"Some Democrats Fear Backlash Over Obama's Handling of Immigration"
07/08/2010
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I like this story by Fox News' Carl Cameron because it confirms my reading of Obama's immigration strategy: he's impelled by emotion, which he shares with his base—but his base isn't big enough (yet):

Some Democrats, even in Arizona, are fearing an election backlash over immigration, as President Obama sues Arizona over its new immigration enforcement law and pushes Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul...

The president appears to be out of step with public opinion on immigration. The latest Fox News Opinion Dynamics poll shows 2-to-1 support nationwide for Arizona's law, including 73 percent of Republicans, 57 percent of independents and one out of three Democrats...

"The reason why both parties are playing football with immigration is because their supporters in the stands are cheering," said Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia's Center of Politics. "This plays to the base on both sides. It's red meat for the base."

The liberal red meat served up by Democrats mostly stops short of calling Republicans racist but does call GOP immigration policy hostile to minorities, particularly Hispanics, the biggest and fastest growing U.S. minority.

But in Colorado, a recent Denver Post poll said 62 percent of Colorado Hispanics favor a law like Arizona's. The state's Republican gubernatorial front runner Scott McInnis supports it. But Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, opposes it, putting himself at odds with those Colorado Latinos.

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