Chait smells the same fraudulent, smoke-and-mirrors sham of a stinking, hocus-pocusing GOP flimflam that I do:
For the Republican party Establishment, the path of least ideological resistance is to move leftward on immigration ... and then to change on absolutely nothing else.
Perhaps you remember the New New Nixon, who had emerged from the primordial slime of the New Nixon, which was, in fact, just Nixon? Well, welcome to the New GOP.
When Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace, it turned out that the New New Nixon was really the same old Nixon not to be trusted. And the republican party's makeover consists not only of moving leftward on immigration, but also, seemingly to keep the rest of their far right extremist policies in place, just finding a more delicate way of talking about them.
Posted by: AnneJ | November 19, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Yea that's the ticket. Just get Rubio to organize some Latino Sondercommandos and the electoral problem is solved.
Posted by: Peter G | November 19, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Yep. It's been clear all along that the GOP lessons learned can be distilled to the following:
1) Policies = still awesome!
2) Messaging about awesome policies = needs some work
3) Keep our beloved but clumsy extremists from talking candidly about rape and abortion in public
4) Pander to Latinos with token gesture (point at Rubio...see, we have a Latino friend! Love us!), and if necessary, allow something to happen on immigration reform.
5) Lie more forcefully and persuasively about awesome (but apparently so awesome that the rubes don't understand) policies!
and of course,
...???
profit!
Posted by: Turgidson | November 19, 2012 at 01:51 PM