(1) At some point, Republicans will no longer be able to build national political coalitions without reliably attracting more than 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. This is demographic destiny. The date of this eschaton can be delayed but not put off.

(2) Republicans will endure short term pain. (They’ll have given amnesty to people who don’t deserve it. They’ll be laying the groundwork for a cohort of Democratic voters. They’ll be ratifying Obama-care.)

(3) Every cycle that passes by without immigration reform is a cycle that is one more removed from the day when Republicans will begin to rebuild a new political coalition that includes more Hispanics.

(4) Completely aside from the merits of immigration reform, Democrats will wield the failure to pass immigration reform as a meat cleaver, and effectively so, to bash the GOP’s intentions not only to Hispanics but also to young voters and upscale professionals who otherwise admire Republican principles.