Derb, as far as I can tell, turning the congress over to Nancy Pelosi is going to mean defeat for everything you care about immigration policy. And I seriously doubt that any of the damage will be peeled back after the floodgates have opened. President Bush is not running for reelection. The House Republicans are, and they are the bulwark supporters of your favored immigration policies. Yes, I’m more open to a House-side-leaning compromise on immigration than you are. But if Nancy Pelosi takes over, conservative success on immigration, or even a conservative-leaning compromise, will not be achievable. If we break the Republican House, America will be permanently transformed, and in precisely the way you say you dread. Will you or any of those who stay home on election day have standing to complain about the immigration bills that pass under a Democratic congress?

Derb, you’ve often referred back to Margaret Thatcher’s notion of the “ratchet effect.” As you put it, “When the Left is in power, they get pretty much anything they want. When the Right is in power, we consolidate the Left’s gains.” Given the ratchet effect, what do you imagine are the chances of peeling back the Left’s gains on immigration policy after some future Republican victory? As I read it, Speaker Pelosi means amnesty, vastly increased immigration, backtracking on border security procedures, and no chance of turning back that clock until we’re far into the sort of crisis that signals it’s already too late.