GOP Suicide

The Republican Party seems poised to commit the equivalent of electoral suicide over the issue of immigration reform.

Party leaders insist that Republican support for amnesty for illegal aliens already here is necessary for the GOP to compete for potentially decisive Hispanic voters. Evidently, another factor is satisfying campaign contributors insistent on the cheap labor made possible by an open southern border.

This path, however, risks alienating the party’s base. Many Republicans know an insecure border imperils the national security and will stay home rather than vote for representatives who join Democrats in doing that.

The nation needs at least one party reliably committed to the common defense.  Whether the GOP is that party may be determined by a fight over amnesty at a House Republican retreat next week in Maryland.