It’s been said that Democrats won’t do it because it’s too unpopular with voters when the unemployment rate is 9.6%. But the purpose of amnesty isn’t to win over current voters. It’s to create new voters — millions of them, almost all of whom will vote for Democrats. Who needs current voters when you can create millions of new ones?

Welcome, my friends, to the Democratic Party’s latest push for amnesty.

‘READY’ ON IMMIGRATION: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) told reporters on Monday that he might meet with President Obama this week to talk about a way to pass immigration legislation during Congress’s lame-duck session.

“The White House is ready and willing, and we may be having another meeting with the White House very soon this week,” Menendez said on a conference call, adding that Obama is “clearly interested” trying to reach a deal on immigration before the Congress convenes.

“He made it clear that he is willing to move forward if there is bipartisan support,” Menendez said. “We need some clear response from some of our Republican colleagues.”

All of this will take place during the lame duck session, when Republicans have just a one-vote margin to block the legislation in the Senate and absolutely no power to stop it in the House. So if just one Republican defects and Democrats stay together, it’s end game.

Again, none of this will be popular with voters. There’s a budget to pass, tax cuts to extend, unemployment to fix, and an assortment of other problems to address — all of which are viewed as more important than granting amnesty to law breakers. But again, Democrats don’t need old voters if they can create millions of new ones.

The current batch of voters are getting tired of big government, big spending, and Democratic policies in general. So Democrats are moving to dilute the power of current voters by creating millions of new ones — again, most of whom will support Democratic policies.

If you can’t win the game, change the rules. If you can’t win over current voters, create millions of new ones.