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http://www.vdare.com/articles/memo-from-middle-america-jeb-bush-s-gateway-to-oblivion

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Memo From Middle America | Jeb Bush’s “Gateway” To Oblivion

By Allan Wall on July 25, 2013 at 10:54pm

Former Florida governor, son and brother of former presidents, prospect for 2016 GOP nomination and relentless Hispanderer John Ellis Bush (JEB) is stumping for Amnesty—no surprise there.

But lately Jeb has been brandishing the buzz word “gateway”—that for Republicans, supporting Amnesty would be a “gateway” to the Hispanic vote. (Which actually is far less important than the white a.k.a. American vote, but that’s another story).

Bush and/or literary collaborator Clint Bolick asserted this claim in their recent Wall Street Journal  Op Ed. If only the House would approve the Amnesty/ Immigration Surge bill, then

“……it will also earn goodwill among citizens of Hispanic and Asian descent... Immigration is not the only issue on which Hispanics or Asians vote. But it is a gateway issue. Republicans have much in common with immigrants—beliefs in hard work, enterprise, family, education, patriotism and faith. But for their voice to penetrate the gateway, Republicans need to cease being the obstacle to immigration reform and instead point the way toward the solution.”

Republican Case for Immigration Reform Bush and Bolick, WSJ, June 30, 2013

Amnesty plus immigration is the plutocrat-pleasing policy panacea that the Bush family has been peddling for years. See my Adiós To Presidente Bush—A Retrospective On The Pandering President which appeared at the end of George W. Bush’s disastrous presidency. Indeed, Bush and Bolick recently released a whole book entitled Immigration Wars. Sounds nauseating, but given Bush’s influence, somebody had to read it and John Derbyshire did: John Derbyshire Concludes: Jeb Bush Just Doesn’t Like Americans Very Much.

Note, however, that this “gateway” talk is progress—it’s a tacit acknowledgement that Amnesty all by itself will not win the Hispanic vote. VDARE.com has been saying this for years, of course, but recently the realization has also reached the MSM.  For example, GOP Foolish To Pander For Latino Vote, New Study Suggests, Investor's Business Daily, July 23, 2013 and The truth about immigration reform and the Hispanic vote, By Esther J. Cepeda, Washington Post,  July 10 , 2013.

Thus Bush and Bolick in their WSJ piece admit that “[i]mmigration is not the only issue on which Hispanics or Asians vote.” That’s a coded way of conceding that Hispanics tend to the Left on various issues, which is what the evidence has shown for many years.

In response, the Bushes and other Treason Lobby types have had to fall back on this “gateway” rationale. There’s absolutely no evidence for their new theory either—but Treason Lobby types have never needed no steenkin’ evidence.

This past March, on CNN, Jeb Bush explained what he meant by the “gateway” issue:

Jeb Bush says immigration is a "gateway" issue  for anyone with ties to the "immigrant experience." "If you can get past that, then you have to make a  case on a broader set of issues," Bush said…
Jeb Bush sees immigration as a 'gateway' issue Katie Glueck, Politico, March 10, 2013

So, if you can “get past” immigration, then you “have to make a case on a broader set of issues.”

You know, that doesn’t sound like much of a sure thing. But Jeb had more to say:

Now is the time to promote an "opportunity society" for everyone, he said.

How about an “opportunity society” for American citizens?

"The right to rise ought to be the key of what we're proposing," the former Republican  governor of Florida said. "It would resonate  amongst all immigrant communities." 

Wait a minute, there is no “right to rise” in the U.S. Constitution. What is Jeb talking about?

