Posted on 06/26/2007 10:55:31 AM PDT by hardback
Immigration Dispute Roils Conservative Radio Matt Purple Correspondent- President Bush's immigration bill has created a rift between right-wing talk radio and Republican politicians that threatens to rupture the conservative coalition, according to a nationally syndicated radio host.
"If [the bill] is jammed through before, ironically, Independence Day, I think we will have been witnesses ... to the end of the old conservative coalition," Laura Ingraham said on Monday. "I truly believe that it is over if this happens, and it's time to rebuild and restart."
Conservative radio has been dominated by outrage over the immigration issue. The Project for Excellence in Journalism ranked immigration as the top topic on talk radio and cable news during the week of June 10-15. It was only the second time this year that the issue had been rated number one, although immigration has consistently been listed in the top five since the current bill was announced on May 17, according to the PEJ rankings.
Although criticism on conservative talk radio is traditionally aimed at Democrats, the immigration issue has put many Republicans in the crosshairs of hosts such as Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity, who argue that the bill being debated in the Senate amounts to amnesty.
"We stand up for our principles regardless of any party affiliation," Hannity said on his nationally-syndicated radio show.
Ingraham told Cybercast News Service that immigration has struck a chord with conservatives because the issue "affects our culture, our health care, our schools, our economy, and our national security. How many other issues can you say that about?"
Michael Harrison, the editor of Talkers Magazine, agreed, calling immigration "a very serious hot-button issue in America" that "applies to so many parts of our economy and sociology."
"As a result, when it's presented within the medium of talk radio, which is passionate and dramatic and compelling, it gets serious reaction," he told Cybercast News Service.
Talk radio criticism of Republicans escalated after Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss) critized the medium's role in opposing the legislation. "Talk radio is running America," Lott said. "We have to deal with that problem."
Conservative hosts from Limbaugh to Neal Boortz criticized Lott's remark and wondered on-air whether Lott intended to silence conservative radio. Michael Savage accused the Republican senator of using Nazi tactics against the bill's critics.
Ingraham said Lott's comments were a thinly veiled attack on millions of Americans who had put him in office and had defended him on many issues.
"His attack was an attack not on talk radio hosts, but really on the people who listen," she said. "Talk radio is nothing without our millions of listeners."
Glenn Beck made a similar point on his nationally syndicated radio show.
"Trent Lott the other day said that talk radio is ruling the country," he told his listeners. "You know what that means? It means that you rule the country.
"This is the media source that is the closest to the people," Beck added. "[Radio] is the only national media source that I'm aware of in which you influence what's going on, where you have your voice heard."
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended Lott and echoed his criticism of conservative talk radio. Graham suggested that critics of the immigration bill were motivated by racism, saying on ABC News, "We've been down this road before -- 'no Catholics,' 'no Jews,' 'Irish need not apply.'"
Ingraham dismissed such criticisms and accused senators like Graham of pandering, rather than enforcing the law. "They sure seem to be more interested in being liked than doing what's right," she said.
Political fallout
If President Bush continues to back the legislation (and he shows no sign of doing anything else), many analysts believe that there could be political consequences.
According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 45 percent of self-identified Republicans approve of how the president is handling immigration, a 16-point drop since April. Of self-identified conservatives, 35 percent of respondents approved, a decrease of 13 points.
Larry Sabato, head of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told Cybercast News Service the immigration controversy shows that the Republican party is not always the perfect home for conservative interests.
Nonetheless, he said, "Bush's bet is that, in the end, conservatives will rally to him on other things they have in common, especially as partisanship increases in an election year.
"That's likely true, Sabato said, "but it is a gamble."
Sabato contended that the Hispanic vote played a key role in Bush's support for the bill, noting that the GOP will need at least 40 percent of Hispanic voters' support to continue winning elections.
"The political calculus is obvious -- Hispanic votes versus conservative votes," Sabato said.
But Scott McLean, chair of the political science department at Quinnipiac University, argued that the Republicans already have lost the Hispanic vote.
"It's over," he told Cybercast News Service. "They had a shot at that six or eight years ago, but given how they've voted in the last two elections, the Hispanics are really trending towards the Democrats."
According to Pew Research exit polls, Hispanics supported Democrats over Republicans in the Nov. 2006 election by 69-30 percent. By comparison, the Democrats won 58 percent of Hispanic votes in 2004, to 40 percent to the GOP.
McLean said Republicans who support the immigration bill do so out of conviction, rather than politics.
"Bush sees the clock is pushing on getting some kind of landmark legislation through, and I think he really believes that it's good for the country," he said. "And it's really his last chance to get this done."
Exactly!
Conservatives are united against this bill.
