[revots33]

Can someone explain to me why the Republicans seem to be so rabid about the immigration issue? It seems to be the #1 issue on republican voters' list (even above Iraq, terrorism, the economy). So much so, that the crowd was booing a national hero (McCain, one of the few who actually tried to attack the problem with something other than rhetoric), because he suggested that deporting every illegal immigrant might not be a workable solution.

What percentage of this issue is just racism, do you think? (I heard the words "assimilate" and "be a part our culture" a lot from the candidates, which sounds a heck of a lot like code to me.) What percentage is purely an economic issue? How much is fear of crime or terrorism?

The part from the debate that bugs me most is when the candidates try to use the phony argument that there are a bunch of "legal" immigrants lined up at the border, who can't get in because all the "illegals" sneaked in and "took their spots". As if the USA has some sort of Fire Dept. max occupancy sign on the wall. The USA can still let in all the legal immigrants it chooses to. So this idea that they really just want to deport the illegals so they can let all those poor legal immigrants in, is the worst kind of pandering political BS IMO.