New Orleans The upcoming Obama Immigration Reform Summit has a weird twist to it that distinguishes it from earlier summits on healthcare reform and the stimulus package.  None of the advocate organizations, stakeholders, or anyone else other than politicians is being invited into the room.  Let’s tell it like it is:  this is a political clubhouse meeting, not a summit.

A summit brings everyone together to look for common ground.  The more this one shapes up and the likely attendance list becomes clear, it seems that this is simply a political placeholder for the real deal.  The President and his people are sending a message out that they still care, rather than being to lift the heavy weight on what it will take to achieve comprehensive reform.

What movement still exists for reform is being asked to settle for getting messages back and forth from their “representatives.” Labor, healthcare stakeholders, and for those with a memory of the civil rights struggle, would never have been left out of a real summit about something so critical to their future.

This is wrong.  This is an insult.