The Most Important Elections of 2006

Watching The O’Reilly Factor tonight, something that I am hot and cold on, Bill had Dick Morris on, and they were talking about the politics of Immigration. Morris, who usually sounds smart but is more than often wrong, was talking about the shadow game the Democrats are playing on this issue. They want illegal immigration and they want amnesty because all of those new voters will vote Democrat. Republicans, Morris argued, are in trouble of losing the Hispanic vote for generations by not including a guest worker program—much like the GOP lost the black vote for good in 1964 when Barry Goldwater refused to support the Civil Rights Act.

Then the conversation got interesting. Morris started talking about Mexico, and its future. As of now, Mexico is teetering politically. President Vicente Fox, it must be remembered, was the first politician not from the left-leaning Institutional Revolutionary Party to be elected president in 71 years. That is a lot of time to make up for, and Fox is finishing his constitutionally mandated six-year single term. Fox’s National Action Party (PAN, in Mexican) is basically in a statistical tie, according to Morris—who works for Fox. What makes this interesting is that the opponent, ultra-left wing Andres Obrador is in the mold of Hugo Chavez and, to a much lesser extent, fellow left wing South American leaders like Nestor Kirchner of Argentina, Luiz Lula da Silva of Brazil, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Michelle Bachellete of Chile. But Morris is especially worried about Obrador, whom he claims is as left wing as Hugo Chavez. This is especially dangerous because between the two of them, Venezuela and Mexico make up close to 40% of American oil imports.

This, of course, makes the game national Democrats is playing even more despicable. As leaders like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi demonize Republicans as hateful of Hispanics, which they clearly aren’t, these very same quotes are used by leftists like Obrador to bash America and help drive him into office. If Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, becomes president—we are in deep trouble. If conservatives struggle to like President Fox, we can’t imagine what life would be like with a President Obrador sharing millions of open borders with us. Of course, the man dancing behind the scenes is Fidel Castro. This is why is it critical that a guest worker program be part of the immigration debate. We must prove to Mexicans that Americans, and Republicans, are not right wing, racist white supremacists who want America for Americans, but who simply want law and order to go hand in hand with embracing legal immigration.

This presidential election in Mexico is critical. Passing a comprehensive immigration bill that includes a border wall and increased border patrol to stand behind that wall as the stick, but allowing gates in that wall for legal immigration as the carrot, could be the cure we need to restore order to our country, and prevent chaos in the oil market by an Mexican-Venezuelans axis led by anti-American left wing fascists like Andres Obrador and Hugo Chavez. We must understand the world around us, and how legislation in our country can affect the world around us. I’m saying we turn our backs on principle—but rather agree to compromise so that we can start the ball rolling on reform. The key for conservatives is to get the border shut down, and for liberals a guest worker program. A guest worker program, as articulated by McCain-Kennedy, is an almost ten-year process that includes a heavy fine just to start the journey. 11 million people are physically here. That’s a fact, and there is nothing we can do about it.

To sum up, Democrats need to understand the harm in their overblown attacks on Republicans and conservatives, blind to the world around them and how it feeds anti-American feeling in South America. For Republicans, in broad principle and cynical political purposes, we must accept a guest worker program to both save ourselves from generations of an all-white Republican base and a generation of hatred by scores of South Americans. For Mexico, we must work something out, so we do not become politically isolated in the hemisphere we once protected in the Monroe Doctrine. If Mexico falls to men like Obrador, we could have Fidel Castor and Hugo Chavez pulling the strings behind a regime that shares thousands of miles of open borders with the US.

This Mexican Election is vitally important to the future of the country and the hemisphere. With Stephen Harper in Canada giving America a second chance up north, its imperative we do all we can to not alienate Mexican voters to the point where left-wing leaders like Obrador can control our oil. A fence and stronger enforcement combined with a guest worker program could be the careful balancing act we need.

Comments

[Shaun Kenney]

Awesome post!

[Virginia Centrist]

Dick Morris knows more about hookers than politics. He should stick to that.

Look - Fox is paying Morris - can we really trust anything he says about Fox's opponents?

Secondly - it's not neccesarily true that hispanics will vote Democratic. They're typically very socially conservative. If you think Democrats support amnesty because they want more voters, then you're quite blind to this situation.

Democrats support strengthening the borders (some, like myself, support a fence), but we also believe in treating people who have set up families in our country like humans.

[Chris]

Actually, Virginia Centrist, I don't think average Republicans and average Democrats are actually not that far from each other on this. The problem is certain interest groups on the extremes of both sides are pulling us away from a solution--because they need conflict to exist.

About Dick Morris, your right to a point. He is often wrong, and I said the he sounds smart but is often wrong. His book on Hillary vs. Condi is pretty ridiculous. But my point is that the more liberal Democrats like Pelosi bash Republicans and say they are anti-Hispanic, that gets back to Mexico where far-left politicians use it to bash America.

You are also right about the Hispanic vote. But illegal immigrants, who are generally poorer, will vote overwhelming Democrat. Hispancs start voting GOP when they start aquiring some money.

But I am serious, I really think that Republicans and Democrats on the ground are closer on this subject then most think.