Wednesday
June 1, 2005
LAW & ORDER: If you skipped over Marshall
Wittmann's essay this morning I suggest you go back and read
it. Wittmann argues that the Republican party's dominance at the
national level and its ascendancy in Congress in the post-Watergate
era is is based almost entirely on the GOP's effectiveness in
catering to the public's urge for social order.
If Wittmann's
thesis is right - and he makes a pretty convincing case in my
opinion - it confirms what many believe is the Republicans' greatest
short-term political vulnerability and the Democrats' most immediate
opportunity for improving their electoral prospects. I'm speaking
about the issue of illegal immigration.
Clearly there
is a segment of the public that sees illegal immigration as a
threat to America's social order. A smart Democrat would recognize
that getting to the right of the GOP with a hard-headed, no-nonsense
immigration policy is a political goldmine - and one that doesn't
have to come off as a pander to the Buchanan right who feel betrayed
by this administration.
The issue
resonates much more broadly with the public, all in ways that
could accrue to the Democrats' favor. Illegal immigration is a
matter of national security. It's a matter of patriotism and protecting
America's heritage. It's a matter of financial security and fiscal
sanity. It touches on healthcare, welfare, education, and workers
rights.
At the bottom
of it all, however, is one basic reason the issue could spell
disaster for Republicans and be a savior for Democrats: illegal
immigration is a simple matter of law and order.
DEAR
JOHN: John Edwards is guest blogging over at the new
TPMCafe site.
One of his
first posts cites this
Brookings Institute report to highlight the idea that "being
poor is expensive."
Assuming
the Brookings study is true and that the poor really do pay more
for goods and services including groceries, insurance, appliances,
etc., then one would have to conclude Edwards is fully in favor
of organizations that provide consumers (but especially the poor)
with low-priced products that allow them to stretch their dollars
further. So again we have to ask: why is the left so vehemently
opposed to a company like Wal-Mart? - T. Bevan 9:35 am
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