Posted on 11/22/2011 10:10:27 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
The big theme out of Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate in Washington was Newt Gingrich's compassionate stance towards illegal immigrants who have put down deep roots in the U.S.
That position by Gingrich, who has recently surged to join Mitt Romney at the head of the Republican field according to recent polls, conflicted with the more hardline views of many conservative voters.
Many of those GOP voters who will decide their party's nominee oppose allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S., period.
The immediate question for Gingrich was, after boldly defending his position that illegal aliens who've lived in the U.S. for many years, establishing families and belonging to churches, should be allowed to remain in the U.S., would Gingrich now suffer the same fate as Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
The point is:
(1) The opportunity to come here illegally and then obtain some kind of “legality” is to some extent a magnet.
(2) The lack of opportunity to become a citizen is not a deterrent to those who want to come here illegally.
(3) The more illegals there are in the country, the more anchor babies and babies of anchor babies there are. Those people WILL be allowed to vote.
Moreover, the “prohibition” on citizenship would never survive politically, not for very long. After all, Gingrich has framed this first and foremost in EMOTIONAL terms — and set it up so that opposing his plan makes you “inhumane.”
Most conservatives see that gambit for what it is and where it’s going. Policies cannot be based on what “feels good.” They must be based first and foremost on what is right and good for the nation; everything else will fall into place then.
That means very little in a practical sense. In some areas that status would allow them to vote in local elections. You better believe it would become SOP.
I like Newt. It was tough watching him also step in it. I know someday we will have to pragmatically deal with those that will not leave on their own. But Perry is right about one thing. Without securing the border, and I might add defining birthright citizenship, it's a waste of time to talk about who gets to stay.
Sure it is. There are no perfect people running for office. Even with a somewhat moderate immigration stance, Newt is still the best choice in the field. Although I am warming to Bachmann...it's a shame she showed her teeth going after Perry.
P.S.
I forgot to add:
The Dems are constantly trying to pass laws to make it legal for FELONS to vote. Of course they will double down on efforts to make those who obtain “some legality” to be here after a long time able to vote.
And you know how Dems oppose voter ID laws.
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