John McCain & Immigration Symbolism

by Patrick Ruffini :: June 6th, 2007 9:14 am

It could be that Hugh’s right and John McCain’s comment on fences constitutes a “global test” moment that snatches defeat from the jaws of an otherwise good performance. (N.B.: I don’t say victory: the focus on immigration probably keeps McCain from the winner’s circle. Brownie points for brutal honesty only get you so far.)

I think McCain was trying to quote Reagan, badly. Here’s the relevant passage from the Gipper’s 1989 Farewell Address:

I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t knowif I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mindit was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans,windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living inharmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce andcreativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors andthe doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.That’s how I saw it, and see it still.

It’s clear from that infamous Vanity Fair profile that McCain doesn’t like fences:

By the way, I think the fence is least effective. But I’ll build the goddamned fence if they want it.

This raises an interesting point about immigration and symbolism. I think that the President, Senator McCain, and the other instigators of this whole experience could have saved themselves a lot of grief by coming out strong for a fence really early on. This would have gotten them leverage for a guest worker plan. Instead, they’ve shown veiled and sometimes covert contempt for the concept. They’re more than eager to subvert the Secure Fence Act, signed to much fanfare in the last election. The current immigration bill actually deauthorizes nearly 500 miles of fencing.

Think about it: What gets the base the most riled up about this issue? It’s the images of people crossing the border with impunity. It’s people climbing up chain link fences. Outside of the Tancredoites, I don’t think there’s a hunger to deport 12 million illegals, to bar access to schools and hospitals, or to shut the doors on new immigration entirely.

The logical response to this basic  concern is simple: a fence. Take away the Fox News B roll of anarchy at the border and you remove a major source of uneasiness among mainstream conservatives. This should be a no-brainer.

The counterargument seems to be that the fence is equally symbolic on the other side of the debate. That erecting walls sends a bad signal to Latinos already in the country. But in typical Senate fashion, we are trying to get half-pregnant on this. In terms of raw symbolism, a 370 mile wall is still a wall. 

And besides, aren’t Latinos’ priorities different? Isn’t a guest worker plan more important to them than a fence? If there is an opportunity for Latin American immigrants to come to this country and not dehydrate and die in the Arizona desert, isn’t that a concrete accomplishment that will prevent the much-dreaded Latino backlash against the GOP?

Senator McCain is choosing the wrong hill to die on. As someone who’s considered myself pro-immigrant, it’s baffling to me why the pro-immigration forces demonstrate a tin ear on something so basic, a miniscule part of the debate that if addressed gets them the mileage to do the big things they want to do anyway.

Tagged: immigration john mccain

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Ironman says:
Patrick, I think you jest. Obviously the rank and file Republican in the ‘burbs around the nation is simply not bright enough to realize how brilliant this bill is as is
(sarcasm alert)
Let us turn our opinions over to the brighter folks in Big Media to do our thinking for us
# June 6th, 2007 at 9:15 pm


Roberto Rossetti says:
If this bill pases, the GOP will be history just the whigs before it. El Pirolin,(Tweety) the dj on Radio La Raza is one of the forces behing the May Day marches for amnesty and urges his listeners to register Democrat. When I was on the LA Republican County Central Committee I used to hear that the mexicans when the understand we share family values in common, just doesn´t get it. They´re not interested in family value politics. They are used to the handouts by the socialist party PRI. PAN has been in power just over 5 years and hasn´t had enough time to privatize to wean the population away from the tortilla subsidy, socialized medicine, etc. So the Democrats look more like PRI than does the GOP, and thank God for that.
# June 7th, 2007 at 12:21 pm