The GOP will not succeed in the upcoming midterm elections if it proves itself to be a single-issue party. Unfortunately, that appears to be exactly what Republican Party leadership is aiming for.

 

According to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, the GOP will continue to pummel Democrats about Obamacare heading into the 2014 midterms. On a conference call with reporters last month, Priebus said, “We’ve promised that in 2014 we’d continue to pound away at Democrats and Obamacare and that’s how we’re starting the year. Democrats are eager to change the subject, but Republicans aren’t going to let that happen. 

 

Instead of dwelling solely on the deficiencies of the Affordable Care Act and listing off talking points like a broken record, Republicans need to shift focus toward making the responsible decision on immigration reform. That responsible decision would be to work with Democrats to get it done as soon as possible.

 

In a Feb. 19 Washington Post article, Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham wrote a particularly offensive article detailing the reasons why, in her view, Republicans should oppose immigration reform. The article’s focus was primarily on refuting a series of points supporting immigration reform made by conservative columnist and commentator George Will.

 

Ingraham’s article highlights the utter stupidity of many of the anti-immigration reform arguments coming from the far right lately.

 

Will’s first point that Ingraham tries to refute is that the GOP should not only focus its efforts on Obamacare in 2014. Ingraham’s argument with this point is that although she essentially agrees in principle, “giving in” to Democrats on immigration reform would only benefit them politically.

 

The issue I have with this type of argument is that instead of focusing on a normative evaluation of the pros and cons of immigration reform, it places the focus solely on petty politics.

 

Ingraham’s next argument goes that if the GOP supports immigration reform, it will risk alienating its conservative base to the point where its voters might stay home on Election Day. If anyone who typically votes Republican stays home because the GOP allows the passage of immigration reform, then they’re probably not people the Republican Party should be embracing anyway. They are probably the type of people the GOP should be distancing itself from.

 

Ingraham’s third argument is that, in light of data showing that Latinos overwhelmingly favor Democrats, the GOP should try to limit immigration so that it holds a better chance in elections. This is offensive to Latinos on multiple levels. One, it assumes they all vote for Democrats as a direct result of being Latino, instead of as an intellectual decision. Two, Ingraham is supporting the notion that Republicans would be wiser to fear Latinos than formulate any policy choices that embrace them. Instead of viewing Latinos as individuals, Ingraham is viewing them as dangerous political weapons to be wielded by the Democrats.

 

I agree with Will when he argues that the “zero-sum reasoning about a fixed quantity of American opportunity is for a United States in a defensive crouch.” If the Republican Party opts to listen to Ingraham’s advice and embrace xenophobia as a formal policy, it may never win another presidential election.

 

Whether immigration reform passes, the reality is that there will be more Latinos in America in 2015 than in 2014, just like there will be for every year in the foreseeable future. Attempting to limit their political clout is misguided and ultimately impossible.

 

A political party that fails to embrace and instead vilifies humans with the potential to help the country and influence elections is one headed in the wrong direction.

Ethan Demers is a senior political science and history major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected]

 

 

The GOP will not succeed in the upcoming midterm elections if it proves itself to be a single-issue party. Unfortunately, that appears to be exactly what Republican Party leadership is aiming for.

 

According to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, the GOP will continue to pummel Democrats about Obamacare heading into the 2014 midterms. On a conference call with reporters last month, Priebus said, “We’ve promised that in 2014 we’d continue to pound away at Democrats and Obamacare and that’s how we’re starting the year. Democrats are eager to change the subject, but Republicans aren’t going to let that happen.”

 

Instead of dwelling solely on the deficiencies of the Affordable Care Act and listing off talking points like a broken record, Republicans need to shift focus toward making the responsible decision on immigration reform. That responsible decision would be to work with Democrats to get it done as soon as possible.

 

In a Feb. 19 Washington Post article, Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham wrote a particularly offensive article detailing the reasons why, in her view, Republicans should oppose immigration reform. The article’s focus was primarily on refuting a series of points supporting immigration reform made by conservative columnist and commentator George Will.

 

Ingraham’s article highlights the utter stupidity of many of the anti-immigration reform arguments coming from the far right lately.

 

Will’s first point that Ingraham tries to refute is that the GOP should not only focus its efforts on Obamacare in 2014. Ingraham’s argument with this point is that although she essentially agrees in principle, “giving in” to Democrats on immigration reform would only benefit them politically.

 

The issue I have with this type of argument is that instead of focusing on a normative evaluation of the pros and cons of immigration reform, it places the focus solely on petty politics.

 

Ingraham’s next argument goes that if the GOP supports immigration reform, it will risk alienating its conservative base to the point where its voters might stay home on Election Day. If anyone who typically votes Republican stays home because the GOP allows the passage of immigration reform, then they’re probably not people the Republican Party should be embracing anyway. They are probably the type of people the GOP should be distancing itself from.

 

Ingraham’s third argument is that, in light of data showing that Latinos overwhelmingly favor Democrats, the GOP should try to limit immigration so that it holds a better chance in elections. This is offensive to Latinos on multiple levels. One, it assumes they all vote for Democrats as a direct result of being Latino, instead of as an intellectual decision. Two, Ingraham is supporting the notion that Republicans would be wiser to fear Latinos than formulate any policy choices that embrace them. Instead of viewing Latinos as individuals, Ingraham is viewing them as dangerous political weapons to be wielded by the Democrats.

 

I agree with Will when he argues that the “zero-sum reasoning about a fixed quantity of American opportunity is for a United States in a defensive crouch.” If the Republican Party opts to listen to Ingraham’s advice and embrace xenophobia as a formal policy, it may never win another presidential election.

 

Whether immigration reform passes, the reality is that there will be more Latinos in America in 2015 than in 2014, just like there will be for every year in the foreseeable future. Attempting to limit their political clout is misguided and ultimately impossible.

 

A political party that fails to embrace and instead vilifies humans with the potential to help the country and influence elections is one headed in the wrong direction.

 

Ethan Demers is a senior political science and history major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected]

Published on February 20, 2014 at 3:18 am