A couple of points: 1. Amnesty in exchange for having anchor babies is simply the reductio ad absurdum of an idea that conservatives have stupidly gone along with–the idea that children should be viewed as morally independent from their parents, and from the actions of their parents. Any Neanderthal could have told you that children exist by, for, and of the parents and tribes whence they come. But as Steve says, what goes unsaid eventually goes unthought, so now the Respectable Right lacks even the language to articulate the fact that America is being demographically cuckolded.

Come to think of it, the leadership of the Respectable Right has lost the ability to express anything that isn’t Whiggish, universalist liberalism.

2. At what point do Americans get to stop pretending that US citizenship is the same thing as membership in the nation?

From Commenter ABN:Do we even have the language anymore to articulate the concept of being personally cuckolded? Is the word “cuckold” even in current circulation?Here’s a question: in John Milius’s 1984 Red Dawn, you’re watching a low to mid budget teen action fantasy with Charlie Sheen, and it’s pretty okay. But then Patrick Swayze says one four-word line — if you’ve seen the movie, you know what it is — and suddenly you realize you’ve just watched one of the great scenes in movie history. Okay, in the 2012 remake, is that line in movie? I haven’t seen the new movie, but I just watched the trailer and it’s not in that. Nor is it on the memorable quotes page on IMDB. Are they keeping it under wraps to not spoil it? Or did they not use it in the 2012 movie for being insufficiently Proposition Nationy?I’m trying to think of an analogy for what citizenship is turning into in the conventional wisdom. Qualifying for an American Express card?

Okay, here’s the closest analogy I can come up with for how respectable opinion thinks about illegal immigration: in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are watching Pretty Woman and making fun of the scene where Julia Roberts isn’t allowed to buy clothes at a snooty Rodeo Drive shop because she’s a streetwalker.

Lisa Kudrow: You know, even though we’ve watched Pretty Woman like thirty-six times, I never get tired of making fun of it. Mira Sorvino: Aw, look, poor thing – they won’t let her shop. Yeah – like those salesgirls in Beverly Hills aren’t bigger whores than she is. Kudrow: Oh my God, listen to that sad, sad music as she leaves. Like, boo-hoo! … But [a tear wells in her eye] … it is actually kind of sad.

Kudrow: [Sob] I just get really happy when they finally let her shop

But when the movie gets to the happy ending back at the same boutique, Lisa Kudrow dissolves into happy tears. She explains: