Good News....Senate Gang Of Eight On Track With Their Amnesty Plan. Oh By The Bye, Republicans Probably Have To Stop Fighting ObamaCare If They Want To Win Over "Naturally Conservative" Hispanics. That's Not Going To Be A Problem, Is It?

First, the latest from DC.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest business group, and the AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation, reached an elusive agreement on a guest-worker program on Friday, clearing the way for the writing of a full bill.

The bill will include an earned pathway to U.S. citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, bolstered border security and ways for business to meet the need for both high-skilled and low-skilled workers.

"With the agreement between business and labor, every major policy issue has been resolved," said Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and a member of the so-called Gang of Eight, which has four Democrats and four Republicans.

"We've all agreed that we're not going to come to a final agreement until we see draft legislative language and we agree on that," Schumer told NBC's "Meet the Press."

But Schumer added: "I don't think any of us expect there to be problems."

I'm so old I remember when Democrats thought the US Chamber of Commerce was evil and destroying America. Amazingly Democrats love the Chamber when they are cashing in on amnesty or supporting Obama's so-called "stimulus" plan.

Marco Rubio says he wants hearings on any bill before it comes to the Senate floor. Democrats keep insisting that border security "triggers" can't come first as Rubio demands. He says he'll walk if it's not. Will he?

Let's just say I have my doubts.

But hey, once we create all these new voters who are "natural conservatives" we can start implementing more conservative policies, right? Right?

As Republican leaders try to woo Latino voters with a new openness to legal status for the nation's illegal immigrants, the party remains at odds with America's fastest-growing ethnic community on another key issue: healthcare.

Latinos, who have the lowest rates of health coverage in the country, are among the strongest backers of President Obama's healthcare law. In a recent national poll, supporters outnumbered detractors by more than 2 to 1. Latinos also overwhelmingly see guaranteeing healthcare as a core government responsibility, surveys show.

...

Obama, meanwhile, made upholding the Affordable Care Act a core part of his Latino strategy. A quarter of the president's advertising in Spanish focused on the law, said James Aldrete, who oversaw Spanish-language media strategy for Obama in 2008 and 2012. "We knew from the start that, if Latinos knew about the benefits of the law, they were going back the president," he said. "It was central to our messaging."

Hmmm, that doesn't sound very conservative, natural or otherwise. Perhaps there's some else that would make people think Hispanics are going to vote in large numbers for Republican or conservative candidates.

"Latinos realize that government will not fulfill every need, but what they admire about the United States is that the government steps in when there is a need," said Lorena Chambers, a Latina media consultant who worked on a campaign to help pass the president's health law.

Nearly half of Latinos in a recent Pew Research Center poll said they trusted the federal government to do the right thing "always" or "most of the time." Just 20% of white respondents felt that way. And two-thirds of Latinos believed the federal government should ensure that everyone has access to health insurance, a 2012 Latino Decisions survey found.

Oh deary me, that doesn't sound very conservative, does it?

The claim is that Hispanic are "family values conservatives" so they will be open to a conservative message. It's a dubious claim to begin with but haven't we spent the last few months hearing that the GOP must stop harping on social issues like same sex marriage? How exactly can you square those circles.

Hint: You can't. On the whole Hispanics are pretty liberal on policy.

If the GOP gets its amnesty, despite the clear message from actual GOP voters in the last two primaries, it will be another in a long line of bait and switch efforts. We'll immediately start hearing from "leaders" that we just need to adjust a few more policies here and there (all to the left of course) and then, why by God then the magic will happen! Just you wait and see.

As always, if you want to support amnesty on moral grounds, knock yourself out. Just don't piss on my leg and tell me it's really raining new conservative voters.

posted by DrewM. at 10:57 AM

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