Unity and single-mindedness are Democratic Party mainstays. Democrats have been enormously successful at turning the recession to their advantage by manipulating misfortune with promises of security and salvation. Republicans seem uncertain whether their blows are best directed at the president or each other, confusing supporters and alienating undecided voters who have had enough of President Obama but are not ready to take the journey to the far right with Rick Santorum.

Democrats are good at electioneering. The president is better than most. Are Republicans paying attention? They should take a few lessons from their opponents.

A good place to start learning is a hot button issue like what to do with illegal immigrants. The deport or pardon question had Republican candidates at each other’s throats while Democrats held hands and turned illegals into citizens-in-waiting wronged by our unjust system. The propaganda campaign to change the image of illegals has been masterful. We went from using the term “illegal alien” to the neutered “undocumented immigrant” in a heartbeat. Americans were lectured about fairness and children being brought to the U.S. through no fault of their own. We were warned about a failing economy dependent on immigrants, legal or not, and impossibly bright high school youth with dreams of going to college and helping their new country succeed.

Democrats are big on inclusion, insisting that even citizens of other countries deserve a slice of the American dream. When they stump for amnesty they aim high, linking illegals to the Civil Rights era and conjuring irrelevant visions of Martin Luther King. Congressional Hispanic Caucus members used Alabama’s law requiring verification of the immigration status of school children to level charges of state persecution:

Schools are checking and reporting the immigration status of their students. On the first Monday HB 56 went into effect 2,285 Latino students – out of 34,000 in the state – did not show up to school. Since when do we persecute children in this country?¹ 

Vote fraud by illegals has become a civil rights issue because of state laws requiring a photo ID to vote:

We’re not being fooled — the intent is not preventing voter fraud. The objective is marginalizing certain people – African Americans, Latinos, young voters, and the poor. Make no mistake — these are the well worn instruments of oppression that have been used time and again by the powerful to maintain their status above the vulnerable.²

Actually, we are being fooled. Despite the harsh rhetoric and ethnic references intended to shame us, stopping voting by illegal immigrants has nothing to do with denying the right to vote to citizens. It has to do with problems like an Illinois illegal immigrant charged with multiple counts of vote fraud going back to 2003.³ It has to do with rampant identify theft that costs taxpayers money and puts employers at risk (see: New Immigration Policy Could Force Us to Overlook Fraud). What happens when illegal immigrants are convicted of crimes and sent to jail? Taxpaying citizens pick up the tab for their keep, just like they pay for free public education, no questions permitted.

Few Democrats will give up ground on immigration reform. They have invested too much effort into making illegal immigrants fashionable poster children for American injustice. GOP frontrunners have had a tougher time dealing with immigration, hurling accusations at each other while bickering over whether illegals should be deported or allowed to stay and work. A little Democratic-style solidarity might help. How about arguing on behalf of taxpayers being bilked by illegals and politicians determined to hand over the country to anyone who might support them? How about focusing on the president’s end run around Congress and his new backdoor amnesty policy? Is it possible that Democrats oppose voter ID laws because they have convinced themselves that illegals deserve the vote, just like they deserve citizenship?

Republicans like to talk about bias in the media. They need to get over it. There is no such thing as unbiased coverage and there never will be. Until the GOP decides what it stands for and learns how to get that message to voters the media will have a field day taking potshots at candidates doing their level best to convince the country that there is not a Republican born who is competent to hold office. We could have had months of productive discourse from GOP contenders who refused to attack each other, refused to indulge in negative campaign ads, and made the only issue one of pulling this country back from the brink. The result might not have been as entertaining as mudslinging, but it would have been infinitely more enjoyable than four more years of an Obama presidency.

1..Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Velazquez Remarks on Selma-Montgomery Marches. February 16, 2012. http://chc-gonzalez.house.gov/press-release/vel%C3%A1zquez-remarks-selma-montgomery-marches, retrieved February 21, 2012.

2..Ibid.

3..U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Illegal alien arrested, charged with voter fraud. March 17, 2011. http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1103/110317lakecounty.htm, retrieved February 21, 2012.

Making Illegal Immigrants Fashionable: A Lesson for the GOP is an article from Civil Candor. Copyright © 2012 CivilCandor.com. This article may not be republished or reprinted, in whole or in part, without written permission.