Illegal Immigration: THE Biggest Domestic Political Issue in Decades and the Biggest Political Vulnerability for Democrats
I received this column from Politico from a friend recently. I have to say it's one of the most incisive pieces I've seen on the issue.Like most issues, democrats are in a conundrum over illegal immigration. On one side they have their kooky base and on the other side the average American. When it comes to this issue, though, as this column explains, more people are more upset about this than just about any issue in my lifetime.
It's ironic, really. The democrats and media spent so much time hoisting themselves by their own petards trying to make the War on Terror into another Vietnam, while ignoring this issue and even pushing it in the wrong direction. Illegal immigration has become what the democrats wanted Iraq to be, with so much concerted effort, entirely spontaneously from the grassroots of America.
It's ironic, really. The democrats and media spent so much time hoisting themselves by their own petards trying to make the War on Terror into another Vietnam, while ignoring this issue and even pushing it in the wrong direction. Illegal immigration has become what the democrats wanted Iraq to be, with so much concerted effort, entirely spontaneously from the grassroots of America.
Read this column. It's a well-reasoned piece illustrating precisely what I've been saying about the issue, that it's the best issue Republicans have had in decades. It's time to act. Here's the link.
1 Comments:
Two points:
1.) Opposition to illegal immigration polls well, but there are few voters whose votes are decided by that issue. By and large, immigration just hasn't worked as a wedge issue -- people might not like it, but they generally won't change their vote based on it. I can't think of a single Congressional race where a Republican has won primarily on the immigration issue, but I can think of several who tried to use immigration as their wedge issue yet lost anyway.
2.) Democrats face a dilemma on the immigration issue, but so do Republicans. Suppose that tomorrow Congress were to enact meaningful border security measures and meaningful enforcement of the law against the employers who hire illegals. Suppose further that these measures worked, and 2 million illegal immigrant workers went back to Mexico. What would be the result?
For starters, rampant inflation that would tank the stock market and the economy. It's simple -- inflation is caused by too many dollars chasing after too few goods. The goods produced by illegal immigrant labor represent a higher proportion of GDP then the goods consumed by those same illegal immigrants. When you take their production out of the economy, you have about the same number of dollars chasing after fewer goods. When that happens, the law of supply and demand does its magic and prices rise.
The voters demand that politicians "do something" about illegal immigration, but I guarantee you the voters aren't willing to pay the price of success. That's the dilemma faced by both parties, and the reason why nothing ever gets done on this issue.
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