By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Why is President Obama suing to invalidate the Arizona law on illegal immigration? Why is he incurring the enmity of even his own Democratic Congressmen from the Phoenix and Tucson areas by trying to kill a law that two-thirds of Arizona and a similar proportion of America as a whole supports?
The answer: It is a desperate, last ditch attempt to rebuild his sagging popularity with America’s Hispanic voters.
Furious at Obama for failing to keep his election year promise to promote comprehensive immigration reform when he had a super-majority at his disposal, they are deserting the president and his party in droves. Unemployment, a sagging economy, and their sharp disagreement with Obama over social issues don’t help the president’s cause any.
So Obama has seized on the Arizona immigration law as a symbolic target, hoping to accomplish in a lawsuit the political task of rebuilding his base.
Remember that in 2008, Obama won precisely the same share of the white vote that Kerry won in 2004. There was a shift among whites as the Obama won more young whites and lost more older ones, but the white vote ratios as a whole remained constant. His entire margin of victory was based on two factors:
a) The African-American vote rose from 11% of the total in 2004 to 14% in 2008 and virtually all voted for Obama; and
b) Latinos, who had backed Kerry by only 10 points, supported Obama by fifty points.
For Obama to have a shot at keeping Democrats in control of Congress, he must replicate the enthusiasm of 2008 among minorities. But his Hispanic flank is definitely weakened. Hence the lawsuit to shore it up.
The answer on immigration reform is to adopt a three part program to dry up the jobs that attract illegal migrants in the first place. When there are no jobs, they will not come and those who are here will go back home without deportations or roundups.
We need to:
1. Strengthen penalties and enforcement of laws barring people and companies from hiring illegal immigrants. Those who do so should face prison time.
2. We need a fool proof national bio-metric ID card so employers can tell who is legal and who is not.
3. We should implement a broad guest worker program to bring upscale and manual workers into the US to fill our labor force needs. They must get at least the minimum wage and have health benefits. But, when the job is over, they must go home.
Democrats won’t embrace this program because the unions won’t let them and because they want illegals to stay here and become Democratic voters. Republican agri-businesses won’t go for it because they want to exploit illegal workers with low pay and bad work conditions.
But this is the solution. Trying to seal the border is good rhetoric but is a hopeless task. Drying up the jobs that bring illegal immigrants here is something we can and must do.
Source: Dick Morris
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dick & Eileen,
I would like to see the Republican Party take the immigration initiative away from the Dems. They appear defensive… as the party of NO everytime the debate rages in Washington. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is the perfect catalyst to change the game and put the Republican Party on the offensive to win the Hispanic vote away from the Dems.
Govenor Jan Brewer should immediately implement your 3 step program for Arizona. Additionally, she should also solicit undocumented workers to apply within (60 days) for the guest worker program without fear of being deported. Finally, she should mount a police action to force the cartels back across the boarder using overwhelming force. If the Feds won’t help, she should build a citizen malitia, arm them and train them to take back our country and reduce the boarder perimeter by 160 miles.
I would suggest that workers which are documented oin Arizona can go home at the completion of their employmnent and be allowed to return legally if they hold a promise of employment in Arizona. Some work may be seasonal.
As this program develops and gains public support, the Republican Party can claim it as the model for their proposal for comprehensive immigration reform. That would win the support of the legal Hispanic population!
Thanks for your efforts. Let’s take back America!
Rich Costabile
Estero, FL
Richard, all of your points well taken. It is good see such well thought out comment.
Agreed, let’s take back America! That is what it is all about right now. We must stick together and bring our great nation back to the Constitution of the United States and the sort of government the founders of our nation had in mind when they formed the union of the colonies. We have drifted very far from that ideal. We cannot afford to drift further.
With your help and the willingness of God Almighty, we will prevail. To insure that He is with us, we must all pray for that to be the case. His will be done.
Lawrence Miller