GOP FIELD: Asset Or Liability?

Power Line's John Hinderaker predicts that immigration could end up being a winner for the GOP in '08: "With new Presidential contenders in the field, the parties' true positions on illegal immigration will come to the fore. This could be a serious problem for the Democrats. Their presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, supported the Kennedy-McCain bill and has otherwise looked favorably on illegal immigration ... Rasmussen Reports released new polling data, indicating that 71% of respondents favor requiring foreign visitors to carry a universal ID card, while, by a 58% to 29% margin, respondents favor cutting off federal aid to "sanctuary" cities. What percentage of Democratic voters do you suppose live in sanctuary cities?"

Soren Dayton, meanwhile, argues that the GOP is going to have to change their tone, but not policy, on immigration if they want to make it a winning issue: "Our talk on immigration is not the talk of a people with hope. It is the language of people under siege. This is not good for our party. It strikes me that conservative values and policies are most successful when framed in a positive light. For example, tax cuts and deregulation bring opportunity for everyone. ... A politics that is driven by anger and fear has never been a transformative or a majority politics in America."