I’ve got my issues with Jeb, especially around immigration, but he’s right on this one. Romney unnecessarily moved to Perry’s far right on immigration to attack him. Along with Bachmann, they pummeled Perry on this issue as Perry took the lead in the race. He made the statements like self-deportation and attacked any middle of the road solutions we’ve seen in Texas, and those statements were used effectively to demagogue in the general. Bottom line, one can stand for a conservative position and avoid amnesty, and still create a better position towards the middle on this issue. Our party got beat badly on this issue this year, and not because the positions were poor...but because the politics were poorly planned.
First of all, Perry deserved to be pummeled on immigration after his “don’t have a heart” comments, as those comments were thoroughly leftist. The ‘staunch conservative’ basically parroted the liberal tactic of questioning the humanity of someone who doesn’t share their liberal views.
Second, Romney never went to the far right on immigration. He briefly spoke of self-deportation, but never bothered defending it during the general election. That’s not surprising, as Romney is probably (like the Bushes) liberal on immigration and probably didn’t even understand self-deportation. It’s a shame, because attrition-through-enforcement deserves a public hearing. Just as polling has shown a path to citizenship for illegals to be popular, so to has it shown enforcement-first, attrition policies to be popular. It’s only a ‘far right’ position because the media has done its best to render it as such. But it could be popular.
It is incredibly frustrating that Romney’s loss has been attributed in large part to his ‘conservative’ immigration policies, and for going ‘too far right’ in the primary. It’s frustrating because it’s not true. For one thing, its debatable whether or not Romney would have won had he repeated Bush’s 40% showing with latinos, while he definitely would have won had he done a little better with whites in a few key states. For another, Romney rarely articulated and never championed conservative immigration policies!
In the future, if a Republican is going to be condemned for being too conservative on immigration, can we at least get a Republican who is actually conservative on immigration? How about truly explaining self deportation/attrition? How about campaigning to reduce legal immigration? How about campaigning to abolish Ted Kennedy’s absurd Diversity Visas? How about pointing out the insane collision between racial preferences and the mass importation of people eligible for them? All of that would be truly going conservative on immigration, and that wasn’t Romney at all.
Unending mass immigration will turn Texas into a battleground state in the next 12 years or so. Only a policy that reduces immigration can stop it from eventually going blue.
Bottom line, one can stand for a conservative position and avoid amnesty, and still create a better position towards the middle on this issue.
Waddya talking about there Florida?
It's never been middle of the road for conservatives. It's always been to the far left, with Republicans and Democrats both trying to out pander to the illegals...
Ya got upwards of 25 million in the country illegally...Where is the middle road?
Illegals are dropping 1000 anchor babies per month at Texas Parkland hospital in Dallas...Guess who's paying the bill? Where is the middle of the road?
Illegals are costing the American tax payers hundreds of billions due to crime, education, social services, food stamps, welfare, etc etc...Where is the middle of the road here?
Americans have been gang raped economically when it comes to illegals..They choked off our schools, jails, roads, hospitals, social services, etc...Where is the middle of the road for legitimate Americans?
What about the hundred of thousands of American victims of illegal alien crime? Where is the middle of the road there?
It seems what you call middle of the road Mr. ilgipper, means Americans continue to get ran over, betrayed, robbed, and economically gang banged while the illegals and our own government wink and nod at each other.
What's this middle of the road bull sh*t?
Bottom line, one can stand for a conservative position and avoid amnesty, and still create a better position towards the middle on this issue.
Waddya talking about there Florida?
It's never been middle of the road for conservatives. It's always been to the far left, with Republicans and Democrats both trying to out pander to the illegals...
Ya got upwards of 25 million in the country illegally...Where is the middle road?
Illegals are dropping 1000 anchor babies per month at Texas Parkland hospital in Dallas...Guess who's paying the bill? Where is the middle of the road?
Illegals are costing the American tax payers hundreds of billions due to crime, education, social services, food stamps, welfare, etc etc...Where is the middle of the road here?
Americans have been gang raped economically when it comes to illegals..They choked off our schools, jails, roads, hospitals, social services, etc...Where is the middle of the road for legitimate Americans?
What about the hundred of thousands of American victims of illegal alien crime? Where is the middle of the road there?
It seems what you call middle of the road Mr. ilgipper, means Americans continue to get ran over, betrayed, robbed, and economically gang banged while the illegals and our own government wink and nod at each other.
What's this middle of the road bull sh*t?
You seem to be as scarce as a public pay phone.
Where'd ya go Mr. ilgipper?