Yes, they do, but it took an outsider like Trump to land the blow that knocked them on their keister. Few, if any, politicians are suitably situated to take on a subject as important as illegal immigration so truthfully and as point-blank, as Trump did.
What I love about his positioning is the fact that the political establishment can't lay a glove on him. There's no string to pull, no coattail to yank, no funding to threaten, no promotion to deny - just nothing. They don't own him, and he's not for sale.
Yes, they thought they had just about won on this issue.
The people hate illegal immigration and they know it.
It is a jobs, crime and basic fairness issue all rolled into one issue.
They are trying to make is a racial issue but it is not.