The Rightwing's Winning Strategy on Immigration -- NOT!

The Republicans lost control of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, and they seem intent on adding to the list in 2008 election cycle.

Never-the- less, we're supposed to believe that the conservative meltdown has nothing to do with its stridency and intolerance, particularly as it relates to the issue of immigration?

That's the theory by John Hawkins (RightWing News) in the article The Great Illegal Immigration Myth of '06. published in the rightwing Human Events.

The good news for sensible Americans is that the rightwing is likely to believe Mr. Hawkins' myths, accelerating the nativists' demise. Americans do want a solution to immigration, but they do not want the chaotic interventions promoted by extremists pursuing an agenda ill-fitting for a great nation.

Yes, Messrs Hawkins, Buchanan and Tancredo, the recent defeats of harsh anti-immigrants politicians had nothing to do with their stridency on the immigration issue. The reasons incumbents Randy Graft and J.D. Hayworth lost had nothing to do with the central issue of their campaigns: extreme harshness towards Mexican immigrants. Furthermore, George 'Macaca' Allen didn't lose because he appeared to be a bigoted anti-immigrant. No, no, no.

Certainly, Buchanan, Tancredo and Hawkins are eagerly to tallying up all of their new adherents as a result of the recent Swift Company raids--a political action intended to re-cock the stunned promoters of "blackboot" solutions.

The huge drop in support for the Republican Party should be enough to cause its leaders and members to examine it's ways, and some of that is being done by its more thoughtful leaders. But thoughtful reflection doesn't appear to be within the capacity of the reactionary right. For example, Mr Hawkins can't fathom that losing almost half of the GOP's Jewish support in the mid-term elections was in anyway related to the party's harsh tone on immigration.

Mr Hawkins does allow that the right's views on immigration may have cost some Latino votes, but that the lose was negligible. Funny, but his own data shows that the GOP sustained a whopping 63% loss in Latino support between the '02 and '06 elections.

Finally, Mr. Hawkins points to Tom Tancredo's band of anti-immigrants and says it sustained only a small loss of its members. Really! But even if true, how's that worthy of a victory lap? Isn't that the group which believes America is bigoted and supports their cause? Isn't that the group comprised of members from safe conservative districts? And didn't one of its headliners, Pete King, almost lose to a relatively unknown Latino opponent in a nonLatino district? Instead of expanding, Tancredo's gang is contracting.

Mr Hawkins, the right's extremist views and actions on immigration and other complex issues are--as you proclaim--winners. Honestly, I don't understand why the Democrats are salivating at the prospect of a rematch in '08.

Keep up the good work, Hawkie! Pendejo!