Anti-immigration rhetoric will allinate GOP

From the politico Anti-immigration rhetoric will alienate GOP: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4476.html

Xenophobic rhetoric dividing Republicans

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado even suggested that increased legal immigration brought into question "our willingness to actually hold together as a nation or split apart into a lot of balkanized pieces."

The exception was Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose aggressive defense of the fragile compromise has brought him only grief from his party's conservative base. The plan is not perfect, he noted, but "it's our job to do the hard things" like compromise.

Misleading characterizations of the bill in the presidential contest -- and on conservative talk shows and the Internet -- complicated the debate. The presidential candidates "are not helping it," Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) protested, even as he worked to add more hurdles to obtaining visas. "This bill is not an amnesty bill. Unfortunately, we are behind the eight ball because there are a lot of our folks who are saying that. That's a huge problem."

All this belies the GOP's stated efforts to court support among the 11 million Latinos who are likely to be registered voters next year, especially in delegate-rich states like California, New York, Florida and Texas.