June 20, 2007 News+Opinion » Usual Suspects

Immigration Bill Debate 

Talk radio? Who needs it? Immigration bill troubles show GOP divide

by Michael Graham
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Sen. Trent Lott has seen the enemy, and he is us.

Well, actually ... me.

"Talk radio is running America," Lott thundered from the floor of the Senate last week. "We have to deal with that problem."

"That problem" is that the Bush/Kennedy/McCain/Calderon amnesty bill got beaten like a cheap rug on the floor of the senate last week. "That problem" is that prospects for its revival are dim, at best.

And Trent Lott is blaming what he might have once called "outside agitators" in his Mississippi days, but are better known currently as "voters."

While the media present the Republican divide as "pro-life vs. pro-choice," the real battle is between the insider elites and the rank-and-file voters who support the party. One side has the money, the other side as the votes. But neither side is strong enough to land a knockout blow against the other.

And so the battle rages.

Lott's not alone. On ABC's "This Week," Sen. John McCain complained about the "more conservative, anti-immigrant, anti-legislation group" of senators "backed up by a very vocal group of people who were supporting them."

The people? Vocally supporting senators and affecting the outcome of legislation? Why, it's an outrage!

The people who oppose the amnesty/guest worker immigration approach aren't just talk radio listeners, as much as I'd like to claim the credit. According to the latest Rasmussen poll, just 20 percent of American voters want Congress to pass the immigration reform bill.

In the past, divisive issues inside the Republican Party were settled on the battlefield. That is, one wing of the party would win the debate and the other would go quietly along. Abortion, for example, has clearly been won by the populist pro-life faction, while Wall Street Republicans have largely carried the day on free trade.

Which makes the ongoing GOP struggle on illegal immigration all the more noteworthy. The Trent Lott elites have clearly lost the war, but they insist on heading back into battle.

Sen. McCain's mission of political suicide (one poll has his numbers here in South Carolina in the single digits) appears to be motivated by principle. McCain is principled, courageous and wrong.

Why can't the GOP grasp this issue and run with it? The Democrats are embracing amnesty and open borders with gusto. Sen. Harry Reid last week referred to illegal aliens as "undocumented Americans." The rest of us are merely over-documented, I guess.

The Democrats' race-based allegiance to open borders and amnesty could be a powerful weapon for the Republicans in 2008. The GOP could push "enforcement first," the Bush Administration could spend the next two years on high-profile enforcement efforts targeting evil corporate employers, and leave the Democrats to defend the lawbreakers and their allies.

Instead, the Washington Times reports that small donor fundraising for the Republican National Committee has collapsed. The RNC recently shut down their entire phone solicitation operation, and one former operator told the Times "every donor in 50 states we reached has been angry ... and for 99 percent of them immigration is the No. 1 issue."

The Trent Lott elites are right. They don't need the "Great Unwashed" of talk radio America to push their amnesty plan through the U.S. Senate. But eventually the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is going to roll around.

And on that day, winning elections is going to be a lot tougher when you've alienated all your supporters. Just ask John McCain.

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One of the biggest lies from the liberals/socialists concerning this issue, is when liberals/socialists tell you they want the border erased out of compassion for the people who just want to come to America for a chance at a better life. Remember, Liberals/socialists hate America. That is a fact, Jack. Liberals hate America and want to see it erased from the map. Liberals want a one world socialist utopia, where the government has total control. Liberals understand that this once great nation is standing in their way. If our borders are erased, this brings them one step closer to their goals. Liberalism is no mental disease. It is evil.

Posted by hellhound4hire on July 3, 2007 at 2:54 PM | Report this comment

There are estimates that there are currently up to 20 million lawbreaking illegal aliens, not immigrants, in the USA today. These lawbreaking illegal aliens, not immigrants, say that they want to make things right and become true Americans. I say God bless them. Give them a chance. Make all of them legal. Give them all SSN numbers. Then arrest every one of them for tax evasion. They are easy to find. Just look for the white vans with ladders. Now use these 20 million laborers to build the Great Wall of Mexico! I mean these dudes can lay some brick! That stops the inflow! When they finish the Great Wall of Mexico put them to work building prisons. (This is pure genius.) OK. We’ve got the new wall, we’ve got new prisons; now comes the best part. Now the part that makes America great. We give them free uniforms. Free living quarters. Free food. Free training. As members of the US Army! Once trained, we ship them all overseas for two years to replace the real Americans. When they come back to America in two years, they have all the rights that we true blooded Americans have. They get to pay taxes and vote. And best of all. They get to call the United States of America their home. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Posted by MikeRawlings on July 2, 2007 at 4:15 PM | Report this comment

My last lines were tongue-in-cheek (read sarcastic) interpretations of the racist policies employed by our #1 ally, Israel.

Posted by Frank Castle on June 28, 2007 at 5:03 PM | Report this comment

sorry it took me so long to post. Hellhound's hypnotic message (see above) had me mezmerized for an entire week ...

Posted by MelvintheBarbarian on June 28, 2007 at 3:17 PM | Report this comment

"It's not bigotry nor racism when one is trying to preserve their culture, language and country." Frank, I wonder what you think 'American' culture is ... I don't see how you can say that the Mexicans are any different than any other ethnic group that's come to this country. Hispanic culture is already starting to leave it's mark ...in grocery stores, fast food restaurants and mass media. The same as the Italians before them and the Greeks before them and the Poles before them, etc. Have you been to New Jersey recently? I was up there on a visit last year and I walked into a WalMart where almost the entire clientele were Indians. The local Public TV channel was showing Bollywood videos and it seemed like every one was requested by someone named Patel from Passaic. Those folks were Americans,too.

Posted by MelvintheBarbarian on June 28, 2007 at 3:15 PM | Report this comment

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