[goldfinch]

“If this gets categorized as amnesty, it could cause the party to split next year, particularly if the top of the ticket is viewed as too liberal,” said Mark Rountree, a political strategist who works with Republican candidates.

He just doesn't get it. If this bill passes, Republicans will become a permanent minority party. That will happen even if conservatives stick with the Republican party. Does Mark Rountree really think the illegals, once given citizenship, will vote Republican?

[Fee]

The free trade/globalist GOP don’t care. The amounts of money they will make from globalism and cheap immigrant labor will more offset the costs of dealing with the Dems. Catering to the conservatives means they will never make the money they want.

[Mark Rountree]

Goldfinch, I’m not sure how much clearer I could have been. Talk about getting hit by friendly fire... Are we reading the same article? My exact point is that the Republican Party is in far greater political peril with the immigration issue than the Democrat Party, for multiple reasons.

Illegal immigrants will obviously be more likely to vote Democrat. The issue is more problematic than that, however, since that is a longer term problem.

The short term political problem, the one affecting us in the next 18 months, is that if this proposal is received by the public as a form of amnesty, and our Republican nominee is perceived as weak on the issue, it could cause a historic split in the Republican Party.

Tancredo or Hunter or Barr or any one of dozens could lead an independent third-party effort, running to the right of the Republican presidential nominee, particularly if it’s Guiliani.

Goldfinch, did you even read my comments? Or just fire in all direction from the foxhole?