Later On

From the Center for American Progress in an email:

This past weekend, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) featured two immigration events that provided a dissonant narrative on how conservatives view immigrants and the relationship some are seeking with a voting bloc for whom the issue is “deeply personal” — Latinos. While one panel portrayed Latinos as part of an immigrant “invasion,” the other identified them as integral to the future of the Republican Party. The immigration discord at CPAC wasn’t a scheduling mistake. If anything, it was a microcosm of the growing internal debate raging within the conservative movement. Ultimately, immigration is one of many issues that concerns the Latino electorate. However, polling of Latino voters reveals that demagoguery on the issue is what has largely tarnished the Republican Party’s image and sparked a surge in hate crimes and racial profiling that the community is collectively experiencing. Yet, while many Republicans recognize the need to adjust their immigration rhetoric and regain the trust of a growing demographic that might otherwise be voting Republican, a significant faction of right-wing politicians and candidates remain belligerently stubborn.

AN INTERNAL STRUGGLE: At CPAC, one of the two immigration panels, The Rise of Latino Conservatism, was sponsored by American Principles Project’s (APP) Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles which claims to “represent a form of conservatism that is welcoming to people of all racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.” The second event featured anti-immigrant poster boy, former Arizona congressman and current Republican senate candidate J.D. Hayworth, who provided an introduction to a screening of the documentary Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration, a film that has been described as a one-sided, offensive, and negative portrayal of Mexicans. At a separate panel, Robert Rector of the conservative Heritage Foundation stated that immigrants naturally “vote for free stuff.” Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist, who participated in the first panel, was reportedly “taken aback by assertions he has heard that Latino immigrants are lazy and weaken Western culture.” In an editorial posted on World Net Daily, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote that CPAC 2010 “failed the conservative movement” through its attempt to “redefine” the immigration issue and develop “a strategic partnership with Latino activists.” However, earlier this month, Tancredo shared the stage at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville with former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who recently agreed with right-wing hero Glenn Beck that the U.S. should “make it easier to bring people in.” Meanwhile, FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey has referred to Tancredo as the “cheerleader of jerkiness in the immigration debate,” opposed the Republican purity test’s harsh immigration language, and called building a border fence “stupid” — specifically because it alienated Latino voters. Nonetheless, Armey is at least partly responsible for giving “nativist extremists” the opportunity to exploit the anger of tea partiers and inspiring anti-immigrant tea party sideshows.

COURTING LATINOS: Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ed Gillespie has pointed out that the Republican nominee could lose by 14 points in 2020 if voting trends remain the same. With that in mind, he’s advising the GOP to restrain itself from “indulging in the anti-immigration rhetoric” of the past. Current RNC Chairman Michael Steele is also trying “to tamp down fiery anti-immigration language.” The Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles reportedly plans on spending at least $500,000 to help pro-immigration Republican candidates this year. A handful of politicians appear responsive. Former Speaker of the House and rumored 2012 presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich recently stated that “it ought to be easy, not hard to get a visa” and has also launched a political bilingual news website called The Americano. In Texas, George P. Bush, the son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, founded Hispanic Republicans of Texas to promote Latinos running for state and local offices. In California, the GOP gubernatorial front-runner is Meg Whitman, a former eBay Inc. chief executive officer who explicitly supports a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants. Even a former opponent of immigration reform and chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), has been reportedly meeting with Latino leaders to resolve points of contention.

RACES TO WATCH: In many upcoming races that will define the 2010 midterm elections, immigration has already become a hot-button issue amongst Republicans. Hayworth has formally challenged Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) re-election bid and is running on the same anti-immigration wedge strategy that members of his own party claim cost him his House seat back in 2006. With Latinos comprising 11.7 percent of Arizona voters, McCain may want to rethink his decision to allow his immigration position to get pushed further to the right. In the run for Texas governor, Gov. Rick Perry (R) has fared relatively well with Latinos thanks to his “careful immigration stance.” Meanwhile, Texas tea party-backed candidate Debra Medina jumped into the gubernatorial race as the first candidate to release Spanish-language TV ads and appeared on CNN with Rick Sanchez yesterday affirming that “everyone contributes to our society whether they’re here legally or not.” Medina is still behind both Hutchison and Perry in the polls, but her surprising popularity has increased the odds the race will be thrown into a runoff. In the Florida Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Gov. Charlie Crist and former State House Speaker Marco Rubio are both candidates with mixed immigration records who have chosen to take a hard line on the issue. Given the fact that they’re seeking to replace ex-Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), a champion of immigration reform, the strategy may hurt more than it helps whichever candidate gets past the primaries. Democrats may face a day of reckoning with Latino voters this November. Ultimately, while the GOP’s divisions are more visible and polarizing, the Democratic Party will be judged on its progress in delivering on its promise of immigration reform and the broader package of change that most Americans voted for in 2008.