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Focus on Immigration Dashing Democrat Hopes

Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2022
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by Daniel Berman
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AMAC Exclusive – By Daniel Berman

Immigration

Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the southeast coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, has long been the summer retreat of Boston’s elite. Once Federalists, Whigs, then Republicans, residents are now almost uniformly the sort who complain that the Democrat Party is not left-wing enough. There is a touch of irony then, that the arrival of 50 illegal migrants on two aircraft from Florida last week helped mark an end to the Democrat Party’s Indian Summer – a period in which declining gas prices, decent special election results, and poll numbers recovering from the levels of awful reached in June to “merely bad” led many Democrats and media figures to speculate that November might not be a red wave after all. Or even a red ripple. But with the rise of immigration as a major campaign issue, one that for structural reasons is a lose-lose proposition for Democrat candidates, that delusion is fading quickly.

Governor Ron DeSantis’s decision to fly 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard has been denounced by Democrats and the mainstream media as a “stunt.” That it was. They are correct that 50 migrants is a meaningless number compared to the millions that have crossed the border illegally since Joe Biden took office, and that the cost of flying them to Martha’s Vineyard exceeded the monthly income of most Americans. But that is beside the point. It was precisely because it highlighted those issues that this “stunt” was so effective.

If 50 migrants arriving in Martha’s Vineyard unannounced with no jobs or housing awaiting them sent the community into chaos and forced a national guard deployment to transfer them to the mainland, it demonstrated what border communities face every single day on a much larger scale. If a lack of warning makes it nearly impossible to provide shelter or jobs for migrants, then that merely proves why illegal migration is such a challenge, as by definition migrants who arrive illegally do so without any sort of warning or logistical coordination with local authorities. In their complaints, local Massachusetts politicians, national Democrats, and the media simply reinforced the impression to those living in border communities that they had no idea what illegal migration actually involved, at least not until the migrants actually arrived in Martha’s Vineyard.

The same is true of charges about care and cost. Liberal outlets have been quick to claim that DeSantis expected locals to “mistreat” the migrants, and that their failure to do so (debatable given Massachusetts’ immediate removal of the migrants from the Vineyard) somehow made the move backfire. But those arguments assume that border communities are not compassionate. That their struggles are the result of a lack of will, rather than lack of resources to tackle a problem which would be nigh insolvable even with infinite funding.

DeSantis’s action was certainly audacious, and his success was aided (as were his successes on previous issues regarding education and COVID-19) by an inept and tone-deaf Democrat response. But the tone-deafness of the Democrat response to DeSantis is not a fortuitous occurrence. Rather, it is the product of the inherent weakness of the Democrat position on immigration. Put simply, Democrats will always lose when they discuss immigration, and any action that forces Democrats to discuss it, regardless of how superficial, will harm Biden’s party in proportion to how much public attention it attracts to the issue.

Immigration is at its core a law-and-order issue. Illegal immigration is about enforcement, and the Democratic position on “open borders” mirrors the party’s attitude toward “defund the police.” In both cases, the Democratic Party base embraces a principle and demands a policy which fulfills it. Democrat leadership then insists that for political reasons the desired policy is impossible, but in an effort to appeal to the base concedes the principle; in the first case, that illegal immigrants are victims of immigration enforcement, in the latter that police are the victimizers, rather than the criminals. Finally, that creates a situation whereby despite their denials, Democrats struggle to compete with the public on who can do a better job implementing a policy – tough on crime, immigration enforcement – which Democrats believe is morally wrong, Republicans believe is a moral obligation, and the vast majority of voters believe is a necessity for the survival of the republic.

Here lies the second problem for the party. Democrats, unable to openly promote their alternative of open borders, have no answer to what they would do on immigration. They are well-aware that open borders is neither viable in practice, nor politically feasible, so they are committed to enforcement. But in order to appeal to their base, they always have to favor less vigorous and therefore less effective enforcement than Republicans.

