Posted on 02/08/2008 9:16:15 PM PST by NormsRevenge
PHOENIX (Reuters) - What a difference a few weeks make -- at least when it comes to the U.S. presidential campaign and the hot issue of immigration.
When the White House race began in earnest with the first party nominating contests in Iowa in January, a broad field of Republican candidates vied to demonstrate their toughness on illegal immigration, pledging more border enforcement and a crackdown on illegal workers.
But with a narrowing of the races to secure the Republican and Democratic nominations ahead of November's general election, the issue could slip lower down the agenda as far as the candidates are concerned, analysts say.
"Looking forward to the general election, it's not that immigration is going to be redefined, it's just going to go away," predicted Steven Camarota, research director of the Center for Immigration Studies think-tank, which advocates reduced immigration.
Sen. John McCain emerged from coast-to-coast "Super Tuesday" nominating contests as the most likely Republican candidate and all but sealed the deal when his nearest rival, Mitt Romney, pulled out on Thursday.
McCain -- viewed as soft on illegal immigration by his conservative critics -- co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration overhaul that was nixed by the Senate in June. His position earned McCain the lasting enmity of many Republican voters who will likely push him to take a harder line.
On the Democratic side, the race is down to Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, who fought to a virtual draw in the February 5 voting. They both favor measures set out in the failed immigration bill, which sought to combine tougher border security with a path to legal status for many of the 12 million illegal immigrants living in the shadows.
Early Republican front-runner Romney, who ran terse television advertisements promising get-tough measures on illegal immigrants, is now out of the race. Mike Huckabee, who got endorsement from the Minutemen civilian border patrol group, is now seen as extremely unlikely to stop McCain.
"With Romney and Huckabee fading away, you essentially have different flavors of the same proposal," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Texas.
TAKING THE MIDDLE GROUND
The question of what to do with millions of illegal immigrants has been a hot-button topic for months in the United States, and consistently ranks among the top three issues for voters, alongside the economy and the war in Iraq.
Many Americans see illegal immigrants as a drain on jobs and resources such as schools and health care. With a recession looming, anti-immigrant feeling may intensify.
Others argue that most work illegal immigrants hard in often low-paid jobs that would otherwise go unfilled.
The candidates who are eventually picked to run for president by each party may try to avoid discussing immigration, although they are unlikely to be successful. When forced to address the issue, they could seek the hitherto elusive middle ground, analysts said.
"Presidential candidates from both parties are going to want to avoid it, and when they can't avoid it, they are going to want to straddle," said Tamar Jacoby, a senior research fellow at the Manhattan Institute think-tank, who supported the bipartisan Senate immigration bill.
"If you go too far in the restrictionist direction it's going to lose you Latinos, if you go too far in the pro-immigration direction, it's going to lose you some backlash voters," she added.
The problem is especially acute for McCain, who needs the votes of his party's strident anti-immigration wing and will be under intense pressure to toughen his position.
The issue is certain to loom large in the race for Congress, where all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs on November 4, as well as 35 Senate seats and 11 state governorships.
"Republicans running for .... Congress and state and local offices, almost all of them are going to run on illegal immigration," said Frank Sharry, of the National Immigration Forum.
"Whereas most Americans think mass deportations are unrealistic and undesirable, there's a significant number of Republicans who think it is a desirable policy."
I wonder what the proles will be told to think next month, and the month after that?
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“...Whereas most Americans think mass deportations are unrealistic and undesirable...”
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Only in your dreams, sweetheart.
They hope.
Or, in other words “Support McAmnasty!”
Well let’s see, we have three candidates left who all favor open borders and non-enforcement. Yep, it will probably not be a hot topic this fall and MSM isn’t going to make it one.
Gaynor, a LIBERAL shill, gins up another piece to say the issue of illegal immigration isn’t the issue it once was. Marxist crap. We will be seeing more of this leftist drool.
as the article notes, it will be an issue for members of Congre$$ in their races for re-election, so while the Presidential contenders may straddle the fence,, a lot of others will not be as able to avoid the issue.
A Reuters article posted on Yahoo. Hmmm, wonder if they have an agenda here?
The War is a strong reason to vote for McCain.
The question is, how do they balance out.
I think immigration wins. The Dems will not stop the war, they just won't fight it very creatively. They will chug along in Iraq, and if it is Hillary, may even try to take credit for winning. McCain is not as much better than them on the war as he thinks, particularly when you take into account his positions on FISA and Guantanamo. If Hillary is elected, I guarantee, you will see no more leaks about how awful the US is in the NY Times. We will be able to fight the war without fighting the CIA.
So, all in all, I am with Ann Coulter. If there was a conservative 3rd party challenge, that's where I'd vote, even if it only gets 5 percent.
Or so McCain hopes that is...
They keep pushing that "mass deportations" thingie. But what it means to them is the impossible task of rounding them all up and driving them home in buses.
That settles it for the politicians, lol no solution so just give them amnesty.
Self deportation would work quite well when all states pass proper laws ( and enforce the current ones) for not allowing welfare, school, and work places to cater to illegal invading criminal aliens.
And if the Federal Gov would enforce all the laws, self deportation will work quite well
Some states that are denying benefits and jobs are seeing mass migrations out of their states.
Many are going back to Mexico, but millions will just go to other states with sanctuary cities. Illegal though they are.
If the continue to get freebies and jobs, they will stay. Take them away, and they have no choice but to leave.
I agree with your assessment. Immigration is the primary issue. The three remaining candidates are hell bent on Amnesty. God help us if amnesty passes. It will be the end of our Republic.
We have immigration laws in the book. Last time I checked, if you were here illegally, you were shown the exit door, which is being deported. We just don’t enforce it.
Would most of these people in the MSM be sympathetic to amnesty if the illegals were mostly from Eastern Europe? No, they desparately want to destroy our European culture. In turn, I don’t want 25M third world Mexicans in my country either. Go back to your home!!
Yes, deny illegal aliens jobs and make it impossible for landlords to rent living quarters to an illegal, and they will go home.
I’ve noticed that quite often a liberal will sneer and say, “Just how are you going to deport 12 million hard working immigrants!” This is supposed to make us cringe, but we are always underestimated and counter attack firmly.
Did you notice that at CPAC Senator McCain mentioned that he now understood the law and order issue behind conservative criticism of this invasion by illegal aliens. Meantime the invasions supporters continue to scream we’re racists. I think we will prevail in the end. The powerful people cannot have the peasants running about with pitchforks promoting anarchy and lawless behavior./sarcasm
It won’t fade in California, despite the fantasies of RNC flunkies.
they'll find out what you get when you stick your hand in the hornet's nest that is illegal immigration.
if the MSM isn't going to make it a big deal then it's up to us to make it one-why do you think half of these lefties are backpedaling on this issue?
they felt the heat from We the People
Months ago it was “Amnesty will pass.”
If they have the money to leave. Maybe we should help them leave somehow. Free bus rides to the border perhaps? If they can't get home they will stay & drain us dry. Or commit crimes...
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