Immigration Debate Is Killing GOP

Yahoo ^ | April 10, 2006 | John McIntyre

[Shermy]

"Oh, and no border fence plus an amnesty program to sign up lots more Dem voters. I hope the no-compromise zealots on this issue will enjoy their handiwork."

The Democrats fear going to the voters opposing an enforcement first approach. That's one reason why Ben Nelson signed onto the Sessions amendment.

IMO the "hurting Republicans" meme was created be the lobbyists and laundered through the MSM. The only way it could hurt Repubs is if they don't make clear their difference from Bush and the MSM is allowed to continue confusing the issue.

[ez]

False crisis disinfo pretending to placate "conservatives" (really just about everyone), while pushing through amnesty. Who pays this guy?

Ahhh...well, it's pretty obvious there's a lot of leftist wishfull thinking spin in this...so, what's your point?

No doubt. My first reaction was to yell "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

[rattrap]

with Republicans in control of the House, Senate and the White House; Republicans have an obligation to lead irrespective of whether the Democrats wish to cooperate.

Novel concept...

[technomage]

Suckered by whom? George Bush?

Maybe. I believe it is more egotistical than that.

They got suckered in by the lure of a potential and large voting block. In other words, just like the Dims, the Congressional Republicans starting acting as if this were a contest to see who could 'appease' the Hispanic voting block the most in order to get themselves votes in the next election.

In other words, they were suckered in purely for perceived votes, nothing more.

[greyfoxx39]

This issue has been a big problem for years, and the Republicans should hit hard while the nation is watching this country being invaded by MILLIONS of illegal invaders on their TV's right now! The streets are full of illegal invaders, and the American people are looking right at them.

I just watched a bit of Moran on C-SPIN, and understand that Kennedy spoke there also. As I watched Moran inflame the crowd with attacks on "THESE PEOPLE that want to draw and quarter all hispanics (Republicans)", I thought to myself that would make a wonderful campaign commercial for the RNC, because I really believe that this demonstration will have the opposite effect that the dems and organizers hope for. On John Gibson's show, it was commented that dems were out there registering the illegals to vote. Wouldn't it be something if this all woke the legal Americans of all stripes to finally lower the boom in November and again in 2008?

[ez]

This will kill the GOP...right after Harriet Miers kills the GOP and the Dubai Ports deal kills the GOP.

[Shermy]

"Ironically, aside from some border lockdown issues, the conservatives and the liberals are starting to agree."

I've seen on the lefty sites utterly no one suggesting this is harming the GOP. They think the GOP is using this against them, and they certainly have not adopted the disinfo memes recycled here that this issue "hurts" the GOP in November. One or two suggest "Rove" is secretly against Amnesty and is conducting this debate to distract the people from Iraq!

[XJarhead]

Let's smoke them out by a vote. I think you might be surprised.

First, how do you propose to do that? Which GOP Senator is going to propose what you advocate? And if you're so sure that can happen, why hasn't a Senator already done that? I haven't seen a hint that there is a significant number of Senators willing to support what you've proposed.

Anyway, they've already been "smoked out". Frist's "tougher" version couldn't even get 40 votes in the Senate. The Dems were united against it, and a lot of RINO's joined them. That's the reality. The votes just aren't there in the Senate. Heck, even the House bill doesn't require deportation, and doesn't build a complete wall.

Let's put him to the test.

Again, how do you propose to do that? Forgetting about actually passing your bill in the Senate, you can't even find a Senator willing to introduce it.

[luvbach1]

The congress and MSM have succeeded (in much of the public's perception)in characterizing this as an immigration problem when it's an illegal worker/illegal alien invasion problem. The predominantly Mexican flags early on proved that's what it is. But by the congress, the president, and the MSM distorting the nature of the problem, any suggestion that would actually be effective at stemming the illegal alien tide, such as a high tech fence, is automatically considered too draconian for the noble immigrants to come, since that's how illegals are now to be characterized. And by the way, what does amnesty for the 12 million (and who knows how many really are here?)already here have to do with securing the border? That seems to have been lost in the shell game. Oh, yes, I forgot, a few more border patrol persons. That settles the border concerns. (sarc) I guess to the congress, the MSM, and the POTUS, the one-step remedy to the illegal alien/migrant problem is allow all here to become legal, wait for the ongoing wave of illegals (which only will increase with the amnesty) to build to the millions again, and repeat step one.

[concerned about politics]

...WHERE are the rest of the American? Why aren't they also up in arms?

They have jobs and a life. Only the left wing parasites have nothing else to do all day but protest and check their mail boxes for that welcomed government handout.
The silent majority has always been silent, but they scream at the voting booth. If the Republicans jump on this issue NOW and do what has to be done while America is seeing the illegals - by the millions - marching in the streets, we'll take seats in Washington by a landslide!
People are seeing millions of illegal foreign invaders on the TV right now. Mexicans have literally invaded our major cities, and the Republicans have to strike NOW while the iron is hot!

