The Black Republican

I sent the following terse email to the "Immigration" mailbox of my Republican senator:

Subj: All I want to know is...

Do you really want to be a 1-term senator?

And that comes from someone who tried in vain to defend this boondoggle almost exactly a year ago.

Look, I'd prefer that we do all those things we keep getting told won't work: build a fence, deport every illegal currently inside our borders, make the crime a felony, etc. But in our republic, what I want isn't what we get; it's what can be hammered out in legislation... which then has to be enforced. You're right, we don't see anyone enforcing the laws. But enforcement is the job of the policing authorities under the jurisdiction of the executive. All we can expect from the legislative branch is the promise of tougher laws and oversight.

As I've pointed out before, 150 years ago, the Republican Party was formed when the Whigs decided to compromise with the Democrats on the devisive issue of their day: slavery. The abolitionists who could not abide such a position were forced to form a new party, and the irrelevant Whigs quickly collapsed.

The immigration issue today doesn't quite reach the same level as slavery did, but it's weakening us tremendously. Just after the mid-term elections, I observed:

The idea that the leadership of my party is so ignorant of the political dynamics occurring within the rank and file is... well, it's beyond my ability to characterize effectively. Hell, I was even one of the Republicans trying to convince people that comprehensive immigration reform wasn't such a bad idea, and even I can see that handing the Democrats a victory on that issue now will completely capsize the Republican ship.

Just this week, a candidate from the other side of the slavery-like issue of our day - abortion - did himself a lot of good maintaining his shaky lead for the party's nomination. I suspect that if no one can stop Rudy Giuliani from winning in the primaries (or John McCain, for reasons other than abortion), there won't be enough of the Republican Party left to make it even into 2nd place next November.