If Bush thinks he can team up with Kennedy and ram this bill down our throat and then come back later and talk about how bad the Democrats are, he has truly lost his mind.
“....many analysts believe that there could be political consequences.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’ve just returned from the county bored of the electeds office where I’ve tendered the severance of my affiliation with the Republican party.
Leaders of the GOP have worked hard to drive my affection from the party of Ronald Reagan, but alas, have succeeded most thoroughly to that end...
Congratulations.
If Bush thinks, he has truly lost his mind.
Again, here is another propaganda technique employed by aliberal, in this case a RINO.
Appendix 1 PSYOP Ops. Field Manual No. 33-1:
Obtain Disapproval Technique: This technique is used to get the audience to disapprove of an action or idea by suggesting the idea is popular with groups hated, feared, or held in contempt by the target audience. Thus, if a group which supports a policy is led to believe that undesirable, subversive, or contemptible people also support it, the members of the group might decide to change their positions.
Lindsey and his cohorts have basically called all who appose the bill racists.
Please don’t feed the animals. :^)
Dane is a flea, its just I think we need to start small and work up to rino wacking one step at a time. The LaRaza elite from DC should pay the price.
Last night Glenn Beck said Bush was in bed with big business, who want the bill passed for cheap labor. Democrats think Latinos will vote for them and if the bill fails, are hoping it fails in the senate and not the house...where they hold the majority. Glenn also said Bush was planning to slip key provisions of the bill — if it fails — into other, urgently needed legislation, such as war funding. Talk about stabbed in the back.
Administration officials that believe this will win the Latino vote for the republicans are crazy.
Look how many black votes the President has won with his overt pandering since the No Child Left Behind act in his first year. He probably has actually lost black votes.
California used to be a Republican state before the 1986 Amnesty - now look how many Latinos vote republican there.
A little history:
Back in the day Republicans supported Hawaiian statehood because they believed the state would go republican.
Once Hawaii became a state the voters jumped solidly into the democrat camp where they have remained ever since.
The common people have a better feel for what will really happen when this bill is signed than all the President’s high priced republican Yes Men put together.
Agreed. I just wanted to make sure you knew about Dane. Flea. I like that!
Happy FReeping!
i am guessin that you have not seen roil until mark levin gets on the air - i like that he gives out phone numbers for capitol hill and posts e/mail addresses on his web site
rage is good and all - but giving us specific steps (other than just saying to vote or ‘get involved’) is what some of us sheep need - it seems to have an effect - at least as far as having some of the repubicans knittin buttonholes with their booty holes (lol - got that from an old east texan) - hopefully we will keep getting specifics and can make a difference in next convention and election
There. . .fixed it.
Good question. My answer is that until we have non-secret voting which may be coming, a number of Democrats in both Red and Blue States will vote for a LEADER, that is a candidate who stresses a limited and simple platform: (1) Close the borders in the name of security, (2) English becomes the national language and all official documents including ballots are only in English, (3)There is right and there is wrong. We don’t want to be slaves to PC when PC causes wrong to trump right. So so-called ‘multi-culturalism’ is not right for America. ‘American’ is right for America and our freedom depends on it.
Could this all have been a giant communist conspiracy to destroy the conservative movement? They’re masters of infiltration. Could they have infiltrated the republican party just so at the critical time they could spike it, and shatter it into a million pieces? Or has the checked-pants country club wing just suddenly felt so liberated they think they can safely tell the conservatives to go to hell? If that’s they case they’re going to be in the boat that the queers and liberals (but I repeat myself) are going to find themselves in when al-queda takes over. Dead.
The pattern is the self-hating secular jewish communists in Russia before the revolution. Oh! Many of the ones doing it now are their great grandchildren.
Screw it. The world is slouching toward a time of bleak barbarianism and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. There’s only one way this century can outdo last century in terms of bloodiness. I leave it to you to figure out what that is.
At least we can use this bill to flesh out the RINO’s like Sam Brownback
It is the case in all states that are subject to the US Constitution. Is your state?
Just say NO to Illegal Alien Amnesty!! Keep calling!! It’s NOT OVER!!
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Toll free to the US Senate:
1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)
Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
See Article 21 of the Colorado State Constitution
I don't have to see it. The US Constitution governs the election, term and termination of US Senators and Representatives. State reps and officials are subject to state law, but federal elected officials are not. This was recently reaffirmed in cases involving state term limits laws. I am for term limits, and I would support recall laws to get rid of bad Senators, but unfortunately, the US Constitution does not let a state impose such burdens on the officeholder. It is probably the correct interpretation, too, it's not one of the areas where the Supreme Court has overstepped its bounds.
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