Bush is saving the Republican Party

The conservative base is sour on Bush, especially for supporting a compromise on immigration. However, conservatives will thank Bush in the end. Bush's position on immigration is saving conservatives and the Republican party from becoming the anti-hispanic party and therefore becoming powerless.

We all know that the shrill coming from many conservatives is rooted in the wrongs these immigrants have commited by crossing our borders illegally. However, most people do not understand that argument. Instead they only only hear the shrills and perceive them as anti-immigrant sentiment. Further, the mainstream liberal media and the Democratic party is more than willing to portray these arguments and pounce on the shrills as anti-immigrant and not anti-illegal-immigrant. The danger is that this sentiment will become conventional wisdom, thus dooming any chance that any significant amount of Hispanics or any recent immigrants will support the Republican party in any significant numbers (currently 35 million are foreign born). This same thing happend to Black Americans in the 1930s and onward. The Republican party became the anti-black party even though Democrats have done squat for Blacks.

However Bush's position on immigration and his stubborness in not cowing to the base has saved the party and conservatives from themselves. If Bush were to fall in line with the base, there would be no immigration bill. The bill would fail miserably. There would be no chance at border security. Instead there would only be anti-immigrant rhetoric leading to massive defeat at the polls for a generation and eventually lead to blanket amnesty, higher taxes, leftist judges, more terrorism, and a poorer America. With Bush, we are going to get tough border security along with a compromised amnesty - one that includes background checks, learning english, paying fines, etc...

The media would love to paint Republicans as the anti-immigrant party, just as they love painting Republicans as the hate the poor party or the anti black party or the for-low-wages party. However, they need Bush to go along with the nativism or it won't work. Bush isn't going along and the demonization is not working. Conservatives should be thankful that that current occupant of the White House has a long term realistic view, not just short term emotions.

Update: Here is a great example today by E.J. Dionne demonizing those for English as the national language as anti-immigrant.