John McCain's success in the primaries so far should be proof of one thing: Republican voters are not as hard-line on immigration as the establishment would have you believe. Note how little it's discussed these days, after it seemed to be the main talking point just a few months ago. Either the issue isn't that important after all, or voters actually favor McCain because he's rejected the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the modern GOP. I'm banking on the latter, and excited to see what this might do to the GOP establishment on this issue.
Only 16 percent of Republican voters in Florida, for example, cited illegal immigration as the biggest problem facing the country. Most of those voters went for Romney, but the overwhelming majority of the electorate didn't think it was all that important, which helped give McCain a solid win in the state.
Other Republicans are starting to realize that McCain's digression from the party line is helping him with voters, and are warming up to what seems like his inevitable candidacy at this point. As Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the Republican campaign committee, is quoted as recognizing in piece in today's Post on McCain's standing within the GOP establishment, all his heresies (including his position on immigration) amount to more appeal to independent voters.
Of course, McCain does seem like a more threatening contender in the general election than any of the other Republicans would have been. But the very fact that he's viable shows where actual voters stand on these issues. Whatever happens, the GOP's going to have to find some way to respond to that.
--Kate Sheppard
