Tammy Bruce: Smashing Republican Amnesty Myths

Smashing Republican Amnesty Myths

Heather McDonald does it like no one else can. here's a snipper from her City Journal piece. read the whole thing, please, as she addresses the absurd, and delusional, argument by Repub Elite that amnesty will somehow be good for Republicans and conservative values.

I would add, even if that were so, is it worth stomping on the Rule of Law and destroying this nation's infrastructure to get that?

The Republicans’ Hispanic Delusion
Amnesty is not just wrong in principle, it’s bad politics.

George Bush’s political strategists have long promoted amnesty for illegal aliens as a device for increasing the Republican vote among Hispanics...

The 1986 amnesty signed by President Reagan did not trigger a Latino surge into the Republican Party. And California’s Hispanics leaned as strongly Democratic before Prop. 187 as after it. Hispanic voting patterns in California have held steady since 1988—they vote approximately two-to-one for Democratic presidential candidates...

“But Hispanics are Republicans waiting to emerge,” counter the Bush strategists. Socially conservative on homosexuality and abortion, Hispanics just need to be invited into the party by an amnesty and not scared off by immigration enforcement. This “social values” argument has been around since the early 1980s, and it’s still awaiting confirmation. The majority of Hispanics vote their perceived economic interests, rather than their social values...

This attitude of entitlement—not only among illegal aliens but also among legal Hispanic immigrants and their children—extends to the full array of welfare programs. In fact, welfare use actually increases between the second and third generation of Mexican-Americans—to 31 percent of all third-generation Mexican-American households.

McDonald does a good job dealing with these Republican political pipe dreams, but the fact that these myths even have to be addressed is pathetic. Our discussion about allowing massive amnesty and citizenship because one political party or another will benefit, should make all of us sick. Citizenship is an honor, something to work for, to dream of. It is a personal decision, one which shoul dbe rooted in hope and a commitment for the future, a dream to become an American, and should be grante din the same fashion.

Instead, we have to counter shallow and politically expedient arguments making excuses based in how certain types of people (liberal, conservative...) will benefit if we just trash our basic values and put our nation's future at risk.

Astounding.

Posted by Tammy · June 6, 2007 07:20 PM · Permalink
Immigration

Comments

Yeah, unfortunately the math adds up just fine for Republicans, as a party.

They play the big business end. That's where the power is. Both the progressives and the conservatives (classic liberals) get clipped off from the power structure and have to choose one or the other.

Less tension on the system and it becomes even less responsive to the people. This bill is a power usurpation.

Posted by: LiveFreeOrDie at June 6, 2007 08:41 PM

I noticed that dingy Harry Reid said today that the immigration bill is Bush's, NOT the Democrat's. Wonder what Teddy has to say about that? Are the Democrats now looking for cover in the event the bill passes the Senate, or excuses if it fails?

Posted by: St. Thor at June 7, 2007 03:52 PM

By Category

By Month

Smashing Republican Amnesty Myths

Comments

Post a comment