"Uh Bush won 30% of Hispanics in 2004. That is the largest minority vote the GOP has. If you think we can win without the Hispanic vote you are nuts."
And that is how many votes? 5 million, 6? Now compare that to the loss of 10 million or so of the base.
Next remember this is an off year election. Who turns out...the base. No base, no win.
Anyone making the argument that pro-illegal stances get Hispanic votes is seriously mathematics challenged. Going from 30% of ~10 million voters to 40% of 20 million voters is a net loss. As long as the GOP gets less than 50% of the Hispanic vote - as is currently the case - bringing in more Hispanic voters makes it more difficult for the GOP to continue to win! That's not even counting the tsunami of conservatives ready to bail on what is now a socialist party.