[sinkspur]

No one will win state wide office as a Republican who does not agree with what I will call the Dan Patrick position and expressly rejects the George Bush position on immigration.

I doubt that that's true. The number one issue for the vast majority of Texans is this school finance plan, currently under debate in a special session of the lege. If Perry gets one passed that is revenue neutral, he's a shoo-in for governor, as are Dewhurst, Abbott, and others on the Republican slate.

Most voters are not single-issue, nor is immigration their top priority.

[Iwo Jima]

The upcoming November general election may be too soon to see the full effects of this issue because, as you say, the Republican primary has already been held. But anyone who desires a political future as a Republican in Texas has to be on the Dan Patrick (for lack of a better label) side of the border issue. I think that includes Perry and Dewhurst, although Dewhurst is too self-absorbed to take the views of the electorate very seriously.

We may be "highjacking" this thread into a Texas politics thread. If so, my apologies to whoever is offended. It's just hard to talk about this issue in the abstract without discussing how you see it playing out in your locale.