The GOP Establishment has a lot to answer for, but aren’t you declaring defeat too soon?
No.
The GOP heard plenty on immigration last year. It was part of what resulted in some voters staying home, and it was a cause of a true fury that many candidates heard about at the polls last year. Our Congressman, Dean Heller, has heard an earful on this issue, starting from last summer and clear through his taking office this spring.
After all the fury directed at the GOP last year on this issue, we now have a piece of legislation coming out of this recent “compromise” that shows the GOP didn’t get the message at all.
The GOP still controls over 40 votes in the Senate. They didn’t have to agree to anything. They could have stood up for what they wanted and said “unless we get X, the bill won’t get a vote” and gotten it.
Instead, McCain/Kyl just rolled over and sold us out. There was no attempt to play hardball to get what we wanted. None.
These actions will guarantee that the GOP becomes a minority party for a long time, and the demographics of the immigration tidal wave guarantee that the GOP will eventually go the way of the Whigs.