I'll take a break from my normal collection of brewing related, computer related, or bad joke related posts to make this political insight: Hugh Hewitt fervent support for both Lott and Martinez will become his Harriet Meirs II moment. Excerpt:

I have to agree with Paul Mirengoff at Powerline about some reactions to the election of Trent Lott as Senate Minority Whip and Mel Martinez as RNC Chair. Both have the potential to be huge wins for the GOP, especially given Lott's command of Senate procedure.

I like Hugh Hewitt. his radio show is one of the better ones on the air, although I rarely get to listen to it. His unwavering support for almost anything that this administration support baffles me at times, especially on an issue which most conservatives oppose. Check out the excerpt from this post:

Regularization of the nation's millions of illegals along common-sense lines such should follow the fence's construction --or at least robust beginning of construction. If the GOP avoids plainly inequitable proposals such as the grant of social security benefits for the wages earned while illegally in the country or a path to citizenship for those who do not return first to their home countries, the comprehensive legislation can be worked out quickly.

Allow me to translate:

Regularization: amnesty for illegals

Comprehensive legistlation: amnesty for illegals

While working in IT the last decade or so, I had to opportunity to work with lots of foreign nationals, most of whom have to jump through hoops on a yearly basis just to guarantee that their visas stay up to date; this includes those attempting to get their green cards. Some of them, from India mostly, go back home for a few weeks each year to work through all of the technicalities at the local consulate. Anyway, that group of individuals is large and well-educated. They are almost unilaterally opposed to this amnesty talk. It pisses them off that some people lolly-gagged their way illegally across our borders and are about to be rewarded for it.

I know what the problem is: Hugh has swallowed the big effing lie that illegal immigration wasn't a winner in this past election. Bill Quick delivers a swift kick in the nads to this bullshit. Excerpt:

Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard makes the case that immigration restriction wasn't a plus issue for House Republicans. In Arizona, with the biggest illegal border crossing crisis in the nation, two loud advocates of immigration restriction and opponents of guest-worker and legalization provisions lost: incumbent J.D. Hayworth in the Scottsdale-Tempe Fifth District and open-seat primary winner Randy Graf in the Eighth, which includes the east side of Tucson and Cochise County, site of most of the illegal border crossings. In 2004, Graf won 43 percent in the primary against incumbent Jim Kolbe, who favored guest-worker and legalization provisions. With Kolbe retiring, Graf won the same 43 percent in the primary again, but that was enough to win a three-candidate race. I tend to agree with Barnes's take. If an anti-immigration candidate can't win in these two districts, where can he win?

Pity. Mike Barone used to be a reasonably honest, reasonably trustworthy reporter, but here, he outright lies by omission.

An anti-illegal immigration candidate did win in both districts.

Here's Hayworth's opponent:

Every sovereign nation has a responsibility to secure its border. In Congress, I'll make it a top priority to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and stop illegal immigration.
...

And here is Graf's opponent's position on the issue:

is "absolutely unfair," she said. Republicans have not done enough to stop illegal immigration, she added, ridiculing Graf's idea that tougher enforcement will lead immigrants to go home.

"I don't believe they're going to stand up, walk home and self deport," Giffords said, carefully adding "I do not support amnesty."

Immigration nerds understand the difference in positions between the Democrats and the Republican candidates, but the average voter probably thought their positions were identically tough. For Barone - and the sleazy RNC hack Barnes - to intimate otherwise is, frankly, nothing more than ideological dishonesty.

Update: Check out Blogs of War for a roundup of the conservative[translation for Hugh Hewitt: not Republican] opinion. It isn't pretty.

Time for the GOP to go the way of the Whigs. The way leadership is behaving right now, I expect the Democrats to own all 3 branches of government in early 2009. Might as well gear up for the revolution now instead of waiting for the self-immolation to be complete.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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