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...to watch some here claim that this immigration issue is a "Rovian trick" to get us off on a tangent or something, as if immigration is a GOP strong point. It isn't. I think Rove and the boys are SCARED TO DEATH of this issue.
Why?
Because so many GOP officeholders from the West and South have been demagoguing on this issue for years and years. The GOP base despises open immigration, in no small part because of the noise they hear from their reps. So here comes George pushing a soft ("soft' by GOP base standards) immigration bill. Two choices are presented: get behind the boss or defy him.
This issue has the possibility within it to blow the GOP coalition to smithereens. We may wind up seeing another bombthrower on immigration run in '08, a la Pat Buchanan, who would siphon votes away from the main GOP candidate and require him/her to spend money defending themselves, a la Bush in '92 and Dole in '96.
That would be a good thing.
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