GOP Sen. Maldonado: Immigration Debacle will Cost GOP Votes

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Tucked into a Sunday New York Times article was this nugget from GOP State Senator Abel Maldanado about Republican efforts in the U.S. Senate to torpedo the comprehensive immigration reform bill. "It hurts the Republican party a little bit more in terms of brining more minorities into the party."
 
Linda Chavez, who served under President Reagan at the Center for Equal Opportunity was a bit more blunt. "... in the long term, it is disastrous for the Republican Party."
 
These two Republicans join an increasingly larger circle believing the national Republican Party's efforts to kill immigration reform will have serious consequences  -- a la Prop 187 -- for the GOP to attract the Latino vote here in California. Republicans have been vocal in their opposition to immigration reform, while Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein was front and center in leading the charge, and Sen. Barbara Boxer had the ear of Latino groups who thought the compromises were too harsh on the immigrant community.
 
So while the Republicans have the right-wing talk shows covered for now, they've stirred up a hornets nest in the Latino community. In addition, they've put themselves squarely to the right of mainstream public opinion in California; both recent polls from the PPIC and San Jose State University show strong support for immigration reform in the Golden State.