The way I see it, the immigration debate was invented by the right wing in an effort to replace defense as a strong Republican issue. Unfortunately for them, the scheme seems to have backfired completely.
Half of the Republican party seems to favor the “Amnesty Bill” that recently passed in the Senate last week. This bill allows illegals already in the country to obtain citizenship after more than a decade of working as virtual slaves for big corporations (who support the GOP).
The other half saw the issue as a way to appeal to the anti-immigrant, conservative base by making the word “amnesty” a bad word (kind of like what they did to the word liberal) and then offering little alternative. They don’t want to deport, jail or grant amnesty to any immigrants but thanks to the tough talking members of the “liberal media” the pressure is not on to come up with another solution.
This morning I turned on Meet the Press to see two Republicans debating each other on the immigration issue. While the Republicans tear each other apart the democrats are giggling in the corner while the country goes from red to blue.
cross-posted at Net Roots Movement