Under Biden, Democrats therefore are trapped asserting that their policy is the same as that of the GOP, differentiated only by their commitment to implementing it less effectively. They may try and spin this looser enforcement as compassionate, but it is compassionate in the same way as leaving guards at a federal prison unarmed might be more compassionate in that it allows some prisoners who would otherwise be shot trying to escape to wander off instead.

This creates the third and final problem for them. Because Democrats are forced to at least pretend to favor the enforcement of the exact same laws as Republicans, all of their attacks on Republicans on the issue of immigration are for Republicans enforcing laws that Democrats claim to also be enforcing, and which Democrats insist they do not wish to repeal. It is impossible for the Biden administration to both insist it is beefing up border security and determined to establish control of the border, yet to attack Republicans as cruel, and border agents as abusive for doing exactly that. To return to the analogy about the prison, every Democrat who goes on TV to attack Republicans for allowing a prisoner to be held is in effect bragging that Biden was negligent enough to allow them to escape.

The net result of this is that Democrats lose not just when Republicans talk about immigration but when Democrats themselves discuss it. DeSantis’s “gamble” looks a whole lot less like a gamble at all. Whatever criticisms could be made of his actions, they at least represented a policy. In turn, they would highlight the incoherence of the other side.

The effect can already be seen in declining Democrat fortunes. Gone are the August stories about Democrats holding the House, or GOP recruiting failures in Senate races. Democrats are now panicking about Georgia, where Herschel Walker seems to have established a small but firm lead over Senator Raphael Warnock. In Pennsylvania, Dr. Oz seems to have begun to close the gap with Lt. Governor John Fetterman, as concerns about Fetterman’s health, mocked in the media as a desperation attack by the Oz campaign only a few weeks ago, now have broken through into mainstream coverage. National Democrats are awakening to how bad their situation is in Nevada, and while they might have preferred to face General Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, they cannot be pleased with how quickly Republicans, including Governor Chris Sununu have rallied to his banner.

The return of immigration as a campaign issue is not the only reason for Democrat fortunes beginning to decline after August. Inflation is at 8.3%. The stock market has resumed its fall, with many traders having made the same error as Democrats in embracing the false optimism of August, to assume with gas prices falling the worst was over and that the Fed would not hike interest rates.

Nonetheless, immigration is an issue Republicans can win, control the intensity of, and most importantly unite the party around. It is an issue which helped enable Republicans to unite behind Dr. Oz, Herschel Walker, and Don Bolduc. Chris Sununu and Don Bolduc may not see eye-to-eye on everything, but when it comes to Biden’s immigration policy they are in full agreement.

Democrats can attack Ron DeSantis, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (who bussed migrants to Vice President Harris’ residence last weekend), for “stunts”, but as with Donald Trump, they are learning that if those stunts highlight real issues, the fact that they are stunts does not detract from the importance of those issues. Immigration, like crime and inflation, is a real issue affecting everyday lives, and if Democrats have no answers, only spin, voters will punish them for it.

Daniel Berman is a frequent commentator and lecturer on foreign policy and political affairs, both nationally and internationally. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He also writes as Daniel Roman.             

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Philip Hammersley
Philip Hammersley
2 years ago

The DIMMs repeatedly say that immigrants are the backbone of the country and that they are what our country is all about. So why aren’t they WELCOMING the immigrants in Martha’s Vineyard, Delaware, NYC, and Washington, DC? Don’t they want that great boost from the illegals? MV couldn’t provide services for FIFTY illegals? The residents are ALL millionaires, including Barry Soetero! Some years back, when the libs were pushing windmills, it was found that MV was a perfect place for a windmill but Teddy (the Fish) Kennedy and Walter Cronkite (“fake news journalist”) refused to allow anything to “spoil their view.”

