It should come as a sharp rebuke to Republicans that at (neo) conservative Commentary one finds a post from Peter Wehner entitled, Republicans Fumble Immigration.
Wehner observes that
When asked about changing the Constitution to bar children of illegal immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens, House Minority Leader John Boehner said, “I think it’s worth considering.”
No it’s not.
I’ve previously laid out my reasons why this is a very bad idea. It’s worth adding that children must turn 21 before they can sponsor their parents for legal residency. It is simply not the magnet that people like Boehner and Sens. Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Jeff Sessions, and Jon Kyl insist. They are manufacturing an argument to create an issue….
Republicans are practicing the politics of symbolism in the worst way possible. They are embracing a policy that doesn’t have any realistic chance of becoming law, that will be unnecessarily divisive and inflammatory, and that, in the long term, will be politically counterproductive.
It is an approach that is, among other things, wholly at odds with the one embraced by the last two Republican presidents to win reelection, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan (see here).
Why Republicans continue to travel down this road is a mystery to me. This is not what the party of Lincoln should stand for.
It’s a mistake, but there are always a few who think that by following this line, they’ll become heroes. They won’t, but they’ll keep trying, stubbornly sure that this losing tactic will one day succeed.