Posted on 08/08/2014 5:35:07 AM PDT by cotton1706
Sen. Lamar Alexander voted for comprehensive immigration reform. And he lived to tell the tale.
The Tennessee Republican easily won his primary Tuesday against a conservative insurgent who sought to bury him over his vote -- a candidate who was backed by the same forces that helped topple Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), including conservative radio host and immigration hardliner Laura Ingraham.
His survival is a testament to an emerging political reality: Republicans who support reform can survive the conservative backlash. It was also another demonstration of how much immigration has been overshadowed on the trail by other issues -- in Tennessee, by health care and the economy.
Alexander is one of three Republican senators who voted for this session's sweeping reform bill, which included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, then faced re-election this year. The other two -- Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Susan Collins (Maine) -- also skated to primary wins and avoided extended bouts over their votes. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), another reform advocate, also won.
A big part of why Alexander didn't fall victim to immigration broadsides has to do with the contours of Tennessee politics: Immigration is simply not the decisive issue there, experts say.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Excellent post...sharing.
Not at all different than dem voters...
This was the same situation as cochran and McDaniels with cross over voting to keep the RINO.
But you have to admit Carr ran a pathetic campaign. He ran as a state rep not as a US Senator, no counter ads, no signs for W TN, ignored W TN, did RSVP visits only 1 open one, with just a couple hrs notice.
Man, people have plans they can’t cancel at the last second to come hear you. Many of us have scheduled appointments, or work. Try doing a Saturday day time event. And go after the small donors, not just the big ones.
Many on the TN Profile page could have run a better campaign than Carr did.
Susan Collins didn’t have a primary challenger.
He will be 80 next go round, and ready to retire. They will put up another RINO. And the 2 conservatives will cancel each other out. Conservatives have to learn when they trail in the polls to pull out, let the leader take the votes and just maybe we can win against a RINO.
Lamar Alexander probably had a boatload of money from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce open border types.
As an aside, I don't get the reverence for Fred Thompson. He's an actor with an East TN accent, who's never met a RINO or RINO cause he couldn't support. The man voted for McCain-Feingold, fergoshsakes !!
A Vanderbilt poll released in May showed 68 percent of Tennessee voters said illegal immigrants working in the United States should be allowed to stay, either as guests or eventual citizens....So Illegals should be allowed to stay here and should lawfully be allowed to use their fake or stolen documents. and do not forget fraudulent tax refunds,driving without licenses/insurance and these productive illegal citizens should be allowed to remain here according to Vanderbilt poll. Thing is they can make polls say about anything. Wonder what the poll says about illegals who become drunk and get behind the wheel of their car and cause a fatal accident as a result of drunk driving hit and run and take off not caring about what they left behind them ?
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