Campaigning on Arizona law may help Republicans: study

Source: Reuters

Republican candidates who make Arizona's immigration crackdown a campaign issue could benefit in this election year, a study found on Wednesday.

The new poll by NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo found 40 percent of registered voters said they would side with a Republican congressional candidate who supported the state law. Just 26 percent said they would back a Democratic candidate who opposed it.

Overall, 61 percent of the respondents to the poll said they backed the Arizona law, while 60 percent said they would support comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

The law has reopened a spirited national debate over immigration, and re-energized efforts by President Barack Obama and ruling Democrats to overhaul federal immigration laws. Obama supports a system allowing undocumented immigrants in good standing to pay a fine, learn English and become citizens. He also backs tightening border security and clamping down on employers that hire undocumented workers.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64P1ZJ20100526?type=politicsNews

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I'm sure republicans would like to believe that campaigning on the law helps them. I hope that Democrats realize that 60% of those polled (even when the poll was primarily about the Arizona law) support comprehensive immigration reform.

Let the repubs appeal to the tea baggers and their base, while we go after comprehensive reform and the majority who favor that.

bring it up every election cycle. Notice that's the only time they talk about it.

I'd be happy if they would be just as upset about the corporations sending jobs to Mexico and China by the thousands, but you never hear a peep about that.

Look at Arizona Governor Brewer's comments. Immigration reform is just a stalking horse for racism. I don't think there is too big of disagreement on steps that need to be done to fix immigration, but I think Republicans want to have the bogeyman of Hispanic immigrants to motivate their base. Fixing the issue will deprive them of this.

I'm sure the Right's definition of "immigration reform" is significantly different than the Left's.

"Yet the NBC/MSNBC/Telemundo poll shows early public support for comprehensive immigration reform, with 60 percent of all adults favoring it and 29 percent opposing it.

Also, supermajorities back the individual components of this reform.

For example: 73 percent support imposing new fines on businesses that hire illegal immigrants; 71 percent support increasing border security by building a fence along the border and training more Border Patrol agents; and 65 percent support allowing undocumented immigrants who are already in the country to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become U.S. citizens.

McInturff, however, cautions against reading too much into this early support — given that the poll didn’t test the language that opponents of comprehensive immigration reform would use.

The last phrase "he poll didn’t test the language that opponents of comprehensive immigration reform would use" refers, I think, to the fact that opponents will call this "amnesty for illegals". I've seen polls in the past that showed that while "allowing undocumented immigrants who are already in the country to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become U.S. citizens" is supported by a majority, "amnesty for illegals" is not. The republicans know this (of course, they are experts at knowing how to push the fear/resentment button), so we can expect to hear that phrase a million times from the mouths of repub politicians.

I think the Progressive Caucus' version of comprehensive reform is better, but that's just me. :)

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=205&ParentID=0&SectionID=93&SectionTree=93&lnk=b&ItemID=203

The Arizona law is very popular throughout the U.S.

It doesn't make it right... but it does make it politically powerful.