GOP strategist (Ed Rollins): Republicans were `caught with their pants down’ on immigration

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post

GOP strategist: Republicans were `caught with their pants down’ on immigration
By Greg Sargent

Republicans need to be very careful about how they respond to Obama’s new immigration announcement, because Americans view the issue as one about fundamental fairness. If the GOP loses the Latino vote in the same way it has lost blacks, it won’t be able to win future presidential elections.

So claims GOP strategist Ed Rollins in an interview with me about Obama’s new policy blocking deportations of DREAM-eligible youth.

“They should not have been caught with their pants down,” Rollins said of Republicans, adding that they were caught “flat-footed” by the announcement. “They needed to be better prepared.”

............................

“If we ever lose the Hispanic vote the way we’ve lost the African American vote, there’s no way we’ll win in presidential politics,” Rollins concluded.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/gop-strategist-republicans-were-caught-with-their-pants-down-on-immigration/2012/06/18/gJQAJ94blV_blog.html

[MinneapolisMatt]

1. Well duh, Mr. Rollins.

[hrmjustin]

2. That is what my gop friends said to me.

They know it will hurt the gop and help Obama. And they are pissed they did not think of it first. They might be forsed to pick rubio and I am not sure that is a good idea.

[Historic NY]

12. Rubio has a birther problem, that won't go away...thanks to guys like Trump

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/move_over_obama_jindal_and_rub.html

But, as Romney may learn as he winnows the field of candidates to serve as his running-mate, two of the individuals most often named as being under consideration -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio -- have been targeted by a certain strain of birthers who contend that neither man is constitutionally eligible to serve as president or vice president because, while they were both born in the United States, their parents were not U.S. citizens at the time their sons were born.


The claim is based on a tendentious and distinctly minority interpretation of what the Founding Fathers meant by "natural born," when they wrote, in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution, "No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President ..."

Among the most prominent of these is Joseph Farah, editor and CEO of the website, WolrdNetDaily, who wrote last August, "Two candidates for the job (vice president) are mentioned over and over again -- two wonderful, charismatic public servants whose only problem is they are not constitutionally eligible to be president.

[hrmjustin]

15. That would be great if the birther thing would backfire on them at...

...the hands of themselves.

[Blue Owl]

3. Always a hideous sight when the GOP exposes itself

n/t

[rfranklin]

20. Were they in a men's room stall at the airport?

Or wearing diapers while being whipped by a prostitute?

[louis-t]

4. Bad visual, a bunch of old, white men in suits

with their pants around their ankles falling forward..........

[DemzRock]

5. I wonder if they will ever figure out...

That they could actually win elections being more moderate instead of extreme? Sheesh!

[Democrats_win]

6. Inevitable that such selfish creeps fail again.

Americans look at this and say, "finally, fairness." Or, "Good that the children won't be looking over their shoulders anymore." The GOP looks at it and can only see how it affects themselves. The GOP needs to get a conscience. The GOP are truly awful people.

[bluedigger]

7. "stereotyping the party as intolerant"?

Um, yeah, they wouldn't want that to happen...

[RDANGELO]

8. Here is the root of the problem.

The party is dominated by what I call tribal minded whites. They are the ones who are dominating the nomination process and voting in the primaries. As long as that is the case, the Republicans are going to have this problem.

[KamaAina]

9. Progressive strategist (KamaAina): "Republicans are 'caught with their pants on fire' on everything"

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Let me get this straight.

You have all kinds of Republican voters brainwashed into thinking that anti-immigration is part of the Republican platform, but you have Republican strategists who need to find a way to present themselves to the latino voters as pro-immigration?

What is so screwy about this system, is that they will probably find a way to split the message and achieve this objective.

[Voice for Peace]

11. I have an Hispanic neighbor next door who listens to Limbaugh

so I wonder if there's an ideological split in that community

[Esse Quam Videri]

26. So does anyone know what Limbaugh's spin

was on this? Or are the pugs still trying to figure it out?

[leftynyc]

28. Is he/she Cuban?

They tend to lean way more right.

[Voice for Peace]

29. I'm not sure, I don't know him well but am curious.

I've wanted to have a chat ever since I started hearing
the radio show across the fence.. I'd like to find out what he thinks, and why.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. no problem...repugs will just run as Dems.

They have been trying that game out already, remember?

[cosmicone]

14. The electorate repukes appeal to

has been shrinking since the 60's. In another 8 years, unless they field a progressive candidate, they will always lose.

[yellowcanine]

16. Oops, will Romney's magic underwear be on display?

[L. Coyote]

22. Where is the like button?

Ooophs, this isn't Facebook

[xfundy]

17. I'd bet they were tap-dancing in the stalls

just like Larry Craig.

[Swede Atlanta]

18. That image...a Republican with their pants down....is enough to make me sick......

but....Mr. Rollins is correct. Obama's team is looking closely at demographics, polling data, etc. and concluded that this move would strengthen his position among Latinos.

We know that RMoney's immigration policy is self-deportation.

So this was a no-brainer for the President in wooing that demographic. There is a risk this could alienate some Independents that see illegal immigration as a major issue.

But I think the positives outweigh the negatives and, even if this was more for political gain than principle, I stand with the President since the do-nothing Repukkkes in Congress are never going to take up any meaningful immigration reform. They are xenophobes but they love foreign-made goods, especially goods made by communists in China because they are cheap.

[coalition_unwilling]

19. The WaPo has gotten really good about posting dispatches from

the Department of the Obvious.

News flash: Repigs had already lost the Latino vote before Obama's announcement.

[madokie]

21. We don't need any more GOP presidential wins Mr. Rollins

they suck big time at president'n

[bloomington-lib]

23. Republicans don't have to worry about being careful. They fuck up constantly and are doing fine.

[egbertowillies]

24. Republicans must give up on the latino

vote and with that the election. It must be sold that a vote for a Republican is a vote for all that was bad in America, prejudice, sexism, totalitarianism.

[AsahinaKimi]

25. "Republicans need to be very careful

about how they respond to Obama’s new immigration announcement, because Americans view the issue as one about fundamental fairness."


No, REALLY,... WE want to know how they think and feel exactly, so we the American public, can deal with them in a proper manner.

[magical thyme]

27. I only hope that

while they're struggling to get their pants back up before they fall down, that Obama is planning taking similar action in other areas. The DREAM act wasn't the only obstruction he encountered.

He has 4 months to right a few wrongs before the election. Don't waste time; keep them on the defensive and simultaneously move us forward.