Signs of a shift on immigration among GOP rank-and-file?
The apples-to-apples comparisons we have are more mixed: Republican support in the mid-January AP/GfK poll jumped to 53 percent from 31 percent in 2010. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll moved to 42 percent Republican support for a path to citizenship from 37 percent in November 2012 (that’s inside the margin of sampling error). The CBS News poll did not move at all, finding 35 percent Republican support in both its December 2012 and late January 2013 surveys. And Quinnipiac polls, released on Thursday and in early December 2012, both found roughly 40 percent of registered Republicans support a path to citizenship and just more than 10 percent support legal status without citizenship.
An uptick in Republican support for a pathway to citizenship could be statistical noise. And even if it is real, it could reverse itself. Some political science research suggests that anti-immigrant attitudes increase when immigration is in the news.
But there are reasons to think that immigration, over all, has become less of a hot-button issue. A Pew study found that the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States has dropped since the 2007 push for change. Another Pew survey found that only 44 percent of Republicans see dealing with immigration as a top priority. That’s down from previous peaks of 69 percent in 2007 and 61 percent in 2011.
Blowback
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I think there’s definitely signs of a shift. The base has gotten tired of using their left-hand to extend the middle finger to the amnesty shills, and so they’re giving the right-hand a workout now.
Stoic Patriot on February 8, 2013 at 5:15 PM
That’s odd. Who are these people up in arms about legal immigrants and legal immigration?
Kataklysmic on February 8, 2013 at 5:16 PM
CAVE – you know it’s coming.
OldEnglish on February 8, 2013 at 5:22 PM
Esperanza y cambio.
steebo77 on February 8, 2013 at 5:34 PM
538, but not Nate Silver?
¿A dónde fuiste, Nate?
steebo77 on February 8, 2013 at 5:36 PM
Beware of false prophets.
Beware of those lusting for false profits.
Beware of those who would scout your home base and for gold coins in payment and then hand that knowledge off to those who would attack at night while you women and children are home alone.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 8, 2013 at 5:36 PM
Some of them only want short term wage/vote slaves out of pure greed.
The more moderate want long term wage/vote slaves cause it hurts less the longer you are a slave they say.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 8, 2013 at 5:38 PM
The increasingly progressive GOP establishment, and their chosen savior, Marco Rubio, believe that granting instant amnesty to 11 million plus illegals, who are locked-in democrat voters, is a winning strategy for the party.
They are wrong.
Pork-Chop on February 8, 2013 at 5:59 PM
These are the same signs the LSM kept quoting showing a steep recession for the final six years of Bush’s term, and the massive recovery during President Choom’s first four years of office. Keep repeating the same stupid things over and over, and sooner or later the same stupid people will begin to believe it’s true, no matter what their eyes and their bank accounts are telling them.
RoadRunner on February 8, 2013 at 6:01 PM
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/02/08/Exclusive-Illegal-Immigrant-to-Testify-in-Senate-Next-Week–Alongisde-ICE-Employees-Leader
davidk on February 8, 2013 at 6:03 PM
Who will fire the first shot? Or will we just cave?
davidk on February 8, 2013 at 6:05 PM
Speaking of first shot: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Guard-shoots-at-boy-15-at-FDA-office-in-Bothell-4263146.php
davidk on February 8, 2013 at 6:05 PM
I wasn’t sure which way the cave was from reading the title of the article…I swear, it seems more rank-and-file are FOR illegal immigration now, I thought maybe the cave was in the other direction.
ellifint on February 8, 2013 at 6:19 PM
We have had entrenched 20%+ real unemployment for 6 years now – in a pigs eye people are becoming more accepting of illegals, or even legals for that matter.
Rebar on February 8, 2013 at 7:23 PM
Sen. Jeff Sessions – my hero — speaks for unemployed Americans and chastises Obama on secret meeting with La Raza and Big Business to promote amnesty.
Sessions’ statement and full list of attendees.
fred5678 on February 8, 2013 at 7:49 PM