Legal Commentary

For Whom The Political Bell Tolls On AZ SB 1070

By Big Tent Democrat

Via DougJ, from Republican and former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson:

[I]t would be absurd to deny that the Republican ideological coalition includes elements that are anti-immigrant -- those who believe that Hispanics, particularly Mexicans, are a threat to American culture and identity. When Arizona Republican Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth calls for a moratorium on legal immigration from Mexico, when then-Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) refers to Miami as a "Third World country," when state Rep. Russell Pearce (R), one of the authors of the Arizona immigration law, says Mexicans' and Central Americans' "way of doing business" is different, Latinos can reasonably assume that they are unwelcome in certain Republican circles.

[. . .] Republicans have now sent three clear signals to Hispanic voters: [1] California's Proposition 187, [. . . 2] the immigration debate of 2006, dominated by strident Republican opponents of reform; and now [3] the Arizona immigration law. [. . .] In a matter of months, Hispanic voters in Arizona have gone from being among the most pro-GOP in the nation to being among the most hostile.

[. . .] Whatever temporary gains Republicans might make feeding resentment of this demographic shift, the party identified with that resentment will eventually be voted into singularity. In a matter of decades, the Republican Party could cease to be a national party.

Yep.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 14, 2010 (boomark / email).