//Wrong Track – 65.6 percent

TEAM OBAMA DAMPENS LANDRIEU’S LAST DITCH PIPELINE PLOY
Facing the toughest re-election of her political career, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., wasted little time in pushing for a Senate vote to approve construction of the Keystone Pipeline XL. While Landrieu was successful, teeing up a vote as early as next Tuesday, the White House, is hinting they may not be on board. Fox News: “White House spokesman Josh Earnest, traveling with President Obama in Burma, told reporters that the president takes a ‘dim view’ of legislative efforts to force action on the project. Earnest stopped short of threatening a veto, but reiterated Obama's preference for evaluating the pipeline through a long-stalled State Department review. Obama has repeatedly ordered such reviews under pressure from environmental groups, who say the project would contribute to climate change…After Landrieu called for a vote, [her Republican challenger Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La.] and GOP leaders in the House said they would vote Thursday on a Cassidy-authored Keystone bill.  ‘I hope the Senate and the president do the right thing and pass this legislation creating thousands of jobs,’ Cassidy said in a statement. ‘After six years, it’s time to build.’’’

[Dana Milbank: “Because of Senate rules, any senator could have blocked a vote on the Keystone measure when Landrieu finally made her ‘unanimous consent’ request Wednesday evening that the Senate vote on the bill Tuesday. Republicans, naturally, didn’t object. What was more interesting was that [Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid] and leading liberals, including Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), were on the floor, but not a single Democrat objected. Apparently, if it takes a pipeline to transport Mary Landrieu back to the Senate, Democrats were willing to build it.”]

Palin to pitch for Cassidy - The Hill: “[Former Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska,] will travel to Louisiana this weekend to throw her weight behind Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who is seeking to finish off an impressive Republican midterm campaign cycle by taking out incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Palin, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, and Tea Party Senate candidate Rob Maness, who challenged Cassidy in the general election, will be on hand for a Republican ‘unity rally’ in Monroe on Saturday…”

IT’S 2016 ALREADY: CRUZ ALLIES CREATE CAMPAIGN CASH COW
Some of Sen. Ted Cruz’s, R-Texas, closest associates are laying the ground work for a future presidential bid by creating a Super PAC that says it will be the “go-to financial behemoth” supporting the Texas senator in 2016.  Daily Mail: “The ‘Stand for Principle’ PAC filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on Friday…The emergence of a funding stream set up by Cruz supporter Maria Strollo Zack signals that the tea party firebrand is laying the groundwork for an announcement – and Zack plans to raise a ton of money. ‘We’d like to be $50 million by the end of March 2016, going into Super Tuesday,’ she told MailOnline on Wednesday.”

[Colorful Cruz - USA Today: “The children’s coloring book on Ted Cruz was so popular that the publisher is out with an addition. Ted Cruz Saves America is an eight-page supplement to the original that came out last year by Really Big Coloring Books. Publisher Wayne Bell said the addendum was inspired by the reception to Cruz to the Future, which was the No. 1 best-selling children’s coloring book on Amazon for about 20 weeks.”]

Liberal donors give Hillary the cold shoulder - Vice President Joe Biden and populist favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are slated to address the liberal Democracy Alliance’s winter confab of deep-pocketed Democratic donors this week, but notably missing: 2016 frontrunner Hillary Clinton. According to reports, several of those close to Clinton parted with Democracy Alliance in 2008 over its perceived favoritism of President Obama. The Ready for Warren PAC looking to nudge the Senator to challenge Clinton, is reportedly meeting with donors on the sidelines of the event. Warren will offer a progressive plan to address income inequality when she addresses the group today. Biden will appear at the group’s gala Friday.

[Elevating Elizabeth - HuffPo: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is under consideration for a leadership position in the Senate Democratic caucus, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. Senate Democrats will be holding their leadership elections Thursday morning. A source saw Warren coming out of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) office Wednesday.”]

Clinton works Warren backers - The Hill: “Advisers to Hillary Clinton and a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) are planning a meeting, according to the liberal group, which is an enthusiastic backer of the ideas of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)… Clinton is planning a listening tour in the coming weeks of business, unions and others.”

Huckabee’s heart into 2016? - WaPo: “[Former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s, R-Ark.] newly formed nonprofit advocacy group, America Takes Action, has begun to serve as an employment perch for his political team, recently bringing on a number of experienced campaign operatives. Advisers are already scouting real estate in Little Rock for a possible presidential campaign headquarters. Huckabee is scheduled to spend part of this month holding private meetings with powerful GOP financiers in Las Vegas, New York and California, gauging their interest in being bundlers for his possible campaign and asking for pledges of five-to-six-figure donations to his aligned organizations. And he is planning two strategy sessions next month, in Little Rock and Destin, Fla., near his new Gulf Coast home, to discuss timing, potential staffing and an opening pitch to voters… Huckabee’s ‘heart is into it,’ daughter and political confidante Sarah Huckabee told The Washington Post in an interview Tuesday. …’He can’t wait to get back to South Carolina and Iowa.’”

[#mediaBuzz host Howie Kurtz looks at how Fox News is weighing Mike Huckabee’s political moves as it determines his future with the network.]

MCCAIN’S IN THE GAME FOR SENATE IN 2016
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says he intends to seek re-election in 2016. “We’ve already talked with finance people in the state, we’ve already talked to different groups and organizations ranging from the Arizona Chamber to the Southern Arizona Defense Alliance to build the coalition’s we need to build,” McCain told MSNBC Wednesday. He also noted an expected Tea Party challenge saying, “I definitely think that I would have to absolutely anticipate a Tea Party candidate or two or three ... everybody tells me that I’m the number one target of the tea partiers.”

CLUB FOR GROWTH GEARS UP FOR 2016
The conservative Club for Growth is getting jump on 2016, backing some of its favorite Senatorial sons. WaPo: “The group announced its support for [Republican Senators] Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. With the exception of Scott – who was appointed to his seat by Gov. Nikki Haley [R-S.C.] in 2013 and won another partial term in a special election Nov. 4 – the senators all waged their last campaigns in 2010 as the tea party wave gained momentum.”

WE SHOULD HAVE NAMED HIM ‘HARRY’
NY Daily News: “A plucky parrot is on the lam after he picked two locks on his cage and made a daring escape. The parrot, named Magic, performed the audacious Harry Houdini routine in England on Thursday as he was being transported in a car to a temporary home while his owners were on vacation… The bright green Senegal parrot is thought to have used his claws to quietly open up two padlocks. When the vehicle door was open and the enclosure was lifted, he seized his chance for freedom by pushing the panel and flying off. He’s not been seen since. Magic’s owner Michelle Russell, from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, said it wasn’t the first time the family pet had escaped. ‘He’s picked the ordinary lock before so my parents put an extra one on,”[ she told the BBC]… She added that her dad Roy Jarvis was ‘devastated’ — having looked after the parrot for more than 20 years. The family is continuing to search for the wayward exotic bird — and is now planning to play recordings of parrot calls out in nearby streets in a bid to attract him home.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“As a matter of policy, I think it’s a terrible idea, I’m not against legalization. But I am against legalization before you do anything serious about controlling the border. Otherwise this is an advertisement to the whole world, particularly Latin America, where it’s easy to get across the border, that you come into America illegally, it’s up to you, we do not control our borders, and if you wait long enough, and you make strong enough case and there's enough pressure, we will legalize you.” –Charles Krauthammer  on “Special Report with Bret Baier ” Watch here.

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