RSS Feed MenuWith the primary two weeks away and most polling data showing Rick Scott ahead in the race for the Florida GOP gubernatorial nomination, Bill McCollum needed to make a splash, and make a splash he did. On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum unveiled a plan to overhaul the way Florida enforces its immigration laws. McCollum’s proposed legislation would require police officers to verify a suspect’s immigration status during all traffic stops, detentions, and arrests if the police officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an individual may be in the country illegally.
To virtually anyone following the race, McCollum’s move will be seen through a political prism. Dan Smith, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, told FrumForum that the timing of McCollum’s announcement “smacks of political opportunism.”
Professor Smith observed that immigration generally falls behind issues like jobs and the economy in terms of importance to voters, and by picking a fight with Scott on immigration, McCollum may be ensuring that whichever candidate emerges from the primary the nominee will come out as damaged goods. “The Republican Party in Florida’s elder statesman, former Governor Jeb Bush, has consistently asserted that the Republican party cannot be a big tent party in Florida while being perceived as hostile to the Hispanic community and that is precisely the sort of perception that McCollum’s proposal will promote… this could very well hurt the Republican party in Florida come the general election” said Smith.
Smith also noted that McCollum’s announcement may well play into one of Rick Scott’s narratives about McCollum: that McCollum is using the office of Attorney General for political purposes. On Tuesday, Rick Scott was served a subpoena by a man that Rick Scott described as wearing “a guayabera decorated with a Martini glass.” A clearly irritated Scott told gathered reporters at a press conference that “In short, Bill McCollum is the Tonya Harding of Florida politics.” He plainly accused McCollum of using the office for political purposes, and Professor Smith argued that his decision “could very well come back to hurt McCollum… This announcement, the timing of it, plays right into the Scott campaign’s narrative that McCollum is using his office to mount his political campaign.”
Indeed, this is precisely what Scott’s campaign tried to hammer home Wednesday. Scott’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Baker, argued that “Today’s immigration proposal from Bill McCollum serves as just another example of why he can’t be trusted….it’s clear the only way to get McCollum to take any action on anything is when he’s down in the polls.”
While Scott may not like McCollum’s tactics, there is evidence suggesting that McCollum’s tactics may be working. A new Mason-Dixon poll shows Scott now trailing McCollum 34% to 30%. Only a week ago, Mason-Dixon put Scott ahead 37-31. But progress is coming at a cost for both Republican candidates. As the two swing wildly at each other, Democrat Alex Sink grows better positioned to win every day. Whichever candidate emerges from this primary will have to undo much of the damage inflicted on them by a fellow member of their own party, in order to knock off a candidate that no one had even heard of not long ago.
Follow Jeb on twitter @JGolinkin
jg bennet // Aug 12, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Angering the Latinos is a bad strategy in the long run and here is why
Publish Date: 11/17/09
How Latinos Will Shape Congressional Apportionment After the 2010 Census
As this demographic continues to grow, politicians who ignore or demonize the Latino population in their states will find the road to re-election much more difficult.
Proposition 187 in California, which created a backlash among Latino voters that the state Republican Party is still trying to overcome, marked the beginning of a trend that has been repeated in national, state, and local elections over the last several years. This trend will only continue as the Latino electorate grows, if politicians continue to demonize Latinos and immigrants through harsh rhetoric and policies.
For example, according to polling by Bendixen & Associates, 87% of Latino voters refuse to even consider voting for a candidate who advocates mass deportation of undocumented workers.
The 2010 Census is upon us and its results will have a profound effect on the American political landscape. Since the last Census in 2000, the Latino population in America has grown dramatically, and Latinos have become the largest minority group in the United States.
This paper examines the role Latinos will play in determining Congressional apportionment following the 2010 Census.
[1] The bipartisan firm Election Data Services, Inc. used existing Census data to project which states are likely to gain and lose Congressional seats following the 2010 Census. [2] Their projections show that nineteen states are poised to see changes in their Congressional representation: eight states will gain at least one House seat, while eleven states will lose at least one seat in Congress.
States gaining House seats: Texas (+4), Arizona (+2), Florida (+1), Georgia (+1), Nevada (+1), Oregon (+1), South Carolina (+1), and Utah (+1).
States losing House seats: Ohio (-2), Illinois (-1), Iowa (-1), Louisiana (-1), Massachusetts (-1), Michigan (-1), Minnesota (-1), Missouri (-1), New Jersey (-1), New York (-1), and Pennsylvania (-1).
the link
http://ndn.org/paper/2009/new-constituents-how-latinos-will-shape-congressional-apportionment-after-2010-census
cporet // Aug 12, 2010 at 7:40 pm
I wonder how many Mexicans are in Florida, or any other South or Central American country for that matter? I know this law is going to piss off a lot of Cubans who only have to set foot on American soil in order to stay here. How does one differentiate between a Cuban here legally and a Guatemalan here illegally?
henvasle // Aug 13, 2010 at 7:04 am
McCollum is going in the wrong track, Arizona is not Florida ,like hispanic we see in the past years how the GOP become in the Hostile party againts latinos and immigrants .
jg bennet // Aug 13, 2010 at 9:50 am
The Democrats’ Redistricting Nightmare
By David N. Bass on 7.28.10 @ 6:08AM
Forget the economy, health care, even which party controls Congress. The most far-reaching effect of the 2010 midterm elections could be felt at the state level. By casting their ballots in dozens of gubernatorial and hundreds of legislative races, voters will decide whether Democrats or Republicans dominate the redrawing of state and federal political borders for the new decade — a process known as redistricting. And the results could be even more far-reaching for Democrats than the outcome of the midterm elections.
