Immigration And The Republican Death Spiral

[Ed Hudgins]

Immigration And The Republican Death Spiral

By Edward Hudgins

June 18, 2013 -- Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) rightly warns about the demise of the GOP if his party does not help pass reasonable immigration reform.

He argues that if the party fails, “it doesn’t matter who you run in 2016. We’re in a demographic death spiral as a party and the only way we can get back in good graces with the Hispanic community in my view is pass comprehensive immigration reform.”

His “death spiral” description is on the mark. In 2012, Barack Obama received 71 percent of Hispanic vote, compared to Mitt Romney’s 27 percent, down from 31 percent for McCain in 2008 and 44 percent for Bush in 2004. Hispanics are a fast-growing portion of the population. Today nearly 17 percent of nation’s citizens are Hispanic, with that percentage rising to 30 by 2050.

Further, many traditional Republican states as well as swing states have significant and growing Hispanic populations: 37.6 percent are Hispanic in Texas; 29.6 percent in Arizona; 26.5 percent in Nevada; 22.5 percent in Florida; and 20.7 percent in Colorado.

The GOP should not take comfort in Romney garnering 59 percent of the white, non-Hispanic vote. That’s because the white, non-Hispanic portion of the population dropped from 75.6 percent in 1990 to 63.7 percent in 2010, and it is on a downward slide. America will soon be a majority “minority” nation.

Many Republicans complain that the party should stand for principles rather act on electoral expediencies. But many Republicans hold the wrong principles on immigration.

Most illegal immigrants came here because rather than suffer in poverty and destitution, they sought employment opportunities in order to provide better lives for themselves and their families. And when faced bureaucratic obstacles and years of delays to legal immigration, they said “To hell with idiot America lawmakers and paper-pushers. I’m coming here to make money!” That’s the American way, and it should be celebrated!

Many Republicans, bizarrely, are enraged that these immigrants failed to jump through the sort of government hoops that GOPers normally loathe. But these immigrants are exactly the kind of folks Republicans should welcome into the country and their party.

The devil in the immigration bill is in the details. Paternalist Democrats want to add millions of Hispanics to the welfare rolls, destroying their work ethic and making them dependent on government. A morally equitable solution would be to bar illegal immigrants from receiving federal benefits—Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid—as the “price” for staying in this country, while exempting them from all taxes that Americans are forced to pay for these entitlements. How’s that for a deal?

The hard reality is that if Republicans truly want limited government and free markets, they must sell that vision of the country to all groups rather than disparage those seek the American dream.
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Hudgins is director of advocacy and a senior scholar at The Atlas Society.

For further information:

*Edward Hudgins, “Four Facts for Conservatives About Immigration Policy.” June 20, 2012.

*Edward Hudgins, “The Golden Door: Immigration, Liberty, and the American Character.” The New Individualist, Summer 2006.

*Edward Hudgins, “Webinar: Republicans & Libertarians: What's Really Possible In Politics?” March 25, 2013.

[BaalChatzaf]

The hard reality is that if Republicans truly want limited government and free markets, they must sell that vision of the country to all groups rather than disparage those seek the American dream.

The Republican party started out as the Party to Free the Slaves. Now they are the Party to Promote the Corporate Cronies.

The Democrat pinko stinko Liberals are no better. The main difference is they want Negroes to say "Thank you, Massa" and Hispanics to say "Gracias, Padron".

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Neil Parille]

Ed:

Bush didn't get 44% of the Hispanic vote in 2004.

Richard Lowry of National Review gives some good reasons why Republicans will not do well with Hispanics (and its not because of immigration):

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/333525/amnesty-fantasy-rich-lowry

Here's a good post by Heather MacDonald:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/350561/natural-republicans-again-heather-mac-donald

-Neil Parille

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I'm for simple and easy immigration.

But I'm not for suddenly letting 11 million people get handouts and vote, then adding exponentially to that number.

Imagine who they will vote for? The people who make sure the government gives them stuff, that's who.

That's a surefire recipe for creating the Socialist States of America.

Michael

[Robert Baratheon]

I did my full grocery shopping last night around 10pm. There were five people ahead of me in the checkout line, all Hispanic women who were pregnant, had young kids in tow, or both. Every one paid for the entirety of her haul with WIC/EBT. As far as I could tell, I was the only person in the store who actually paid for tgroceries with his own money.

The idea that such people are going to be won over by the GOP message of personal responsibility and small government is ludicrous. The only reason they're here in the first place is because we have such a generous welfare state with easily subverted eligibility requirements.

[BaalChatzaf]

Solution. First get rid of Welfare. Then reform immigration.

[Neil Parille]

There are Catholics I know who claim that Hispanics are particularly pious, contrary to all the evidence. When I pointed out to one the high rate of Hispanic illegitimacy, he responded that this is proof of what good catholics they are - they don't believe in birth control!

Why are people so eager to project their own values on immigrants?

-NP

[BaalChatzaf]

If you want immigration that improves America, import Asians.

