Immigration reform and NC

Franco Ordoñez at the Charlotte Observer has an interesting post about Democrats, immigration, and North Carolina.  It has national implications, and is a very good reminder (if anyone really needed one) of how immigration does not fall as neatly along partisan lines as is often portrayed.

The N.C. Democratic Party is paying for a mailer in a state Senate race that calls for "bringing the Arizona immigration crackdown to North Carolina."

...

The mailer features a photograph of Redwine, a former state House leader, outside a prison talking with a prison guard. The headline reads: "David Redwine wants to throw the book at CEOs who just won't quit hiring illegal immigrants."

The Democratic Party in the state wants to win.  This is not a pretty way to try, but it highlights the local constituency vs. national party split on the issue.  To avoid further disaster on the national level (which is guaranteed by the state of the economy) the Democratic Party has to ignore these discrepancies.  This will become a problem eventually when the party needs pro-reform votes.