I suppose you may need to count me as a dolt, because the spending issue is a conservative anchor issue that cannot be denied.
The illegal alien issue is one that we can debate the proper course of action, but spending is mutually agreed as a bad thing that has indeed occurred.
The immigration proposal has not occurred and is not going to happen any time soon, if ever. But, it is not moot because of this fact, only that it has not occurred. It has not yet been written and it is not law or even out of committee. In fact, it has not been assigned to any committee except for exploratory panels.
How then, is it deemed a key issue for debate when their is virtually nothing to debate as of yet.
Intentions and desires are not something we can debate rationally until they are real and not just intellectual.
The spending is real.