Morbious
Morbious
2 years ago

Never, ever underestimate the robotic nature of long time dem voters. The Rs have six weeks or so to define themselves as being distinct from the dems they’re running against. If they mumble vaguely they will ensure a vague turnout. Its strange and bizarre that so few conservatives actually vote, but its a fact. People look for excuses not to research issues and candidates so as not to cut into tv time. Lets hope the current crop of Rs dont give them any.

steve Gardalen
steve Gardalen
2 years ago

Republications must keep the pedal to the metal on immigration and the economy policies. DO NOT BACK PEDAL ON ANY OF THESE ISSUES. Also stress it is the responsibility of the women and her doctor to determine abortions. (keep the government out of this issue)

anna hubert
anna hubert
2 years ago

Democrats do not live by the rules they force onto others and since rules do not apply to them They make their own results if which we now live with

Patricia Lieder
Patricia Lieder
2 years ago

Stopped my AMAC membership yesterday! This is a great article! BUT the AMAC July/ August article by Hater claimed (WRONGLY) that Social Security was aided by this immigration???????
How is taking jobs away from our own citizens and playing into the hands of those deconstructing our Constitutional Republic good for anyone? This is not the only red flag! I will not aid or be a part of a group that plays games like AARP.

Alicia
Alicia
2 years ago

This was done to demonstrate that we are not set up by design to support outside cultures by opening our borders to anyone that wants to come. The cost is substantial and the economics within those states suffer. The system was designed before with laws to support the belief in vetting people that come here, help, and find viable ways for them to sustain themselves and our cultures here. This is not a design to only allow decent people in, but those that want to do this country harm also, to form armies, and kill those through many negative means. If the states don’t rise to this nonsense then we accept the illegal migrants dumped into our states. Thanks to Texas and Florida, and others that they have had enough. The fight is in our hands to control the narrative. Those that oppose are enemies of what we stand for within America.

Charles
Charles
2 years ago

I think that Gov Abbott & Gov. Ron DeSantis are doing the right thing in bringing the illegal immigrant problem to the fore front so that the AMERICAN people are very aware of the problem . NOV is just a short time away & that is one of the big problems we face. GOD BLESS AMERICA

R Sterling
R Sterling
2 years ago

It is unfortunate that humans, both unborn and born, have now become pawns in the political game. Unfortunate, but apparently necessary to ‘woke’ the public out of their mainstream media hazes.

JDMAC
JDMAC
2 years ago

A classic case of “NIMBY” (not in my back yard).
Your backyard – fine, but not mine!

Mark
Mark
2 years ago

2.5 million illegals in 11 months is just the beginning. There are 5.6 BILLION people around the world living below the US poverty level. The longer the border stays open, the faster they will flow to it. If border governors don’t declare this an invasion and close the border, by January 2025, when the next President is sworn in we will be getting a million illegals EACH MONTH, and Medicare and Medicaid and SNAP and all other social support systems will have broken down, the US Dollar will have collapsed and most legal US citizens will be unable to buy gasoline or charge their electric cars or heat or air condition their homes. Most of us will have been impoverished.

That’s the WEF’s goal. That’s what Democrats voted for. Unfortunately, there’s no way for us to free ourselves of the Democrats, so we’re all going to have to deal with it. The next US President will be faced with inflating away the US Dollar to get rid of an unmanageable debt burden, or 60% income tax rates. He (or she) will be blamed for turning us into another Argentina, or causing a second Great Depression. That, too is the WEF’s goal, and that too is what the Democrats voted for.

Patriot Will
Patriot Will
2 years ago

The Democrats have once again proven that they only care about power. They openly show their hypocrisy, unashamedly and boldly whenever their policies negatively impact their quality of life. The double standard is sometimes so profound that even the mainstream propaganda machine can’t spin in favor of the Democrats. Martha’s Vineyard calls in the army to make the scary illegal immigrants disappear in less than 2 days, while our Southern Border is facing a titanic meltdown. Rich and pompous Martha’s Vineyard doesn’t have the resources to deal with 50 illegals; however, the Southern Border towns which are literally being overrun by human, sex, and drug trafficking are expected to deal with every and any problem that one can possibly think of by the hundreds of thousands. The contrast between what the Democrats say, and what is actually real is so obvious that it’s hard to have anything but contempt for the likes of Biden, Harris, Pelosi, and Schumer.

