[af_vet_rr]

Why would we want to alienate the millions of voters to regain a few thousand...by promising to do something that has no chance of happening?

Is it too much to ask for a President to not push a safe harbor for criminals, and to not call it something as innocent sounding as a "guest worker program".

The wording that he uses panders directly to the left and to big business.

If that's how he and the GOP want to pull votes in to offset the Conservatives in the party (which apparently are fast becoming a minority), that's fine.

The writing has been on the wall - the GOP's website has been removing the word "Conservative" from various pages here and there (and somebody told me the 2004 party platform didn't contain the word "conservative" at all, although I find that hard to believe).

It's not you at all pollyannaish, btw, it's me - I have not changed my beliefs over the past 20 or 30 years, but the party has definitely changed in that time, and I'm holding on to an image of what once was.

[pollyannaish]

Thanks for the articulate reply. As Dennis Prager always says, clarity is the most important thing. As far as the border goes, we will all be debating this for years to come.

You are right. I know that the party has indeed changed, even in my lifetime. And so has the country. In fact, so has the world.

I think that is the fundamental reason why political parties, nations and even conservatism ebb and flow. We all believe what we believe and generally, that does not change. We are also products of our own generations and experiences.

Honestly, I think sometimes the fact that any of us can agree on anything is quite miraculous.

I also want you to know, that I am genuinely glad we are on the same side in principle, even if we disagree on specifics. It takes all of us.