"exploiting divisions in the Republican Party by pursuing comprehensive immigration reform"

[pampango]

http://thedartmouth.com/2011/01/04/opinion/rasheed

Until Tea Party extremism is either rewarded or repudiated in 2012, this country will remain functionally ungovernable. In the mean time, President Barack Obama should spend the next two years exploiting divisions in the Republican Party by pursuing comprehensive immigration reform. Though such an effort would have no real hope of passage, the political benefits could potentially be tremendous enough to not only strengthen the president’s re-election bid, but also to give his party a shot at retaking the House.

The only way for Democrats to gain the 30 or so seats they’d need to create a stable House majority is for President Obama to win re-election in a landslide. The only way for Obama, with his mediocre approval ratings and a weak economy, to win in a landslide is for Republicans to nominate a radical, unpopular extremist like former half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin instead of a more polished, electable candidate like Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels or South Dakota Senator John Thune. Framing the national debate around immigration reform would greatly increase the chances of such a nomination because of the unique politics surrounding immigration.

Moderate and pragmatic Republican candidates couldn’t take the hard-line, zealously nativist stand against immigration demanded by their conservative base for two reasons. First, they couldn’t risk permanently alienating Latinos, the fastest-growing segment of the electorate, and dooming their party in the long run. Second, the American business community, aka the group that funds much of the mainstream Republican Party, has long supported comprehensive immigration reform ... . It is unlikely that any establishment candidate would stray too far from his or her donor base during a primary in which financial strength is vital.

Candidates who, for these reasons, refuse or are unable to take a firm anti-immigration stance would have a difficult time defeating an archconservative demagoguing about "amnesty" and lost jobs to foreigners. Last year’s primary season, in which several popular moderate Republicans like former Delaware Congressman Mike Castle lost challenges to less electable Tea Party candidates, proves that in today’s political climate, candidates that don’t strictly adhere to conservative doctrine have little hope of prevailing. Thus, were Obama to frame immigration as the central political issue of the next election season, extreme Republican candidates would have a built-in advantage over their moderate counterparts, making it more likely that one of them wins the GOP nomination and hands the president a second term.