Here is the poll – and the conclusion:
Most Americans have heard about Arizona’s tough new immigration law, and they generally support it. The law was passed partly in response to a lack of federal action on the issue. Since the Arizona bill became law, congressional Democrats have considered taking up the issue in the coming weeks, though this initial read on public opinion toward the Arizona law suggests Americans may not necessarily back an attempt to supersede or otherwise undermine it.
Which is why, all of a sudden, Democrats are saying they want the comprehensive immigration reform bill to be long on security, short on amnesty. While the DNC meme shooting through the MSM is that the GOP has got itself in a pickle over this issue, the reality is that the American people by and large support the bill – and the more they hear about it, the more they tend to like it.
You see, when liberals try to make a thrill of horror go down our backs by saying, in effect, “the bill allows cops to question people if they think they’re illegal”, this tends to provoke a “well, that’s good” response. Of course, the law doesn’t really do that – it merely allows the cops to determine the immigrant status of anyone detained for other crimes. But that is at this juncture entirely besides the point.
Anyone who lives in any community with a large illegal population knows precisely who the illegals are – where they hang out, what they tend to do for a living, and all that (yes, long domiciled illegals are harder to spot as they are more integrated in to American society – but they are also not really the problem). As we, the people, know where the illegals are and have always kinda wondered why the cops don’t round them up, when we hear that a law will do that, it seems like a good idea.
What this ultimately amounts to is the final breakdown of the old media’s ability to control the debate. This loss of power was on display during the previous debate on comprehensive immigration reform, but it was temporarily muted by the part the MSM played in helping Obama win in 2008 (it wasn’t really that big a role, but it appeared so given the slavish devotion to Obama on the part of the MSM).
But its all gone, now – the DNC/MSM has tried to sell a narrative which has it that border security is another “third rail” in American politics. That to demand such is proof of racism and will consequently destroy support among hispanics who are set to become all-powerful in American politics in a decade or two. That hispanics never will be as powerful as all that is neither here nor there – the DNC/MSM sold the idea and the elite bought it, including a lot of GOP elite, which is why we saw some immediate grovelling to the DNC/MSM-meme about the Arizona law from prominent GOPers.
But the people aren’t buying it. Border security is not about race – heck, its not even so much about illegal immigrants, themselves. It is about enforcing the law. Its absurd to have laws on the books and not enforce them – and the resultant criminality rampant on the border just emphasizes this…and makes popular support for security all the stronger.
This issue will work to the GOP’s very strong advantage as we approach November. And the more the left tries to demagogue the issue, the better it will get for the GOP.
UPDATE: A clear explanation of the law.
UPDATE II: BUYcott Arizona.
