Ahem. Told Ya So.
Rasmussen Reports analyzes why the illegal immigration "reform" bill failed. If you have been reading here for any length of time and read Rasmussen, you'll feel your lips moving.
Elite newspapers and countless bloggers are writing their own explanations of why the compromise immigration legislation failed last night. Most of the write-ups discuss legislative tactics, an amendment offered by Senator Byron Dorgan (D), or some particular provision of the bill dealing with amnesty or guest workers.
The reality is much simpler and has nothing to do with legislative tactics. The immigration bill failed because a broad cross-section of the American people are opposed to it. Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters are opposed. Men are opposed. So are women. The young don’t like it; neither do the no-longer-young. White Americans are opposed. Americans of color are opposed.
The last Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll found that just 23% of Americans supported the legislation. When a bill has less popular support than the War in Iraq, it deserves to be defeated.
There is no mystery to why the public opposed the bill. In the minds of most Americans, immigration means reducing illegal immigration and enforcing the border. Only 16% believed the Senate bill would accomplish that goal.
It wasn’t amnesty or guest-worker programs or paths to citizenship that doomed the bill. Each of those provisions made it more difficult for some segments of the population to accept. However, most voters were willing to accept them as part of a true compromise that accomplished the primary goal of reducing illegal immigration.
The key to winning voter support was to accomplish that primary goal.
The Senators missed that point and that’s where the mystery resides in analyzing why this bill failed. It’s not unusual for political leaders to be out of touch with their constituents, but rarely this out of touch. How could something this unpopular with voters get so close to passage in a legislative body that is supposed to represent them?
From the beginning, the Senate approached the issue with top priority of addressing the legal status of the illegal aliens. They addressed concerns about guest-worker programs and questions about whether family or skill level should be more important when determining who could enter the country.
All of those are important questions, but they are not the most important question. Rasmussen Reports polling found that 72% of Americans believe it’s Very Important to reduce illegal immigration and enforce the borders. Just 29% said it was Very Important to legalize the status of those illegally living in the country today.
After ignoring the main point that voters were hoping to address, Senators should not have been shocked at the public reaction. But they were.
(Maybe because they are seriously in love with the sound of their own voices - which tends to drown out the voices of the people who sent them to Congress? Just guessing.) *Sigh*. They never listen. Ok, there are super-whamadyne, uber-guru political operatives who are paid big bucks for this, but I'll do it - again - for free. If you really want this fixed, fix the border issue first. Peel the border security off into a separate companion bill with serious poison pills that preclude undermining it with other legislation. Then pass the damned compromise. If the border is fixed, the rest can be dealt with. But the border is the damned key. Since you never listen to me, try listening to what Rasmussen just told you.
Because it is the same thing: BORDER FIRST. Everything else can then be dealt with.
Immigration Reform | Gaius Friday, 8 June , 2007
By Purple Avenger, Saturday, 9 June , 2007 @ 4:08 am
When a bill has less popular support than the War in Iraq, it deserves to be defeated.
That point deserves repeating, and repeating, and repeating.
Like the blind squirrel, Dumbya and the dems apparently have found one issue that will unite the country…and of course they’re on the wrong side of it ;->
By feeblemind, Saturday, 9 June , 2007 @ 6:38 am
It was truly amazing to watch Americans rise up against this bill. Having said that, I don’t see anything happening on border security until voters start retiring politicians that are soft on border security.
By Quilly Mammoth, Saturday, 9 June , 2007 @ 7:21 am
::half-way kidding:: You can tell this issue certainly pushes Gaius’ buttons…he said “damn” twice!
It does mine as well. That’s why I’ve changed the top of my Blog to say “Politicians: Defend the Borders first or suffer in the next election.”
I voted for my _new_ State Senator…a Democrat…because he has a strong track record of supporting gun rights. the Republican incumbant attached his name to anti-gun legislation. He’s now earning an income. People are going to note who didn’t hem and haw about this bad bill and opposed it from the beggining. They will also note who supported it.
There very well could be a bunch of new faces in DC after the next election as most of the political elite have completely misread the results of ‘06. More than any single issue the People want leaders who aren’t going to be corrupt swine. And now we see that both parties are replete with them.
By Gaius, Saturday, 9 June , 2007 @ 7:38 am
Heh - I reserve it for special occasions.