Plus, it’s harder for working class Americans to rise socioeconomically if the economy is continually inundated with low-wage workers.
Way back in August of 2012, Jeb also spoke about the “gateway issue” with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. He said: “Immigration is a gateway basically. It's a check-off point for Latino voters. They want to hear about these bigger, broader issues.”
A check-off point, eh? In the same interview, Jeb Bush said that

“….over the long haul as we change demographically as a country and seeing that Latino becomes a bigger and bigger part of the scene and operation, you're going to have the need to change the tone on many issues –“

“Change the tone”? This is a another common idea we hear expressed by Hispanderers—that we have to talk a certain way, have  a certain “tone” so as to not repel Hispanic voters. As Jeb Bush put it:

“I think there's a better way of saying we need to control the border. Great countries need to secure their border …And you can say that in a respectful way so you're not turning people off.”

Jeb Bush on deportation: I think there's a better way of saying we need to control the border CNN Aug. 29^th, 2012

That stuff about “a better way of saying…” was a response to Blitzer’s question about Mitt Romney’s support of “self-deportation” (which turned out to be a brief flirtation, probably just designed to win the Arizona primary).
Let’s be honest. All this talk about “tone” and a “better way to say it” is nothing more than a demand that we abandon our freedom of speech on immigration.

But immigration is a public policy issue. Americans have every right to discuss its merits. Anybody who’s offended by that just doesn’t understand freedom of speech and our political traditions.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that immigration really is, as Jeb assures us, a “gateway issue”, a “check-off”, and we have to “get it behind us” with some sort of amnesty.

My question: What is the next step? Once the “gateway” issue of immigration is “behind us,” does that mean Hispanics will flock to the Republican Party, eager to vote for limited government, free markets and individual freedom?

Will they vote against welfare benefits and Affirmative Action for Hispanics?

Well, why haven’t they already if that’s how they really feel—if they are really “natural conservatives” in the American sense?

Instead, according to the Pew Research Center

“... In 2012, the Pew Research Center’s National Survey of Latinos found that among Latino immigrants who are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (and therefore likely unauthorized immigrants), some 31% identify as Democrats and just 4% as Republicans. An additional 33% say they are political independents, 16% mention some other political party and 15% say they “don’t know” or refuse to answer the question.”

Worse, Pew’s next question differentiated between those who “identify” with a party, and those who “lean towards” a party, eliminating most of the “independents.” The Democrats picked up 31% of the identifiers and 23% of the leaners. Meanwhile, the GOP picked up 4% of the identifiers and a whopping 15% of the leaners. [ Are unauthorized immigrants overwhelmingly Democrats? Eileen Patten and Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew Research Center, July 22, 2013]

It doesn’t look good.

Bush and Bolick admitted that “[i]mmigration is not the only issue on which Hispanics or Asians vote.” But just look at how these other issues play out.

For example, how could any self-respecting conservative or libertarian support Obamacare? Well, a poll last year revealed 62% support for Obamacare among Latinos.

Latinos have been polled as more likely to favor gun control than either whites or blacks. And a 2013 poll said 69% favor a national database of gun owners.

According to another poll from 2012, Latinos favor government investment over lower taxes by 55% to 31%. As for health care, 60% believe it’s the government’s role to ensure it. [Paul Ryan, the national debt and the Latino vote, By Matt Barreto, Latino Decisions, August 11, 2012]

And so forth.

The bottom line for the GOP (or GAP): most Hispanics are not likely to vote for a party supporting limited government when there’s a more Big Government option available.

As has been pointed out in VDARE.COM over many years, the GOP should hunt ducks where the ducks are and try to increase its share of the white vote—especially the white working class vote.

It’s still possible for the Republicans (or a Third Party) to win using this strategy. But they’d better get started, because the demographic clock is ticking thanks to immigration policy.

So yes, Jeb Bush, support for Amnesty is indeed a “gateway” —a gateway to oblivion, for the Republican Party and for America.

American citizen Allan Wall (email him) moved back to the U.S.A. after many years residing in Mexico. Allan's wife is Mexican, and their two sons are bilingual. In 2005, Allan served a tour of duty in Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM articles are archived here; his Mexidata.info articles are archived here; his News With Views columns are archived here; and his website is here.