Conservatives, don't get your hopes up

Dallas Morning News | William McKenzie:

“Conservatives who believe ‘guest worker equals amnesty’ and ‘all we need is a wall from the Pacific to the Gulf and more boots on the ground’ should prepare themselves. They may have to vote against a broad immigration package on their own, without their president's encouragement. He's putting a lot on the line, and I don't think he'll give up easily.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

President Bush has a reputation for stubbornness. He has stuck with his failed policies in Iraq long after most of the rest of the country has deserted him. He has stuck to his belief that tax cuts lead to increased government revenues despite his own budget forecasts showing deficits for as far as the eye can see. He has stuck to his denials of global warming in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence.

So, should President Bush be expected to stick to his ideas about a guest worker program? His base isn't behind him on this one. Polls show stronger support for walls and border guards than for guest workers. On the other hand, George W Bush is not running for re-election in 2008. His support for immigration reform dates back to his days as Texas governor. President Bush sees an epic opportunity to court Hispanic voters to the Republican Party, an opportunity that many in his own party are missing.

In the current fight, if liberals and moderates come to his rescue, President Bush might have the political backing needed to stand his ground. And liberals might do it, not out of love for President Bush, but because they share his interest in serving the growing Hispanic community in the United States. And the alternative is seeing the conservatives pass their own punitive approach to immigration. Walls only hide the problem; they don't solve it. It's been said that politics makes strange bedfellows. The immigration issue is mixing things up.