Maggie Gallagher notes in her column today that: “In the Weekly Standard, Frank Luntz reports: ‘Among the Americans who swung from the GOP to the Democrats (Republican Rejecters), “unethical and illegal behavior going unpunished” was number two on the list (behind illegal immigration).’ Let me rephrase what Luntz is saying here: Among voters who switched from the GOP to the Dems this election, illegal immigration was the No. 1 issue.”
If Luntz/Gallagher are right, that’s pretty bizarre. Given a choice between a party that at least does a bit of hand-waving over the illegal immigration issue, and a party that thinks illegal immigration is just fine, voters mad about illegal immigration went for the latter. Huh?
Trying to think of a rational explanation, I could only come up with this: Voters identify illegal immigration with (a) President Bush, who did nothing about it for 5 years, and (b) business interests, whose keen desire for cheap labor is driving the whole phenomenon. Those translate into voters’ minds as (a) Republican, and (b) Republican. That’s poor thanks to those congressmen, all Republicans, who’ve been pushing for enforcement of our immigration laws, but it has a certain logic to it none the less.