[colorado tanker]

The Democrats fear going to the voters opposing an enforcement first approach.

And, thanks to the House Republicans, they won't have to. They will do a vague "me-too" campaign and claim the main differnce they have with Republicans is they won't make felons out of 11 million people. They ought to send Messrs. Sensenbrenner and Tancredo Christmas presents.

[P-40]

I've seen on the lefty sites utterly no one suggesting this is harming the GOP.

I meant that I am seeing more agreement that the current illegal immigration situation is depressing wages for unskilled labor here, the taxpayer is picking up the bills for medical care and education, the elite of Mexico are kept in power by the money coming in from illegals in America, and so forth. They don't seem to have come around to the fact that we have to stop new ones from arriving no matter what we do though.

[MBB1984]

If this issue divides the GOP maybe the GOP should die and let a real conservative party take over.

[Shermy]

"First, how do you propose to do that? Which GOP Senator is going to propose what you advocate? And if you're so sure that can happen, why hasn't a Senator already done that? I haven't seen a hint that there is a significant number of Senators willing to support what you've proposed."

You are misinformed. Already done. The Sessions/Nelson amendment/bill. It was not voted upon but maneuvred out in the last hours before recess. The issue is whether Frist will put the bill to a straight-up vote.

"Heck, even the House bill doesn't require deportation, and doesn't build a complete wall."

So and so? What's your point? Their can't be a complete wall, who with any geographic sense would espouse that? Doesn't mean the non-walled places can't be monitored.

[zerosix]

Will the "real" GOP please stand up and be counted so we out in "fly over country" (read: red states) know whether or not to bother going to the polls.

As it stands right now, there is no one that I can vote for to represent me in the House and probably none in the Senate. They all seem interested in representing the 4% of working illegals.

[Aetius]

At least this guy got Bush's share of the Hispanic vote in 2004 right, instead of citing the discredited 44% figure. He is wrong, however, to attribute Bush's victory to his 3-6 point boost among Hispanics, when it was due much more to his four point boost among whites.

Otherwise, the pillars of reform put forth by this guy -- increase legal immigration and grant eventual citizenship to illegals -- equal a surrender for conservatives, and a victory for the Left, Democrats, and open border Republicans.

This idea that legal immigration must be increased as part of any reform is insulting, and an affront to the whole idea that we have a right as a nation to determine how many can enter. Favoring crackdowns on illegal immigration in no way obligates one to support more legal immigration. It also ignores the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose increasing legal immigration. But then again, public opinion rarely has any influence on immigration policy, as our elites -- secure and defended by how immigration doesn't cut neatly down party lines, and how immigration is rarely a top-tier, vote-deciding issue -- have a 40 yr history of imposing unwanted policies of mass immigration on the nation.

And of course to grant citizenship to current illegal aliens is nothing but a delayed amnesty. And even if a Republican president and Republican Congress were to grant this to illegals, and even if the party leaders cite the many feel-good platitudes ad nauseam, and excoriate the Tancredos, and pander in Spanish, its still a pretty safe bet that the Democrats will enjoy a huge net gain in votes from how many ever of those illegals (and future legal 'guest' workers) who go on to get citizenship and vote.

[stockstrader]

As always, 'leftie' sites ARE clueless--this issue is no exception. There is no question that the Republican Party will suffer long-term damage from the eventual citizenship that most illegals WILL get someday/somehow/someway. The democrats will MAKE SURE that it WILL happen.

[Shermy]

"And, thanks to the House Republicans, they won't have to. They will do a vague "me-too" campaign and claim the main differnce they have with Republicans is they won't make felons out of 11 million people. They ought to send Messrs. Sensenbrenner and Tancredo Christmas presents."

Why not blame the Senate? Anyway, can you point to one Democrat who thinks that pointing out the "felon provision" is going to gain them traction in November? All I hear are Republican elites suggesting that.

[OB1kNOb]

Immigration Debate Is Killing GOP

That's the same as saying "Guns kill people".

They needs to get it straight. The GOP is willingly committing suicide and they are using the illegal alien invasion debate as the "gun" in which to carry out their own demise. And why? To keep the flow of cheap slave labor coming in to increase business profits by any and all means. In other words, Greed. The "love of money" is truly the root of all kinds of evil.

We (conservatives &/or GOP'ers) have had the power and means to make many changes for the good of America over the past few years and look what we've done, our elected officials have failed to even secure our nation's borders and monitor and track aliens to ensure that they do not cause havoc in our land.

Lord, send us real political leaders in the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt to replace the spineless blowhards currently in office, before it's too late, please! - OB1

[Aetius]

And of course the Democrats will gain from any increases in normal legal immigration too. Simply put; the Republicans cannot not win or gain demographically from mass immigration.