Immigration and the debates
Immigration was not mentioned in the first two debates, which is the result of poor moderators (has anyone had anything good to say about the moderation thus far?). This, despite prior predictions that immigration would be important in the debates.
I hope it is raised tonight, but I do not have my hopes very high. And if Bob Schieffer doesn't raise it directly, neither candidate will mention it voluntarily.
Despite the media attention on the Latino vote, in general the candidates just do not want to talk about immigration reform. Instead, they wage TV ad wars in Latino markets, often in Spanish so that no English speaker knows what they're saying.
I want both of them put on the spot. They are afraid of possibly alienating restrictionist-minded voters, and we should not let them off the hook.
So c'mon, Schieffer, please make the candidates a bit more uncomfortable.
3 comments:
Neither candidate wants to address immigration b/c it's a no-win for them. For the Republicans, they either offend businesses that want more immigrant labor or [suburban?] voters who want restrictions. For the Democrats, they either offend organized labor which doesn't want more competition for jobs/downward pressure on wages or Latino voters who want some liberalization or lefties who are worried about worker rights/fairness for immigrants.
So both parties/candidates are stuck. Only candidates in local races can tailor their immigration stance to local constituencies, but at the national level, the two parties are unlikely to reach consensus.
Notice, too, that both parties' constituents with opposing views consist of both big donors and large numbers of voters.
So, as I write, I blame the moderators for not forcing the issue, regardless of what the candidates want.
Well, there's a slew of issues that none of the moderators have brought up. Most of the focus has been on the economy and the "tone" of the campaigns.
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