The usually wise and always engaging Mike Murphy has a piece in Time on a familiar there: the Hispanic woes of the GOP. The story he tells is familiar, of course. The country is becoming more Hispanic not just in the obvious states like Arizona and California and Florida but everywhere else, too. With Obama carrying Hispanics by a 35% margin--so much for the black-brown divide--the Republicans are screwed and will get more screwed until they come up with a message that appeals to Hispanics. Murphy rightfully notes that being pro life isn't enough to bring them into the fold. The party needs some kind of approach to immigration that won't scare off Hispanics and anyone doesn't tune into Lou Dobbs. The GOP's rejection of the Bush-McCain-Kennedy approach to immigration reform--not amnesty but a path to citizenship for those here illegally makes the comeback almost impossible. Dissing Sonia Sotomayor as unqualified or not that bright doesn't help matters for the Republicans.
This is one of those moments where a party is going to have to give up
a fundamental tenet of its belief in order to grow. The Republicans
gave up opposition to the New Deal and to Lindbergh-style isolationism.
It seems entirely possible that they could, at some point, learn to
swallow reality: the millions of illegal immigrants who are here are
not going back and neither are their kids. You can either get them in
the fold, out of the shadows, or you can entertain some fantasy a la
Mitt Romney that they'll actually leave the country and reapply, the so
called 'back of the line" idea. It's not that the anger over illegal
immigration is all nativist in tone. It's note. If you spent years in
Seoul or Lagos awaiting your visa and played by the rules, you've got
to be pissed at those who came to America without abiding the rules.
But at this point so what? Republicans can live with the political
realities of the moment or indulge a fantasy world. My guess is that
this one fantasy they'll learn to live without.
--Matthew Cooper
Now for something you'll never hear from the hacks at the Atlantic: Mike Murphy is offering very bad advice.
*BONUS*
Matthew Cooper has no idea what he's talking about. The "reform" he promotes is indeed amnesty because that's how it would be perceived. Millions upon millions of people around the world would see it for what it is and would try to come here one way or another. And, because what Cooper and Murphy support would give even more power to those who currently oppose our laws, the current situation would quickly rebuild.
The rest of what Cooper wrote is an incoherent rant, so I'll wait until he calms down and tries again.
The Republicans can not go all the way on this without a mass exodus of their nativist base. If they lose this group they are running on empty.
A more likely mid-range scenario is that both major parties split down the middle, leaving a center left Democratic party and a Center-right Republican party. The former may lose some of its progressive left to third parties; the latter will lose much of its current base to nativist, extemist groups and third (or is that fourth?) parties.
What self-respecting merchant, small businessman, professional doctor or lawyer or accountant, small town resident, school teacher or nurse wants Rush Limbaugh speaking for him or her? They will vote democratic but long for a party identification that resonates with their past and their family traditions.
Only a Republican party reborn after repeated disasters, and willing to break their devil's bargain with the know-nothing contingent, can fulfill that wish.
I totally agree with Ljwaks comment on the potential for a middle split with the Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately I believe both parties are missing something and need to update their policies or rather find a new route if they want to stay intact.
Karen
It's fortunate that I need to get to work because were this a day off I would no doubt waste several hours at your 'Human life International' site.
As it is I spent a few minutes there and cannot help but notice that the murders and rapes and beatings you're attributing to the pro-choice movement are actually crimes committed against of pregnant women by their parents, website design husbands and boyfriends .
FYI, These crimes have nothing at all to do with the pro-choice movement. Indeed the violence visited on pregnant women and girls by their husbands, boyfriends and (socially conservative) parents is a frequent topic of concern amoungst pro-choice women. American men were murdering their pregnant wives and girlfriends long before abortion was legal in this country
The state party distributed signs based on voting strength (county population.) Our county received 25 signs ( Civil engineering degree ) . We ordered 200 signs and sold most of them at county fall festivals. There was a demand for the signs. The first tenant of capitalism is supply and demand. I can't find anyone giving or selling Obama signs in our county. Only 25 people in our county would have gotten free signs in our county unless the party acted. Reality is there was a demand for signs. If I had an additional 200 signs we could sell them in the next 5 days. ( Special Education degree and Architect degree (
This behavior saddens & frightens me. Reminder of McCarthy's era?
Years ago when I was sworn in as an officer of the courts, I firmly believed our greatest strength is upholding the laws of our nation. The Vietnam war was over, but left multiple scars on our society. This election seems to have peeled off those scabs - society will bleed again.
( online Nursing degree and Online Science Degree )