Steven Tapper
Steven Tapper
2 years ago

What a conundrum the Democrats find themselves in with their Immigration Policies. They are being forced to defend the indefensible. The vast majority of Americans totally disagree with the crisis at the border and the deliberate attempt to dump these illegal aliens into Red States with the idea of diluting the voter base. This is the one issue that the Republicans have to capitalize on to create the Red Wave that they need in the midterm elections. The Democrats are in the unenviable position of being wrong on all of the important issues concerning American voters such as crime, education, immigration, the economy, energy prices, the military, foreign policy and the list goes on. If the Republicans cannot overwhelm the Democrats with this type of advantage then stick a fork in the Republican Party because their done as a viable political party.

Frank
Frank
2 years ago

Let me Remind everyone that 2020 was rigged and they got away with it without any resistance or fight from the Republican Party. Let me also Remind everyone that the democrats flooded lower courts with liberal judges and have set into place little objectives to make it harder for Republicans to fight election irregularities in court and once again rig the midterms and let’s not forget that the Republicans did squat to enforce a legal election. Your more optimistic than I am because I still believe they will rig the midterms to own the house and senate leading us to a socialist collapse. I’m a registered Republican and I will always vote Republican, but I truly believe the party has abandoned us for the status quo DC., money and power. They also got rich on it and as rhinos they do not want to lose that. Trumps men are the only ones fighting for us but it’s not going to be enough.

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
2 years ago

Examine illegals pre Trump & during Admin & Post Trump on numbers alone
Since Biden swearing in date

Kay
Kay
2 years ago

We cannot take care of 2 to 4 million illegals. We have VETS and homeless who are citizens who need help and yet we allow these individuals with more than what we can possibly give to our own.
This is disgraceful. These people are the slums of these countries who have nothing and are not educated to take mindful employment. Send them back immediately before they begin taking over communities to be called by their country.

patriot
patriot
2 years ago

Bidum has been breaking America’s immigration laws since Jan 2020, and he has bused and flown illegals all over America (always in dark of night) to Red states and cities. But DeSantis and Abbott doing that is somehow a problem? Bidum needs to be impeached and imprisoned.

Jeb
Jeb
2 years ago

Exposure 24/7. Tons of statistics, videos and pictures nonstop between now and midterms.

Angela
Angela
2 years ago

I was in the hospital barely able to stand and not one of those great kids here through no fault of their own got up to give me a seat.

Don Schmidt
Don Schmidt
2 years ago

The democrats have no answers, none.

nate
nate
2 years ago

They are full of answers. The wrong answers. They want to destroy America!. That is what all tyrannical Marxists want. They want only power and to rule over you! They vilify anyone who gets in their way and smear them endlessly with nothing but bull s**t and false allegations they create. Vote the Dems all out unless you are a complete fool and want to go along with your demise and trip to the poor house!.

nate
nate
2 years ago

They are full of answers. The wrong answers. They want to destroy America!. That is what all tyrannical Marxists want. They want only power and to rule over you! They vilify anyone who gets in their way and smear them endlessly with nothing but bull schmidt and false allegations they create. Vote the Dems all out unless you are a complete fool and want to go along with your demise and trip to the poor house!.

Ed J
Ed J
2 years ago

It is poetic justice that the Demsheviks got their noses rubbed deeply into the “pile of crap” they created.  “Yea!” for DeSantis, et al!  Now, the Libtards will need to begin dealing with the travesty they have perpetrated against all Americans and our nation.  Let’s hope that DeSantis (et al) continues to send tens of thousands of these undocumented aliens to the Libtard breast-beating and self-proclaimed so-called “Sanctuary” areas of our nation, with the result that the Libtards in these enclaves will finally have to start dealing with their wrong thinking on these issues.  A tsunami of illegal aliens relocated to these locales will force the issue before the American people, resulting (hopefully) in the Libtards totally caving into reality.  Hello Libtards!  Reality if a b**ch!  Hopefully, welcome back to the real world!  MAGA forever (the REAL solution)!!!

