President Barack Obama

By Andrew Styles, Aug. 29, 2014, Freebeacon.com

The two-step plan would bow to the concerns of Democratic lawmakers running in Republican-leaning states who have expressed opposition to Obama’s plans to act unilaterally on the hot-button issue. Some Democratic senators have said he should wait for Congress to pass legislation.

Wait. Why would they want to do that? Aren’t the policies Obama is proposing on immigration wildly popular? That’s what they keep telling us, anyway. “I promise you, the American people don’t want me just standing around twiddling my thumbs,” he said earlier this month. If Democrats would simply stand with the president, then surely voters will reward them. Right?

Apparently, Democrats running for reelection feel otherwise, as the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent explains. In fact, they’re worried that Obama taking action on immigration before the November “could make a GOP Senate takeover more likely.” But it’s not just because a lot of Democratic Senators are running in red states where voters are less inclined to support Obama’s immigration policies.

In New Hampshire, Republican Scott Brown is gaining on incumbent Senate Jeanne Shaheen afterattacking her record on immigration. A recent poll showed Brown within two points, a dramatic improvement since June, when polling showed him trailing by 12 points.

Meanwhile, public opinion on immigration has shifted dramatically since the controversy surrounding the influx of child migrants on the southern border.