Washington – While Republican candidates are trying to hang on to their congressional majority by trumpeting the need for border security, the White House is laying the groundwork for a longer battle over immigration with an eye on capturing the Hispanic vote.
Republican party leaders have the task of balancing the party’s conflicting short- and long-term goals on immigration.
In the short term, many Republicans have a hard-line view. In some districts, that means denouncing proposals for a guest- worker program or legalization of immigrants as “amnesty.”
“… On the House side is uniform agreement on ‘border security first,”‘ said Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Where they go beyond that is up to the individual.”
But strategists at the Republican National Committee and in the White House are concerned that tough rhetoric could be a long-term danger for the party, because its leaders are convinced that Hispanic voters are important for the GOP.
“You always have self-serving politicians who are focused on one thing – getting elected or re-elected – and they put rhetoric ahead of what’s good for the country,” said Allen Weh, chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico. “We’re going to have some collateral damage from this rhetoric.”
Hispanics hold tremendous appeal for Republicans.
First and foremost, they are the fastest-growing segment of the population. Republicans also believe that despite Hispanics’ traditional loyalty to the Democratic Party, the GOP has a chance to make significant inroads by emphasizing issues other than identity politics.
For instance, party leaders believe the Republicans’ socially conservative positions on issues including abortion and gay marriage will resonate with Hispanic Catholics as well as the swelling number of evangelical Protestants. Messages such as self-reliance and low taxes can be made to appeal to the many Hispanics who are small-business owners.
On immigration, the party essentially is trying to send two messages at once.
“We are a nation of immigrants. And we are a nation of laws,” Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman said this summer in a speech to a conference of Hispanic officials. “We must forge a new way, a solution that recognizes these two essential concepts.”
Whether a double-barreled message will resonate with voters remains to be seen. But many House Republicans aren’t willing to take chances on a long-term strategy at the expense of losing control of Congress in the short term.
