"House GOP's immigration strategy no 'magic bullet'"

This is an entrant for the Meme: Graf, Hayworth losses = support for "comprehensive immigration reform" post, but, because it contains some more in-depth analysis in addition to the meme it's in its own post.

...Republicans were unable to turn the immigration issue into a winner on Tuesday thanks in large part to their opponents' abilities to support comprehensive reform and yet still cast themselves as "me-too border hawks" who agreed on most aspects of enforcement, said John Fonte, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Fonte said the tough border approach did help certain Republicans, including Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl and Peter Roskam, who held retiring Rep. Henry Hyde's Illinois seat for the party. But it did little to help Republicans as a whole save their 15-seat majority.

"It wasn't a silver bullet," Fonte said. "For someone like Hayworth who was bogged down with Abramoff stuff, it couldn't turn it around for them. And Graf, with no money, it couldn't turn it around for him."

Fonte said Republicans found it difficult to differentiate their positions when their opponents came out tough on the border.

Giffords drew attention several months ago for an ad in which she drew a line in the sand near the border. Mitchell hammered Hayworth for being a part of a Republican majority that saw illegal immigration skyrocket over the last decade.

Margaret Kenski, a GOP pollster in Arizona who polls for Kyl, echoed Fonte's sentiments. She said Arizona Democrats, led by Gov. Janet Napolitano and her move to declare a state of emergency on the border last year, moved to the center on the issue to make themselves accessible to voters.

Kenski credited Democrats' recruitment of the non-ideological and beloved high school teacher and former Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell with Hayworth's demise, but suggested neither Hayworth nor Graf were successful enough with other issues besides illegal immigration, such as healthcare.

"It's necessary but not sufficient," Kenski said. "You can't run on just that."

Voters clearly favor a comprehensive approach, but when further questioned, want to see the enforcement piece come first, Kenski said...

If they were given the full details on what the "comprehensive approach" would involve, most likely many more people would oppose it.

Immigration · Fri, 11/10/2006 - 08:39 · · Importance: 4