Despite the favorable political tides, however, Republicans should be cautious. Democrats appear to have a better redistricting apparatus on the ground to prime for inevitable legal challenges, and the party seems to be outpacing Republicans in the fundraising department as well. Liberals don’t want a repeat of the last round of redistricting, which led the GOP to historic gains in the 2002 midterms.
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/28/the-democrats-redistricting-ni
Rob_654 // Aug 13, 2010 at 10:49 am
Why don’t these Republicans just go all the way – once they realize that they will NEVER deport 12+ Million illegals – and that there is no way that they will ever stop illegals from entering this country – I suppose their next “brilliant” move will be to try to re-legalize slavery and make those rascally Mexicans property – after all once they start trying to modify the Constitution – who knows what they will want to do next.
These Republicans are really shooting for short term gain at the expense of their long term ability to win nationally and regionally in the near future.
jg bennet // Aug 13, 2010 at 1:20 pm
smart folks out there in frumtopia
maybe i’m the only one that is fascinated with the illegal immigrant slant on the 2011 redistricting but this is interesting stuff.
what are your opinions?
check out this study
The preliminary census estimates appear to project good news for Republicans, both in the electoral college and in congressional representation.
http://www.thefourthbranch.com/the-impact-of-the-2010-census-on-congressional-apportionment-and-the-electoral-college/
Brittanicus // Aug 13, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Not one–SINGLE–word about E-Verify in the dialogue from Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano at her press interview in Washington today. E-Verify is by far the most important tool in immigration enforcement, that could disgorge illegal aliens from the workplace. Beginning with the 8.5 million illegal persons asserted by FAIR, in there analysis now physically hired in the labor pool nationwide. This is when millions of Americans don’t have full time jobs, which are grossly unfair and incomprehensible that both parties have not forced through E-Verify auditing. Every conceivable business must have E-verify established in human resources and a verification system in post offices and public buildings with this program to detect illegal workers. A Permanent E-Verify would now be enforced, with agonizing penalties for defiant business owners. THE FACT IS IF NO JOBS ARE AVAILABLE, THE ILLEGAL WORKERS WILL LEAVE AND GO HOME. Sen. Harry Reid incapacitated E-Verify a unique confirmation program, limiting it to the employers’ discretion of using the computer program or not? THAT’S WHY SENATOR HARRY REID (D-NV) MUST BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE.
Billions of Dollars are spent on fighting foreigners wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but our protection is only $600.000 on trying to seal our border. Its a pretty good start but not enough. There wouldn’t have been any anxiety about border protection, if the government had built the–REAL–double fences as stipulated in the 2006 Secure fence Act. Instead it was compromised by Sen. Harry Reid and two Texas politicians, who purposely underfunded it through Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations bill and cut it back to only one fence. Upon analysis if the two individual barriers were built as guaranteed, Arizona would not be sued and illegal aliens would not be flooding through breeches on the nation border. Until the politicians in Washington, uphold a serious commitment to building the–REAL–fence(s), and not half-hearted attempt in misleading the American public. There will not be any form of immigration reform, if anti-amnesty organizations can stop its course? That first and foremost should be the REAL BORDER FENCE(S)
Beyond the gap of a thousand yards a second chain-link fence, used typically in the prison system topped with razor wire for the whole 2000 miles with tracks between for the US Border Patrol and the absent federal troops. The majority of illegal expectant mothers would not reach our soil, demanding taxpayers to pay for her hospital stay. As your Senators and Congress people what happened to the 2nd border fence and vote out all the incumbent lawmakers in November. Watch carefully for irregularities in Nevada voting, as the state has a very large margin of illegal households.
Rabiner // Aug 13, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Brittanicus:
Maybe because E-verify isn’t ready to be used across the country? It’s common to have false positives on actual citizens or fails to report someone as illegal who is illegal. Until it gets a higher success rate and the costs associated with using the system perhaps talking about it as ‘the solution’ should be muted.
Also don’t use FAIR for any of your sources really. It takes away any credibility you had considering the type of nativist organization they are.
JonF // Aug 14, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Re: E-Verify is by far the most important tool in immigration enforcement,
Maybe because E-verify has a loophole in it big enough to pilot the Space Shuttle through it: identity theft. An illegal need only use the name, SS# and birth date of a citizen to pass E-Verify.
Add to that the fact the error rate for legitimate citizens is unaceptably high (IMO, one citizen blackballed from a job by a system glitch or bueaucratic error is too high) and E-verify is not ready for prime time.