In a column today for WorldNetDaily, Colorado gubernatorial candidate and former congressman Tom Tancredo lauded the House GOP for refusing to put immigration reform up for a vote, arguing that Republican intransigence on immigration will have no impact with Latino voters.
Tancredo, a leader of the Nativist movement, even lectured Republicans on how to appeal to Latinos.
“Republicans do indeed need to improve and expand their outreach efforts in Hispanic communities, and they can do so without the baggage of the amnesty debate,” Tancredo said.
It was only a year ago that the Republican establishment was enthralled by the so-called bi-partisan “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill, which grants legal status to 15 million illegal aliens and sets them on a path to eventual citizenship. That scenario ended in Sen. Rubio’s repudiation of the deal, followed by backroom congressional maneuvers to plan amnesty by stealth in 2014.
Well, amnesty by stealth is also on the rocks, despite Zuckerberg’s millions, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce drumbeat, an avalanche of insulting lectures from the chairman of the Republican National Committee, a continuous stream of propaganda in the mainstream media and stacked pro-amnesty panels at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference.
Throughout 2013 and into 2014, the Beltway plutocracy had its run of the field in demanding “immediate action” on amnesty. But that game is over. Suddenly, common sense is breaking through the fog of self-delusion that has led the Republican establishment down so many blind alleys.
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And what about Hispanic voters? The Gallup poll shows the same pattern as most previous polls going back to 2008. Hispanic voters rank immigration behind jobs, health care and education, which explains why they are increasingly dismayed by Obama’s performance as president.
What does all this mean for 2014 and 2016 elections? It means the Republican establishment should wake up and smell the coffee.
If Republican leaders and Republican candidates will start talking to Hispanic citizens as Americans who have the same hopes and dreams and fears as other citizens, they can and will win increased Hispanic support. Republicans do indeed need to improve and expand their outreach efforts in Hispanic communities, and they can do so without the baggage of the amnesty debate.
