Instapundit: The Donald and Bernie show

"When party outsiders feel ignored, a champion appears to take their interests to heart."

Political parties exist, first and foremost, to serve the interest of the insiders, while doling out just enough in the way of favors and ideological satisfaction to keep the party outsiders on the reservation. But when the members of the "Outer Party" feel sufficiently ignored, a champion appears who will take their interests to heart, or at least sound as if he does.

That's what's happening in both parties with the rise of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., (actually, he identifies as a Socialist, but caucuses with, and apparently now is campaigning as, a Democrat) and Republican Donald Trump (actually he identifies mostly with himself, and campaigns mostly on TV talk shows). Each, in his own way, speaks to the concerns of constituencies within his party (and, interestingly, to some degree the other party) that are being ignored or dismissed by the insiders. (read the whole thing)

Republicans hiding their support for amnesty

How badly does Republican leadership want to hide their support for amnesty? Asks David Horowitz at Conservative Review. 

And how badly do they want to avoid confrontation with Obama? 

This badly.

They are holding a symbolic vote denouncing Obama's unilateral action but apart from the operative budget bill. It is not even a standalone bill and contains no defund language. Just empty toothless protest.

They took the backbench bill and rewrote to be innocuous and even renamed it to rid it of any possible perception of offensive language. They are treating conservatives with the exact contempt Democrat leadership shows for their constituency. Their new bill adds a substitute amendment including "adds necessary exceptions for imminent humanitarian and law enforcement reasons."  

Horowitz asks, Why add this exception to an unlawful act?

Horowitz ends, This is not about disagreement over policy. These people do not share our values.

It's as if they imagine their positions perfectly secure and the voters who put them there perfectly unconscious.