Granted McCain was a disaster. That didn't stop him from getting nominated and immigration wasn't a factor. He won both SC and FL. I get that you're upset. You have to get that you are, in that respect, part of a tiny, electorally insignificant minority.
As long as Perry's only competition is Romney there is no way he is hurt by any attack from the right on any subject. Attacks regarding immigration are particularly impotent. Face it, illegal immigration just isn't what people are focused on right now. Perry's foolish line on immigration is not a political loser. Quite the reverse. For every immigration die hard he alienates he'll attract several Hispanic voters, particularly in several key states.
There's a reason Tom Tancredo sank without a trace when he tried to run for President. The immigration issue just doesn't have the power that many people around here think it has.
I think that depends on the state. Some states have many people focused on illegal presence. And to the extent the public gets restive for work, and sees illegals getting work and benefits, the public will come to associate "bad economic times" with "presence of illegals."
I am a member of a grassroots immigration group that lobbies on the Hill and in the statehouse. I also work with immigration groups around the country and with Tea Party groups. I traveled to SC and FL four days each following the McCain primary campaign in 2008.
SC has become one of the strongest states on the enforcement of our immigration laws. It is one of the states that has a law specifically prohibiting in-state tuition for illegal aliens along with GA, CO, and AZ. The issue of illegal immigration has become much bigger in the South. States like AL and NC are also getting tougher as is my state VA. We had over 40 bills get thru the House of Delegates only to be stopped by the Dem controlled Senate. We hope to flip the Senate this year.
FL has also become much more focussed on the immigration issue. The Tea Party and other immigration groups in FL are becoming more active and focussed. Perry will not help his standing within the GOP by his stance.
The GOP is deluded if they think they can pander to Hispanics and get their votes. The Dems got 65% of the Hispanic vote in 2008 despite having an amnesty supporter and La Raza award winner in McCain. Immigrants and minorities vote Dem.
Immigration, Political Realignment, and the Demise of Republican Political Prospects
The Republicans’ Hispanic Delusion
There's a reason Tom Tancredo sank without a trace when he tried to run for President. The immigration issue just doesn't have the power that many people around here think it has.
The immigration issue will make the Reps the permanent minority party unless it is gotten under control. Demography is destiny.
87 percent of the 1.2 million legal immigrants entering annually are minorities as defined by the U.S. Government and almost all of the illegal aliens are minorities. By 2019 half of the children 18 and under in the U.S. will be classified as minorities and by 2039, half of the residents of this country will be minorities. Generally, immigrants and minorities vote predominantly for the Democrat Party. Hence, Democrats view immigration as a never-ending source of voters that will make them the permanent majority party.
Since the 1965 Immigration Act, our pro-population growth immigration policies have fueled major demographic changes in a very short period of time. In 1970, non-Hispanic whites comprised 89 percent of the population; today they are 66 percent; and by 2039, they will be 50 percent. The Democrats, under the banner of multiculturalism and diversity, have forged a political coalition that depends on individuals coalescing around racial and ethnic identities rather than the issues. The continuing and increasing flow of minority immigrants, mostly poor and uneducated, provide a natural constituency for the Democrats, which see them as their principal source of political power.
The U.S. adds one international migrant (net) every 36 seconds. Immigrants account for one in 8 U.S. residents, the highest level in more than 80 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13. In a decade, it will be one in 7, the highest it has been in our history. And by 2050, one in 5 residents of the U.S. will be foreign-born and one in three will be Hispanic.