REPUBLICANS SHOULD FORCE IMMIGRATION ISSUE
11/13/2007

For quite a while the Democrats were benefiting from the Republicans division on the Immigration issue. Sitting on the sidelines is nothing new for Democrats. They haven't had an issue of their own for at least two decades. This time however as they sat on the left side of the block they watched the Conservative base waiting at the bus stop on the other side hoping to catch the next bust to nowhere. The amnesty bill which the president supported angered even the most loyal Congressmen. Although the Public was against it, and the majority of Democrats supported it, it seems the GOP had the most to lose what with just losing the majority in both houses...

That all change during the last Democratic debate. Hillary's fumbling thru the immigration question was less coordinated than Michael Moore in high heels. Most politician flip flop on issues but not usually in the same sentence. compounded by a further change of attitude 48 hours later the issue took center stage and this time it was the GOP who were watching and laughing. That was well and good then but now they need to keep up the pressure. With Bush not running again and all the top tier candidates taking strong positions on Illegal Aliens this time everyone in the spotlight on the GOP side is on the same side as the American people. The Democrats are about as far away on this as you can get without needing a passport. Hillary is bruised and battered but her fellow Democrats have not been able to take advantage of it. Edwards is more irrelevant than Jimmy Carter and Obama has less testicles than Liberace. So Hillary will remain the Democratic frontrunner.

That's bad news for the left in general. The do not support a border fence. Want healthcare and welfare, and in state tuition for illegal aliens. Most Americans would be happy if we simply enforced current Immigration laws. In other words they are completely on the opposite side of what the majority wants. The other Democratic candidates will most probably modify their position of the issue for the next debate. Hillary however is stuck with her self inflicted sound bytes.

The GOP can make up ground on the issue. Rudy whose own immigration positions in the past are haunting him can gain some much needed support if he attacks Hillary with a very Conservative stance on the issue. The issue of drivers licenses will undoubtedly expand to encompass the entire immigration debate. Again the Democratic candidates are mostly vulnerable.

The Iraq war has already taken a back seat and with most candidates admitting they don't foresee withdrawing troops until after 2013 immigration and possibly Iran are shaping up to be the top issues with voters. The Republicans have an advantage with both of those issues and with immigration they may be able to open up the campaign..
-Bert