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| Some Democrats Fear Backlash Over Obama's Handling of Immigration |
| 2010-07-08 |
| Some Democrats, even in Arizona, are fearing an election backlash over immigration, as President Obama sues Arizona over its new immigration enforcement law and pushes Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul. "My concern is that the federal government is suing the state of Arizona, ironically, over the ability to enforce immigration laws -- where if the federal government had been doing its job over the years, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place," Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., said. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, the Democratic nominee for governor, urged the Obama administration to back off Arizona's new law, which allows state and local authorities to ask people for immigration documents during unrelated enforcement encounters – such as traffic stops. The president appears to be out of step with public opinion on immigration. The latest Fox News Opinion Dynamics poll shows 2-to-1 support nationwide for Arizona's law, including 73 percent of Republicans, 57 percent of independents and one out of three Democrats. On immigration, the GOP accuses Democrats of ignoring a border crisis and selling out national security to cynically court Latino votes. "The reason why both parties are playing football with immigration is because their supporters in the stands are cheering," said Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia's Center of Politics. "This plays to the base on both sides. It's red meat for the base." The liberal red meat served up by Democrats mostly stops short of calling Republicans racist but does call GOP immigration policy hostile to minorities, particularly Hispanics, the biggest and fastest growing U.S. minority. But in Colorado, a recent Denver Post poll said 62 percent of Colorado Hispanics favor a law like Arizona's. The state's Republican gubernatorial front runner Scott McInnis supports it. But Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, opposes it, putting himself at odds with those Colorado Latinos. "Until Washington D.C. realizes that they are being absolutely and totally failures at border security, you can't talk about immigration reform," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said. On the other hand, Perry has seen his Latino support plummet and his double-digit lead over Democratic challenger and Houston Mayor Bill White all but vanish since the Arizona controversy began. Separate from border states – wherever a close race emerges this year, count on immigration to be a prominent wedge issue. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #8 " Perry has seen his Latino support plummet and his double-digit lead over Democratic challenger and Houston Mayor Bill White all but vanish" Are all these people being polled citizens? "Latino support" might include people who aren't even eligible to vote. You think those polling outfits ask to see someone's papers before they ask their opinion? I wouldn't worry too much about poll numbers in the media. The only poll number that matters is on election day. Of course, with mail-in ballots, practically anyone can vote as many times as they want. We need to get rid of mail-in general voting and enforce showing up at a polling station with valid ID. US election procedure would not pass muster in any other country in the world. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-07-08 23:42 |
| #7 He's pretty worried about accommodating illegals that can't even vote, and wouldn't be able to for years even if they were given amnesty. He's already got the latino vote in his pocket, why all the nose-to-arse? Or is this just something he thinks he can get a 'win' out of? I wish he'd show that much interest in creating better conditions for the growth of jobs for legal citizens. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-07-08 15:36 |
| #6 On the other hand, Perry has seen his Latino support plummet and his double-digit lead over Democratic challenger and Houston Mayor Bill White all but vanish since the Arizona controversy began. More B.S. I voted druing the Primaries here in Texas. The number of people voting Republican in my precinct out numbered the Dimrats 5 to 1. There are a lot of anti-Dimrat voters and that hasn't stopped one bit. Perry will be re-elected Governor in November. |
| Posted by: Chuckles Ulusoque1874 2010-07-08 15:27 |
| #5 Only some? They're politicians, 3dc. Usually not at the top of the intelligence scale to begin with. The phrase 'One Sandwich Short of a Picnic' springs to mind. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2010-07-08 13:34 |
| #4 At least Brewer got wise. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-07-08 13:01 |
| #3 On the other hand, Perry has seen his Latino support plummet and his double-digit lead over Democratic challenger and Houston Mayor Bill White all but vanish since the Arizona controversy began. So now Rick Perry is in trouble because the demographics have shifted against him? These stupid Republicans are just as much to blame as Obama and they will have only themselves to blame when they find themselves in California type situations where it's impossible for them to win. They knew what was happening all along and they acquiesced to it. They shot themselves in the foot. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-07-08 12:17 |
| #2 If I were a total cynic, I would encourage Barak to push Amnesty. That policy is even less popular than Obamacare (75% against vs 60%). Obama and the liberals think that the votes they lose in Arizona will be made up by Latino votes in the other states. However, as this article hints, Latinos on the firing line do not want psychotic murderers, kidnappers etc. pouring over our borders. I predict that, if Obama keeps pushing this, he will cost the dems an additional 5-10 seats in the House plus cost Boxer her job. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2010-07-08 11:37 |
| #1 Only some? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-07-08 11:33 |