That's reassuring, (0.00 / 0)

given how creepy-icky the Reps. have been on this. Thanks, Matt.

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by: sb @ Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 09:05:52 AM CST

I don't know... (0.00 / 0)

In my home county, the reason the immigration issue didn't work so well for the Republicans is that the Democrats running for office and in the County Leg oran against the Spitzer plan. NYT reports that the pattern of Dem Spitzer/Immigrant bashing can be found throughout the state.

I blog on InnermostParts.org

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by: Sayhar @ Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 09:55:33 AM CST

California and our future (0.00 / 0)

It is not even that "a good argument on economic security can beat immigration bashing." Wish the electorate was so rational. It is that scapegoating just sort of gets tired -- most people who are not pretty sick will only sustain a blame-focus for so long. If we can get them through a season of hate, their passions recede to minor resentment and they get on with life.

At least that is how I read the California experience. It would be possible to rekindle a sizeable (possibly even majority) nativist eruption here, but mostly, folks just don't want to go there. In retrospect, it gave them a bad feeling about their state.

As you say, if the Dems don't screw it up, demographic change means a long term Democratic national majority.

Can it happen here?

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by: janinsanfran @ Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 10:11:03 AM CST

Immigrant bashing backfired in Virginia (0.00 / 0)

Democrats in Virginia just won a huge victory because they did not go along with it. Gerry Connolly, the most visible opponent to immigrant bashing, won by a landslide.

Incidentally, it did not work in Massachussets either, Tsongas received the same percentage of the vote that now-Governor Deval Patrick, a fellow Democrat, won just last year in his rout of his opponent.

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by: AliceDem @ Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 10:22:32 AM CST

PWC incumbent supervisors vindicated for anti-illegal measure (0.00 / 0)

The unanimous votes to crack down on illegal aliens by the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) did indeed work for incumbent members.

The difference was at the local level, instead of in Richmond, where real measures -- not rhetoric -- was taken this year to deal with the problem.

(The exception to this assertion is in Loudoun county, where the door-step problems caused by pro-growth lunatics trumped the local impact of illegal aliens and the recent measures passed by their BOCS to deal with them.)

As dkos commentor Duke1676 noted in his post, Chairman Corey Stewart (R), who spearheaded the anti-illegal alien measure, along with Supervisor John Stirrup (R), defeated Sharon Pandak (D) 55% to 44%:

2007
Stewart (R): 55.34%
Pandak (D): 44.42%

Comparing the 2007 race with 2006, where illegal aliens weren't  the central issue in the county, Stewart improved his percentage in 2007 by 2%. Pandak, on the other hand, lost ground by 3%:

2006
Stewart (R): 53%
Pandak (D): 47%

This is particularly interesting when you consider that Pandak had a larger staff and out-spent Stewart.

The majority of incumbents won their uncontested races by more than 97%.

In the following contested races,
* Incumbent May(R) defeated challenger Gray (I) 67.17% to 32.38%
* Incumbent Stirrup (R) defeated challenger Riley (D) 61.75% to 38.05%
* Incumbent Jenkins (D) defeated a Democratic write-in challenger 94.99% to 5%

Spank!

Democratic supervisor Hilda Barg, who voted to support the crackdown, is retiring this term. Her anointed successor, Frank Principi (D) won a plurality by 9 points in a relatively crowded race:

Principi (D): 41.68%
Royse (R): 32.66%
Keen (I): 14.42%
Ramirez (I): 10.99%

So, outside of PWC BOCS where talk trumped action, most candidates who used illegal aliens as a wedge lost.

Also note that anti-illegal alien sentiment is growing in parts of liberal-leaning Fairfax county and, if left unchecked, may become a troubling issue for local Democrats there in 2008.

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by: fafnir @ Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 14:09:38 PM CST