Can The GOP Get By Without 54.8% Of Their Base In November?

17 Apr, 2006 by John Hawkins

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I tend to be very skeptical of internet polls because they can be so easily manipulated. But, the results of these two polls on illegal immigration over at Free Republic caught my eye because it breaks out the FR members from the general public. That makes it much less likely that the poll could be, irony of ironies, freeped =D

Keep in mind, before you see these results, that Free Republic is crammed full of the sort of people who donate money to conservative candidates, put up yard signs, man phone banks for the GOP and tend to turn out, rain or shine, to vote for Republicans. In short, as Free Republic goes (minus a few oddballs here and there), so goes the base.

First of all, let’s take a look at what the Freepers think of the illegal immigration bill in the House. Here’s the question:

“Do you support or oppose H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005?“

Here’s the response:

That would seem to be a surprisingly strong endorsement of the House approach to illegal immigration…but, hold onto your hats, folks, because you haven’t seen anything yet. If you’re a Republican up on Capitol Hill, the numbers you’re about to see from the 2nd poll should send a cold chill running down your spine.

Here’s the question:

If the White House and GOP controlled Congress does not act immediately to seal the borders, penalize employers who hire illegals and deport illegals when caught, how will it affect your vote in November?

Here’s the response:

Somebody needs to wake the Washington GOP up to the fact that they’re about to step into a pile of cow flop the size of a swimming pool here. Can the GOP really afford to tell 54.8% of their base to go take a flying leap on an issue that obviously matters so much to them? Let me answer my own question: not just no, but hell, no.

Of course, there is an obvious solution to this dilemma and that would be for the Republicans in the Senate to get behind a bill like H.R. 4437 and leave the guest worker program/citizenship program for later. That would unite the Republican base and it would force the Democrats to either get on board or vote against securing the border. So either we’d get a good bill for America or a great issue for the GOP to campaign on in 2006. Either way, it would allow the GOP to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on this issue and given how things are shaping up, the GOP could sure use that kind of shot in the arm going into the November elections. Let’s hope the Republicans in Washington are smart enough to turn the illegal immigration issue into a big opportunity, instead of a disaster.