Tea partiers vs. border enforcers?
“We’ve been working with a group of Spanish-speaking Tea Party people in Florida,” said Jenny Beth Martin, chairwoman of the coalition group Tea Party Patriots. “In Wisconsin, people were putting material out in Spanish, reaching the Spanish-speaking community. Our idea of freedom resonates across party lines and across the party divide.”
That’s one take on the problem. The other take: Republicans will need to resist some elements in their base and pass immigration legislation that wins over Hispanics.
“If the Republicans were smart, in January, maybe they’d come out with that bill and win some of that support in exchange for some of the Tancredo-style support,” said FreedomWorks’s Steinhauser. “The left saw the future and built a demographic coalition among people who don’t maybe necessarily agree. You lose some of your hard-core supporters and you pick up new ones.”
For the first time, there’s an issue that could pit the GOP’s best-organized and best-funded grass-roots against other parts of the party base.
Blowback
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This makes about as much sense as the people who suggest that just because the The Tea Party doesn’t emphasize social issues that it’s liberal on those. The Tea Party is about 2/3s SoCons. I’d be willing to bet they are also 2/3sin favor of border enforcement.
You don’t get smaller government by letting 1oos of thousands of illegal immigrants stroll across the border each year.
Rocks on November 12, 2012 at 2:44 PM
Tell me we are not taking advice from Slate…
Oh, WTH, we’re still entertaining the “Republicanism” of idiots like Bloomberg, Sullivan, Frum, Huntsman, Snow, etc. etc.
WeekendAtBernankes on November 12, 2012 at 2:45 PM
In a welfare state, border enforcement is not a social issue.
WeekendAtBernankes on November 12, 2012 at 2:46 PM
This is what passes for reasoned thought among the so-called “moderates.” Obviously, the best way to win elections is to legislate millions upon millions of shiny new Democrat voters!
Doomberg on November 12, 2012 at 2:49 PM
“Outreach” … no GOP Ayallahs – it’s not a four letter word.
HondaV65 on November 12, 2012 at 2:49 PM
The liberal legacy media is looking over their wish list…
d1carter on November 12, 2012 at 2:50 PM
You must plug the holes in the boat, before anything. That is why the Reagan amnesty was doomed to fail.
portlandon on November 12, 2012 at 2:52 PM
Go To Hell…
ninjapirate on November 12, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Sorry, but one of the Tea Party principles is ‘Rule of Law’. And that means illegal is illegal. Happy to work with Hispanics to improve the laws, but will NOT support putting the illegals on a fast track. They wait the same length of time LEGAL immigrants were forced to with: 5 to 8 years. AND be required to show SOME English proficiency (as my Chinese wife had to.)
michaelo on November 12, 2012 at 2:53 PM
I’m for enforcing the laws, but Romney and the others made idiots of themselves scrambling and lying to run to right of Perry on this. They were all going to build huge complete fences, and they were lying. Romney promised to do this, but he was lying. If he had been elected nothing would’ve happened on it.
To be clear I supported Romney all the way after he clinched the nomination, but during the debates, all but Perry embarrassed themselves on this issue. Perry had a much more realistic plan for border enforcement that would not have involved condemning so much private land and turning it over to Mexico, essentially.
juliesa on November 12, 2012 at 2:55 PM
It’s pretty simple: be the supporters and champions of the free market that you claim to be and open the borders to free trade and the free exchange of labor. Let workers cross the border into America and exchange their labor for compensation, and let them return to their home with their wages in hand. Wages go down, costs go down, businesses profit, and the consumer benefits. It’s the free market in action: everyone benefits.
Open borders does not mean that there must be an accompanying welfare state.
Dante on November 12, 2012 at 3:14 PM
Thank goodness the Left is going to help us understand our problems. The Tea Party is not defeated, only temporary set back.
Herb on November 12, 2012 at 3:16 PM
Yep, because the last time we consented to amnesty, under a friggin popular Republican President when we actually had reason to believe that we would get some credit for it, Latinos streamed to the polls to support us in the following elections, right? G. H. W. Bush was extremely successful with Latinos, wasnt he? Oh, wait a second…
When Slate wants to advise conservatives, you better get your back against a wall or you might end up with a dagger in it.
Valkyriepundit on November 12, 2012 at 3:34 PM
Let them return to their home??
And if they don’t want to and choose to disappear into the general population?
Mimzey on November 12, 2012 at 3:41 PM
First off, FreedomWorks isn’t Tea Party, it’s Dick Armey, and that means establishment. Ok, I grant that FreedomWorks has the right to claim to represent the Tea Party, but the Tea Party has a big tent. And almost by definition the Tea Party is not social cons. The Tea Party has everything to do with freedom and fiscal matters. Look at its founding: a response to the stimulus and Obamacare. Nothing to do with socons. And I have no idea how nutcases like Mourdock & Akin wormed their way through the gates.
anotherJoe on November 12, 2012 at 3:44 PM
How would they disappear into the general population? You think they’re going to come here, get hired, work for a day, and then stay and disappear? Why would they do that?
Dante on November 12, 2012 at 3:56 PM
So they stay. Then they spend their wages here. Oh, the horrors!
Dante on November 12, 2012 at 3:57 PM
The Tea Party is establishment. They elected people who voted to raise the debt ceiling.
What do you think of Amy Kremer?
Dante on November 12, 2012 at 4:03 PM
I agree. However, if I recall correctly, Akin wasn’t the tea party candidate. There were two other tea partiers who split the ticket.
It is a big tent. I tend to gravitate to Tea party patriots. I like a lot of what Freedomworks does–they were instrumental in getting Ted Cruz the nomination. Tea party express has done some good things, but they also brought us the disastrous Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell.
juliesa on November 12, 2012 at 4:31 PM
Yet another amnesty is sheer stupidity and ignores basic human nature. As long as we continue to offer enticements and rewards and benefits for illegal immigration (and even SPEAKING about amnesty is an enticement to cross our border, as was proven in 2006 during the McCain-Kennedy debates) foreigners will continue to try to cross our borders, no matter how many fences we build (over half of illegal aliens are visa overstays, not border-crossers anyway).
40% of Hispanics do not want amnesty — they want attrition through enforcement. The GOP should chase the 40% and keep their base, and ignore the 54% who want amnesty. Chasing the 54% will LOSE THE BASE!
It is a disservice to law-abiding Hispanics to assume they all want amnesty and the only way to gain “the Hispanic vote” (as if it is a monolithic bloc) is to reward the criminals (it is a misdemeanor crime for the first illegal crossing) with their ill-gotten goods (residency in our country). If anyone thinks that strategy works, try it with your own neighborhood burglars and reward them with the stolen jewels!!!!
For anyone who doesn’t understand how attrition works, listen and watch this illegal alien explain it.
fred5678 on November 12, 2012 at 4:33 PM