Don’t hate the playa’. Hate the game.

I’m not an expert on 1980s hip hop by any stretch of the imagination. But I know that phrase has its roots in an Ice-T song and has been popularized in other forms of pop culture as well.

For those unfamiliar with the vernacular of the street, it means you should blame the system and not the person involved for how things work out.

That phrase perfectly describes the state of our current political environment. Don Bacon is a case in point.

Congressman Bacon has signed a discharge petition that, if they can get one more congressperson to sign, would force a vote on the American Dream and Promise Act of 2025.

This act would provide a pathway to citizenship for people granted temporary protection from deportation.

This law would benefit those who have protection through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).

These are folks who were brought into the country illegally as children, are in the country fleeing dangerous, oppressive conditions in their native lands, or for other reasons that can be decided by each administration.

All candidates would have to be free of any criminal activity and meet other criteria to qualify.

I know that the outgoing Congressman has long supported immigration reform and has voiced support for DACA. But he was unable to move things forward as he played the game.

In the ten years he’s been in office, he’s not been able to do much about it due to a small but vocal minority that could hurt him in a primary election. If he were running for reelection, after signing this discharge petition, President Trump would undoubtedly pour money into this district to have Congressman Bacon primaried out.

Don’t hate the playa’ hate the game.

A June 2026 Gallup poll found that 81% of Americans favor a pathway to citizenship for those in the country whose only crime was being brought into the country illegally by their parents.

Only 18% opposed it. But those 18% are supported by this current administration and many of the oligarchs that donate to campaigns. That 18% minority makes it dangerous politically, even though the vast majority of Americans see it as a common-sense solution, a solution that honors the foundation of our country and the words on the Statue of Liberty.

The game needs to change, but the people who can make that change are also the ones who benefit from the way it is now. Which is why it’s taken Congressman Bacon so long to sign that discharge petition, and why they still need more signatures.

A Discharge Petition is a procedure to force a bill out of committee and bring it to a vote on the House floor. It was the same procedure that finally brought the release of the Epstein Files before Congress for a vote.

Politicians will often say that they are all for immigration as long as it’s legal. Yet for years and under previous administrations, they’ve done nothing to fix the laws to make it so. It takes a discharge petition to even get this common-sense bill on the floor for a vote. And even if it passes both the House and Senate, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that Stephen Miller will let President Trump sign it.

Yes, it’s easy to hate this game.

America’s strength is its diversity. A diversity that previous administrations did nothing to fix, and the current administration is trying to end.

I know some will read this and think that I support open borders. Not in the least. I support a system that has the infrastructure in place to welcome the immigrants and not automatically deport them.

We’ve done nothing to improve our system since the Reagan era.

I support Congressman Bacon signing this discharge petition. I would love to see the American Dream and Promise Act of 2025 to be codified into law, but I doubt that will happen until there’s a drastic change in the way the game is played.

We can help change the game on Election Day.

When it comes to those here from other countries, either legally or illegally, don’t hate those playa’s; let’s fix the game.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.