This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Late last week, reports out of Washington put Utah's Sen. Mike Lee on a list of politicians who were ready to do what they could — even shut down the federal government again — to stop President Obama from using (or abusing) his executive authority to temporarily exempt maybe 5 million people from being deported due to their undocumented status.

Sunday's Tribune editorial (posted online Friday) urged Lee to do no such thing.

Yesterday, our own Tommy Burr was quoting Lee as saying a government shutdown was not likely.

And Mitt Romney, who lost an election himself two years ago, was calling on Obama to note who lost the last election.

Well, yes. But, as Romney might recall, Obama won the election before that. And his term has two more years to run.

Utah's Lee seeks to block Obama on immigration — Andrew Taylor and Erica Werner | The Associated Press — First Published Nov 12 2014 05:06PM

"Washington • Some conservative Republicans want to drag must-pass spending bills into their fight with President Barack Obama over his planned executive action on immigration, inviting comparisons to last year's shutdown showdown over the health care law.

"In the Senate, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Mike Lee of Utah are among those arguing to use an upcoming must-pass spending bill — either in December or next year — to try to block Obama from taking unilateral action to protect millions of immigrants here illegally from deportation. ..."

Lee should not push another shutdown — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial — First Published Nov 15 2014 06:00PM

"Sen. Mike Lee's political stock hit an all-time low when his fingerprints were clearly all over the ridiculous 16-day government shutdown of 2013.

"The stunt — a pathetic attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act — hurt the economy, damaged the credit rating of the United States and allowed President Obama and his fellow Democrats to credibly label Lee and his fellow Republicans 'The Party of No.'

"That was a burden Republicans clearly and skillfully overcame in the run-up to this month's elections, when a dispirited electorate and a historically low turnout gave the GOP a majority of seats in the Senate and a larger margin in the House of Representatives. ...

" ... But all that work is destined to go up in smoke if Lee carries through on new threats to throw the government into a new crisis, up to and including another shutdown, in an attempt to block some long-overdue executive action to bring some sanity — and basic human decency — to America's broken immigration system. ...

" ... it would be an approach very much like the one that allowed Utah's newest political supernova, Rep.-elect Mia Love, to remain in the county rather than be sent back to Haiti with her immigrant parents way back in 1977. ..."

Becoming American: The story of Mia Love's Haitian parents — Matt Canham | The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... 'My parents have always told me I was a miracle and our family's ticket to America,' Love said."

Mike Lee: GOP stands ready to respond to Obama executive actions on immigration — Thomas Burr | The Salt Lake Tribune — First Published Nov 16 2014 09:36AM

"Washington • Sen. Mike Lee said Sunday that he doesn't envision a government shutdown if President Barack Obama uses his unilateral power to order changes to America's immigration system – but Lee also didn't rule out what response the GOP might use to halt Obama's pending action.

"I think we're not heading into a government shutdown," the Utah Republican said on CBS News' Face the Nation, noting that Obama could just wait and not act immediately...."

Romney Says Obama 'Needs to Learn That He Lost' the Midterms — Allen McDuffee | The Atlantic

" ... 'The president has got to learn that he lost this last election round,' said Romney, arguing that Republicans overwhelmingly winning the midterm elections were a referendum on Obama's policies and that voters are 'not happy about them.' ..."

Obama and the other electorate — E.J. Dionne | The Washington Post

" ... Obama's Republican critics say that his forceful approach on immigration, climate change and net neutrality show he isn't paying attention to what the voters said in the midterm elections.

"In truth, he is paying close attention to the feelings of a very important group of voters — the tens of millions who supported him two years ago but were so dispirited that they stayed away from the polls on Nov. 4. They are hoping Obama will show them that political engagement is worth the effort. ..."

Election 2014: Surge or Theft? — Richard Parker | The American Prospect

"How dark money and voter disenfranchisement combined in a toxic brew that resulted in the lowest voter turnout in more than 70 years, hampering whatever chance Democrats had to win."

"While we have long encouraged efforts to deal with the status of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, there are several reasons why President Barack Obama's pledge to take unilateral action on the issue would be a serious mistake. ..."

Why Congress must stop Obama on immigration — Rep. Matt Salmon and Rep. Trent Franks | For The Arizona Republic

" ... Some have argued that executive action would be the compassionate thing to do. Far from it: Most agree that executive action on immigration is a poison pill. ..."

"The Beltway is pretending that the GOP wants to 'govern.' A showdown over a budget deal will test that premise."