[Robert Baratheon]

Baal - I think you are missing a key component of the immigration debate, which is self-selection. You fall into the racialist trap of assuming that the Asians you've encountered through business or higher education are representative of the entire ethnicity in terms of intelligence and work ethic. The reason those individuals are here is because they are pursuing academic and business opportunities. You are getting a warped view by only seeing "the best" those cultures/countries have to offer while the unseemly underclass remain mired in serfdom in their home countries across the ocean. It's nearly impossible for an uneducated Chinese dirt farmer to immigrate to this country, wheras a Mexican fitting the same description can hop into a car and cross the border overnight. It would not be a positive development if the entire underclass of Asian countries were "imported" to the United States.

[BaalChatzaf]

Baal - I think you are missing a key component of the immigration debate, which is self-selection. You fall into the racialist trap of assuming that the Asians you've encountered through business or higher education are representative of the entire ethnicity in terms of intelligence and work ethic. The reason those individuals are here is because they are pursuing academic and business opportunities. You are getting a warped view by only seeing "the best" those cultures/countries have to offer while the unseemly underclass remain mired in serfdom in their home countries across the ocean. It's nearly impossible for an uneducated Chinese dirt farmer to immigrate to this country, wheras a Mexican fitting the same description can hop into a car and cross the border overnight. It would not be a positive development if the entire underclass of Asian countries were "imported" to the United States.

Import just the smart hard working asians.

[FuturistNow]

I went to a highschool that was smack dab in the middle of a Mexican "ghetto" in OKC. I got to know a lot of Mexicans. There are gangbangers, and there was violent crime in the nieghborhood surrounding my school. However most mexican immigrants ended up coming off as rednecks to me. They like trucks, wrestling, cowboys, sugary drinks, fattening food, old time religion, country music, and sometimes nascar. I could see a lot of them voting republican.

Now the problem for me is that I don't want the republicans to have another voting block that will keep them to the center.

[caroljane]

I went to a highschool that was smack dab in the middle of a Mexican "ghetto" in OKC. I got to know a lot of Mexicans. There are gangbangers, and there was violent crime in the nieghborhood surrounding my school. However most mexican immigrants ended up coming off as rednecks to me. They like trucks, wrestling, cowboys, sugary drinks, fattening food, old time religion, country music, and sometimes nascar. I could see a lot of them voting republican.

Now the problem for me is that I don't want the republicans to have another voting block that will keep them to the center.

jts would say they will not live long enough to vote more than twice!

[caroljane]

In case you do not know him, jts is a nutritional conservative. He believes that not eating food is the path to health, as fiscal conservatives believe that not spending money is the path to prosperity.

[jts]

In case you do not know him, jts is a nutritional conservative. He believes that not eating food is the path to health, as fiscal conservatives believe that not spending money is the path to prosperity.

I'm in favor of eating food. Eating stuff that is not food is a different matter. Obviously there is much more to health than diet: exercise, sleep, digestion, air, water, sunshine, emotions, poisons, genetics, prenatal influence, etc.. Fasting can have a role in recovering from a disease. I don't believe fasting should be a way of life.

By now probably everyone heard of life extension by calorie reduction. Reduce the calories to half or two thirds or whatever and double or triple the life span of the mice. I'm told that life extension by calorie reduction worked on every species it was tried on. It seems a reasonable guess that it might work on humans too, but the experiment has not yet been done formally on humans and would take a long time to do. There might be some question of the quality of life; the body slows metabolism to adjust to reduced calories.

It is said, a drunkard sometimes lives to old age, a glutton never.

Now back to the original topic.

[caroljane]

In case you do not know him, jts is a nutritional conservative. He believes that not eating food is the path to health, as fiscal conservatives believe that not spending money is the path to prosperity.

I'm in favor of eating food. Eating stuff that is not food is a different matter. Obviously there is much more to health than diet: exercise, sleep, digestion, air, water, sunshine, emotions, poisons, genetics, prenatal influence, etc.. Fasting can have a role in recovering from a disease. I don't believe fasting should be a way of life.

By now probably everyone heard of life extension by calorie reduction. Reduce the calories to half or two thirds or whatever and double or triple the life span of the mice. I'm told that life extension by calorie reduction worked on every species it was tried on. It seems a reasonable guess that it might work on humans too, but the experiment has not yet been done formally on humans and would take a long time to dat.o. There might be some question of the quality of life; the body slows metabolism to adjust to reduced calories.

It is said, a drunkard sometimes lives to old age, a glutton never.

Now back to the original topic.

I'll drink to that, bro.

[studiodekadent]

Excellent article, Ed.

The immigration thing is simple. You don't actually have to eliminate welfare programs first. Just make it easy to get a Work Visa.

Work Visa's don't entitle their holders to welfare benefits. The holders of a Work Visa, however, do have to pay taxes I think... or at least some taxes (like sales taxes). I would prefer exempting Work Visa holders from tax but politically this would be a no sale. Plus, it would help fix the revenue situation without actually raising taxes one bit.

Make Work Visas easy to get with only a disease check and a basic background check to make sure the applicant isn't an actual danger. Allow currently undocumented immigrants to get one too. If that were to happen, the amount of illegal immigration would plunge.

Unfortunately, you'll get opposition from most unions (who don't want the competition), and quite a large number of persons that harbor "Nativist" sentiment (who are simply bigots). But it is a legally easy fix which is effective AND accomplishes things which both liberals and conservatives claim to want whilst avoiding the problem of increasing the number of dependents.