Former RNC Chairman Pleads with GOP to “Rethink Immigration”
In a disgraceful show of pandering to Hispanics and stabbing Conservative principles in the back, former RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson suggests that the GOP start “reviewing their position on immigration”:
Former Republican National Committee Chair and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson spoke out on the GOP’s electoral challenges Friday, urging Republicans to reach out to Hispanic voters by reviewing their position on immigration. “We have to better inform and motivate and align with the Hispanic voters,” Nicholson said in an interview with Politico. “That’s one of the key issues that the party and its leaders need to convene and, you know, have a very open, transparent discussion about developing a party position on.”
“The Hispanic voters…in this country are center-right, more conservative, more family- and work-oriented people,” he said. “We have to overcome some of the predilections that they have about Republicans so that we get more of their votes.”
Let me start with the one area I agree with here, and that is outreach to various groups as a representative of the party, regardless if it is a minority group, gender specific, issue based or whatever the case may be.
It certainly makes sense that the party as a whole to interact with all different groups to educate THEM that voting Republican is in their best interests. But where Mr. Nicholson loses me is the statement that we review our position on immigration.
First off IMMIGRATION is not and has not been the problem. It’s ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, and until it is addressed as such, it will always be incorrectly described. But getting back to the main point, Nicholson is pretty much suggesting that we change our position to match that of the ever-growing and powerful Hispanic voting bloc, which to me is pandering. Also, if we take the same position as the Democrats on Amnesty, how are we the voice of opposition?
John McCain was for amnesty, I mean Comprehensive Immigration Reform, in fact it was HIS bill, how did he do in November? How did the grassroots react to the GOP pushing Amnesty in ‘06-’07. Pro-Amnesty is a losing issue for the GOP.
The party should engage with whoever about like-minded issues, or educate that particular voting bloc on why WE differ on issues, rather then cave-in to them. This is just more elitist establishment BS that pretty much got us to this place to begin with.
There is a problem with immigration.
The reason we have an illegal immigration problem is because our immigration policy does not provide for a way for employees to get the immigrant workers they need.
January 25th, 2009 at 4:11 pmThe ONLY thing to re-think is to ENFORCE current Immigration laws!
January 25th, 2009 at 4:50 pmCan’t fix the LEGAL Immigration problems until you fix the problems with ILLEGAL Immigration.
January 25th, 2009 at 4:58 pmMichael:
I respectfully disagree.
The point of protecting the border is to keep out terrorists and others who want to harm us. It is not be about keeping out people who want to come into the country solely to peacefully work hard and make an honest living.
By lumping those two groups together we make the otherwise unassailable arguments in favor of border security susceptible to moral attack by the Left. Anyone with any sense of fairness knows that it is wrong to prevent peaceful people from entering the country for the purpose of working. The Republican Party is supposed to be the party of work, and opposing these hard working people makes us look hypocritical and even immoral. In so doing, it empowers the Left to use those innocent people as a way to destroy America’s ability to defend its borders (which is the Left’s playbook generally - find some genuine victim of injustice and use the person to indict America generally and thereby justify destroying, er changing, it).
All of this is not meant to imply that we should grant citizenship and voting rights without greater vetting. Nor does it imply that we should grant amnesty to those who have disrespected our rule of law, however flawed it may be.
But we cannot address the problem of illegal immigration until we restrict it to its proper group of individuals. And as Americans (or at least, as Conservatives), we do judge people as individuals. We need to separate out the people who genuinely want to come here to work peacefully from the people who want to come in and do us harm.
Only by properly expanding the scope of legal immigration can the true problem of illegal immigration be addressed.
January 25th, 2009 at 9:46 pmEd:
I don’t think border security is meant just to keep terrorists out. Border security keeps non-citizens of a nation out so they don’t come in and use resources of the nation without contributing back into the pool from which those resources come from.
I.E. receiving free education, health care and college degrees. When I worked at a sports club, I knew several Mexican men who would come to workout at the gym, and they did pay in cash, contributing to the companies revenue, but they ALL told me they worked at a restaurant for an under the table wage.
They told me they were waiting to save $150,000 or $200,000, i don’t remember the figure I was given, and go back to Mexico to live like kings.
I don’t think an immigration policy of keeping them all out would be positive for America until Americans forget this sense of self-worth that they have outgrown the modest jobs that undocumented workers take.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:02 pmSuggestion….Enforce all existing laws, but streamline the legal immigration process, and possibly raise the numbers of legal immigrants allowed in with provisions for temporary workers. ALL law breakers MUST leave and get at the end of the line.
January 26th, 2009 at 1:45 am