Republican front-runner Donald "Rump" Trump's demagogic and racist assault on immigrant families has, as the New York Times notes, given the "talented," "well-qualified," and "strong" field of Republicans running for President an opportunity:
You could say the front-running Mr. Trump has put his opponents in a bind. Or you could say he has given them a gift: the opportunity to be specific in return about what they would do to fix the immigration mess. And to be forthright in rejecting his despicable proposals. Because his plan is so naked — in its scapegoating of immigrants, its barely subtextual racism, its immense cruelty in seeking to reduce millions of people to poverty and hopelessness — it gives his opponents the chance for a very clear moral decision. They can stand up for better values, and against the collective punishment of millions of innocent Americans-in-waiting.Haha no:
But as Mr. Trump swells in the polls, his diminished opponents are following in his wake, like remoras on a shark. Several have shuffled onto the anti-birthright-citizenship bus, including Rick Santorum, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ben Carson and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. Even Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who once fought for smart bipartisan immigration reform, wants to repeal birthright citizenship. As does Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, a birthright citizen himself. As for Mr. Trump’s other restrictionist proposals, several are firmly lodged again in the playbook of a Republican Party that briefly tried to reform itself after the Mitt Romney debacle. Some candidates are even willing to try to trump Mr. Trump in xenophobia: Mr. Carson is talking about using armed military drones at the border. That’s right — bombing Arizona.But here's the real underlying problem for the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party:
But they're only responding to their electorate. Look, for instance, at this 2011 Pew Research Center poll, which made clear in its question that ending birthright citizenship would entail amending the Constitution. Thirty-nine percent of Americans overall said that's what we should do to make sure the children of unauthorized immigrants couldn't become citizens. Forty-seven percent of Republicans, and 57 percent of Tea Partiers, agreed.
So it may not be a clear majority of Republican voters, but it's plenty of them, and probably a majority of those committed enough to vote in the primaries. If the candidates are looking at the reception Donald Trump is getting for his anti-immigrant rhetoric and thinking they ought to get some of that action for themselves, that wouldn't be surprising. Within the next few days, polls testing this question will start being released, and I'd be shocked if at least some of them don't show a majority of Republicans supporting an end to birthright citizenship. (our emphasis)That's right! You're dealing with nearly a majority of Republicans who reject birthright citizenship (see: 14th Amendment). The same self- satisfied, rage- stoked "constitutional conservatives" who believe in the sanctity of the Constitution but don't have a clue what it says (and when they find out, they're agin' it!). You have a significant portion of the population (see above) that, as Charles Pierce would say, plays with their toes. At the same time, you have people who have been deemed by the corporate media to be "serious" contenders for the Presidency who are so clearly lacking in character, spine and -- what's that Ron Fournier- admired quality again? Leadership! -- that they not only refuse to take on Rump, but are actually parroting his position. Some Commanders- in- Chief there!
Meanwhile, Democrats have your video cameras rolling to capture all of the nativist, racist pandering for those short attention span voters!
