Splitting This Immigrant’s Vote

Not sure about the advice-givers belief that spliting Congress & President would make immigration reform more likely to pass (although i'm also not sure it would make it less likely).  Given McCain as the Republican nominee though, that may be the case.  Certainly has a point about government waste potentially going down with McCain, but for this blogs purposes that's neither here nor there.  Intteresting comment in there by the way, from a supposed Democrat defending Republicans in Congress and calling Dems pro-amnesty... (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/stumped/2008/03/splitting_this_immigrants_vote.html)

Dear Stumped,

I'm an immigrant, soon to become a U.S. citizen. I'm pretty moderate and don't feel blind allegiance to either party, though on issues I do lean a little bit more toward Republicans. I believe in faith, family and small government, and I'm totally against abortion. On the other hand, I believe in social justice (and accountability) and fiscal responsibility, as well as environmental protection.

I am considering voting for the Democratic candidate in November. Why? Because that would be my way of expressing my discontent with the GOP and its anti-immigrant rhetoric. Nothing against John McCain (I actually like him), and although I do not favor an amnesty, I do favor just immigration reform. In the last two years Republicans lost my sympathy with their "self-righteous" attitudes. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's policies don't appeal to me, but I feel cornered. What should I do?

Luis Medina Garza

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Dear Luis,

It is one of the bedrock principles of this column, steadfastly upheld for, let's see, going on four months now, that I do not tell people who to vote for. I can tell you why to vote, when to vote, where to vote, how to vote and even who's on the ballot, but I can't make the choice for you. That would be like Ann Landers telling someone to leave her husband -- which, as you know, she never did. She always advised people to seek counseling.

That said, here's how I see your dilemma: You like John McCain, you are pro-life, you want smaller government, and the Arizona senator shares your desire to see government protect the environment. It would be perverse for you to cast a protest vote against McCain because of his party's anti-immigrant venom, given that McCain valiantly bucked the trend -- indeed, he put his candidacy on the line pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.

And then there's this: A Democratic Congress, coupled with a Republican president, probably offers the best hope for sensible immigration reform.

Also, as a fiscal conservative, you should be a fan of divided government. As our libertarian friends at Cato are fond of pointing out, the federal government is better at watching its pennies (um, your pennies) when different parties control the White House and Congress. Maybe there is a rational reason voters have opted for divided government -- a hallmark of our republic not possible in parliamentary systems -- more often than not in the last half-century.

So welcome to the United States. Maybe you can join the fun by engaging in that traditional American practice known as ticket-splitting.

Posted on Tuesday, March 04 | Permalink