The Rethugs' Immigration Dilemma

One need look no farther than the op/ed page of today's Kaplan Daily to see why Democrats salivate over the idea of a full debate on immigration reform before the November elections. Dems believe it would lay bare a fundamental schism in the Rethug ranks, between two factions. One faction believes the Rethugs can co-opt a portion of the Hispanic vote by appealing to moral and social values; they also tend to be Roman Catholic Rethugs who identify with their Hispanic co-religionists. This side is represented in today's joust by Michael "Mushroom Cloud" Gerson. On the other you have the faction that firmly believes in "law and order," and strict interpretation of the Constitution (except, as Eugene Robinson noted below, when it applies to brown-skinned people who speak Spanish). Tory George "Quill" Will takes this side today. The topic is Arizona's anti-immigrant law. No wonder the Rethugs are desperate to put immigration reform on the back burner until after November! We say, let the bloodletting begin!