Carol
Carol
2 years ago

These are very evil people (the Demonrats) and I so hope that the people in this country wake up to that fact. I have worked in countries (in health care) where the people were under the rule of a dictator or under so much oppression that they did not know about how wonderful this country is and how we help so many other countries. My husband immigrated (LEGALLY) to this country from a communist run country and is having a rough time lately. I am so sick of all the WOKE stuff being rammed down our throats by a minority group who only serve their gods of greed and control (the demonrats). People here are so brainwashed as are my husband’s three sisters in Germany. I see the difference between my nieces and nephews in IN and those in CA. I remember someone who said that to be silent is to be complicit? I can no longer be silent. I am now 82+ years on this earth and I remember the days when we were taught the 3 R’s in school. In my profession I have treated patients and children with nothing but respect. And their religion meant something to me but we are so losing all of our important values one by one. I pray that the majority of those coming to this country during this open border agenda will have the skills and abilities needed to see that they are meaningless to the demonrats other than as pawns to do their bidding. This country is getting as bad as where they came from ! We have been to a lot of South American countries also. I was at Landstuhl/Ramstein when 911 hit. I hope that we can get these evil persons out of their positions at the midterms and this includes from top to bottom the demonrats, the rinos and any one else who lies to me. I am tired of ALL the lying that I have seen from politicians. So if you want to live under the oppression I have worked under communism or see this country torn asunder by these evil people go ahead a vote them ALL back into office. I hope that you will read this and start to think about how bad it is going to be … or perhaps you are one of the elitists and you will not even read anything of what I a real woman has to say. Thank you, Carol

Slainte
Slainte
2 years ago

These clowns – I still can’t believe they really won the election – got into the WH and instead of taking care of our country, made it their mission to undo everything Trump did. This STUPID hyper focus on Trump – How much money has been spent on the useless side-show of “punishing Trump” instead of going towards something that matters?

They spend all their time on USELESS STUFF, ie. if a person is a he/she/it instead of keeping inflation down & providing affordable energy for citizens.

I knew when they were elected, it would be this way. I just didn’t think it could be done so quickly. How are we going to survive two more years of this stupidity in the WH.

In addition, they are exploiting the illegal population. All these people are coming here and getting trips around the nation – 3-ring circus. Now they are on the streets with our homeless or in better hotel rooms than I can afford. SPARE ME!

I’m voting Republican and they better come through for us or we need a fresh new party with common sense.

GTPatriot
GTPatriot
2 years ago

Slante: Good point. Now the AG of NYC will spend millions ( and has already) to convict Trump of
“overstating the value” of his properties. Any of us who have purchased a home KNOW that an
independent appraiser determines the value of any home for which we are attempting to obtain a loan.
The Dims will say ” well, this dosen’t apply to players like Trump”. OK. Just because someone like Trump LEGALLY “beats the system” dosen’t give the legal system the right to complain.
I can tell, after watching the NY AG several times on the news that she dosen’t have what it takes.
She is not impressive.

GTPatriot
GTPatriot
2 years ago

Great points here. If the repubs can’t win in Nov on immigration and inflation alone, they should
quit. This election is handed to them in a package wrapped up in a bow.
The repubs problem is how will they manage success. Remember Paul Ryan became speaker of the House in 2016 and was determined to defeat Trump any way he could. Ryan was a tool of Mitt Romney. Many of our enemies call themselves republican.

GTPatriot
GTPatriot
2 years ago

There are probably more illegals in this country than illegals. We know nothing.
Bask in your ignorance US.

Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis
2 years ago

I never could afford membership in a country-club and I did not care, because I live in America and enjoy the freedoms and perks of citizenship. America is my country and I have paid my dues over 3/4 of a century. Mr. Biden does not have the authority to share Americas wealth with illegal immigrants. The law his office requires him to execute says so. Mr. Biden by failing to do his job cost this nation funds that belong to its citizens and Mr. Biden makes himself a criminal and encourages others to be criminals by failing to do his job!

Joe Biden joins Wilmington Country Club
Jonathan StarkeyThe News Journal
delawareonline.com/story/firststatepolitics/2014/06/18/biden-wilmington-club/10729133/

rb.gy/y0tix4

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