The GOP is buried in a demographic avalanche of hostile women and hostile latinos.
It is surpassingly strange that contemporary conservatism exercises itself to make The Horror even worse.
The believe that Impossibly Pure Principles will "save the day" will not even be enough to save The Republican Party from extinction.
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Jeb Bush joins long list of conservatives who got in trouble for saying compassionate things on immigration. "In the middle of a quizzing about his presidential ambitions on Fox News last Sunday, former Florida governor Jeb Bush made an empathetic remark about the millions of people who live in the country illegally -- and cued some predictable ranting from his party. Bush's risky stance is, basically, that anyone should be able to summon sympathy for those who come to the U.S. to provide for their families. Illegal immigration is 'not a felony. ... It's an act of love. It's an act of commitment to your family,' Bush said. 'There should be a price paid, but it shouldn't rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families.' Bush seemed to be urging moral decency, not progressive policy -- and anyone who read his 2013 book on immigration knows he does not support a path to citizenship. Bush isn't the first Republican to profess compassion for the illegal population in recent years. As the remarks from his colleagues show, revealing a soft spot on immigration doesn't always suggest an intention to act on the broken system." Nora-Caplan Bricker in The New Republic.
GOP lawmakers don't love Bush's comments. "Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), a conservative who has worked on immigration reform, suggested Bush was 'pandering.' 'When you trivialize the fact that these people have broken the law, I think your message is a little bit off. I think it's unfortunate,' Labrador said at a Tuesday event sponsored by The Heritage Foundation." Russell Berman in The Hill.
What's at stake: GOP's electoral future. "Florida is home to an ever-increasing Hispanic population that has skyrocketed in the past decade and shows no signs of slowing growth. In 2000, Hispanics made up approximately 16.8 percent of Florida's population. By 2005, that number had increased to 19.8 percent before taking an even larger leap to 23.2 percent by 2012. Bush knows this. He governed the state for eight years, and he knows that Republicans can't afford to alienate Hispanics any longer with harsh immigration politics. Boehner, on the other hand, doesn't have to deal with this fact himself. By contrast, Hispanics make up only 3.3 percent of Ohio's population, a small enough percentage that Boehner can afford not to make concessions toward Hispanic voters. That tactic may work in Ohio, but not on a national scale, especially not as national demographics continue to shift in the direction of a less white America. Nominally, most Republicans seem to recognize this, but there's been little progress despite the 2013 GOP 'autopsy report' and its recommendation that the party reach out to minority voters. House Republicans, led by Boehner, still drag their feet on immigration reform, for instance." Eric Brown in International Business Times.
Conservative commentator predicts Bush will feel backlash. "Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer says comments from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush about immigration being an act of love were 'bizarre,' predicting that when the Republican enters the presidential race, those words will come back to haunt him. 'If he was feeling any optimism before that interview, I think it's gone away after the interview,' Krauthammer said on Fox News's 'Special Report' Monday night." Tal Kopan in Politico.
Why immigration probably won't sink Marco Rubio. "Yes, you read that right. Rubio, who helped spearhead a sweeping reform package and subsequently saw his stock fall in the conservative base of the Republican Party. The senator who put lots of energy behind a bill that has gone nowhere in the GOP-controlled House. The reason why immigration probably won't doom Rubio's chances has less to do with him than it does with the field of Republicans he'd likely face if he makes a White House bid. Most of the biggest-name prospects for 2016 are not well-positioned to attack Rubio from the right on immigration because of where they stand on the issue." Sean Sullivan in The Washington Post.
Explainer: Obama is feeling pressure to act on immigration before the midterms. Here are his options. Fawn Johnson in National Journal.
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