Protesters think the Democrats want to ram amnesty down their throats. Are they wrong? They even compare the Tea Partiers to the Whigs of old:
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s call for immigration reform legislation is a moment of truth for a major campaign promise from President Obama: A “tough but fair” road to legalization. It also raises the curtain on a likely legislative battle, firing up grassroots conservatives who’ve gained increasing notice — if not political power — in recent months.
For many conservatives like Idaho resident Andi Elliott, looming immigration policy reform is simply proof that Democrats plan to “jam amnesty down our throat.”
“And those,” the Tea Party organizer in Hamer, Idaho, says, “are fighting words.”
Coming off a muscle-flexing summer of widespread protests and success in the off-year elections, the Tea Party coalition began its first major realignment Saturday, joining forces with anti-immigration reform groups in over 50 “Tea Party Against Amnesty and Illegal Immigration” rallies across the US in places from Anchorage, Alaska, to Snead, Alabama.
Critics say the emerging Tea Party coalition reminds them of the mid-1800s Whig party realignment, as pro-slavery Southern Whigs aligned themselves with anti-immigration forces, leading to the formation of the Know Nothing Party and the eventual demise of the Whigs as Northerners formed the Republican party.
A similar dynamic (minus the slavery issue) could be at play today. A big question for conservatives has been whether the Tea Party energy can be captured by the Republican Party or whether the Constitutionally-minded political insurgency will ultimately hurt the GOP’s “big tent” strategy to incorporate moderates into a revived voting bloc.
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