As immigration takes the stage again today, I'm posting an article I wrote a month ago in Human Events. Republicans are having a hard time learning the lessons the divider in chief has taught them over the past four years. But on no topic has Obama been more divisive, more damning of Republican morality, than on immigration. He's laid out his game plan for how he'll get his way; if you think he'll soft pedal to achieve his goals, you haven't been paying attention.
“Just two short years ago Barack Obama referred to Republicans as “the enemy” on immigration reform. Now, establishment Republicans seem to think if they simply abandon all principle on immigration policy they will be beloved by Hispanic voters, miraculously closing the massive voting gap.
After every lost election, a segment of Republicans rush to embrace the wisdom of Democrats and the mainstream media in assessing how the party can win future elections. Strange to turn to one’s opponents, who have zero interest in one’s future success and even less understanding of one’s core voting base, for advice on electoral success. Even if the advice were genuine and the wisdom real, they ignore the reality of Barack Obama–the masterful “Divider in Chief.” Republicans can embrace anything they like regarding immigration policy. They can abandon all vestige of conscience. Obama will still do everything he can to vilify the Republican Party, ensuring it remains, to Latino voters, “The Enemy.”
Thoughtful conservatives realize that the wrong approach after elections is a knee-jerk one: “We lost, and we lost among particular demographic groups, so let’s change our position on all issues we think are important to those groups so that our positions mirror those of the winner.” That’s absurd. The failure in this past election with Hispanic voters was not over positions on immigration. It came from the way these positions were conveyed, or not conveyed, combined with the lack of a targeted, grassroots approach to reach various demographic groups: including women, young people, African Americans and Hispanics, with a compelling conservative message.”
