Analysis: Republican Scapegoating Not Working
MUST READ: After Immigration Bill's Fall, Republicans May Pay in Latino Votes
Republican Failures on Immigration, Economic Issues Fueling Fall: Republican efforts to use immigration as a wedge issue to distract from their failed leadership in the 2007 elections once again proved unsuccessful. Despite frustration in many communities with President Bush's failure to address immigration reform and refusal to provide state and local communities the resources they need to enforce existing laws, Republican efforts to use immigration as a wedge issue failed once again. GOP efforts to fan anti-immigration fears and play on growing economic insecurity and voter's anxiety over job security, stagnating wages, higher living costs, gas prices, and other facets of the George W. Bush “You’re On Your Own” Economy failed in the face of strong Democratic candidates who offered real solutions on the critical issues.
CNN Poll: Immigration Not Among “Top Five” Issues. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll of Americans nationwide released the morning after the 2007 elections showed the top five issues on voters' minds heading toward the presidential election are the economy, Iraq, health care, terrorism, and Iran. According to the poll, immigration, as Republicans have used it, came in below other economic issues including gas prices, poverty, and taxes. [CNN Political Ticker, 11/07/07]
Washington Post: "No fixation on immigration". "No fixation on immigration" was the headline in the Washington Post looking at the races in Virginia following Republican losses. As the Post noted, voters "chose candidates...not out of anger over illegal immigration but based on party affiliation, a preference for moderation and strong views on such key issues as residential growth and traffic congestion." [Washington Post, 11/07/07]
New York Times: Immigration Not “Electoral Boon Republicans Had Hoped For.” Similarly the New York Times reported that the focus on immigration "had not proved to be the electoral boon Republicans had hoped for in local elections, despite the Republicans' aggressive efforts to exploit" the issue of drivers' licenses for undocumented immigrants in the state of New York. The article noted that “local races appeared to hinge, as they traditionally do, on local issues like property taxes and municipal services, or on the specific strengths and weaknesses of the candidates themselves.” [New York Times, 11/07/07]
WTOP Political Analysis: Republican Focus on Immigration “Didn’t Work.” Political analyst Mark Plotkin told WTOP News Radio the morning after the 2007 elections that in the races in Virginia, Republicans had hoped to use immigration to stop the Democratic tide, "but it really didn't work." [WTOP News Radio, 11/07/07]
Republican Campaign “Macabre Cartoon of Fear-Mongering.” The New York Times reported on one campaign, that “Mr. Rights and his S.O.S. — Save our Southeast — slate, which for months inundated voters with dark mailings and urgent robo-calls about illegal immigration, crime and social decay...was so aggressive that The Journal News called it ‘dangerous ... a macabre cartoon of fear-mongering over illegal immigrants and blithe lies about his opponents.’” [New York Times, 11/11/07]
