Although the Republican establishment would rather not think about it, immigration was Trump’s central issue as he came out of nowhere to beat 16 challengers and win the Republican nomination. Those same establishment Republicans, like most Democrats, predicted that immigration would hurt Trump in the general election. It didn’t.



Believers in the “Blue Wall”—the mythical fortification that would allegedly protect Democratic candidates in the electoral vote—claimed that embracing open-borders immigration policies is the only way to win as demographics change (largely because of 40-plus years of open-borders immigration policies). This “Blue Wall” turned out to be about as formidable as the Maginot Line, and Trump breached it in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, and apparently Michigan.



Immigration is actually a big reason why. When exit polling asked voters what the biggest issue was in the election, national security was about a wash—as voters who emphasized “foreign policy” preferred Clinton, while those who emphasized “terrorism” favored Trump, and by similar margins. Likewise, the economy as a whole was about a wash. Among the 52 percent of voters who said the economy was the biggest issue, Clinton won by 10 points (52 to 42 percent), but when voters were asked who would better handle the economy, Trump won by 3 points (49 to 46 percent). Among the one-eighth of voters who said immigration was the most important issue, however, Trump won by a 2-to-1 margin (64 to 32 percent)—the equivalent of about 5 million votes. In the states where Trump breached the “Blue Wall,” his margins on immigration were even bigger.

I've been pointing this out to politicians for over a decade. And yet many of the highly-paid political experts are STILL denying it, even though the first time a neophyte politician played that card, it took him straight to the White House. Steve Sailer points out an RCP piece observing that Trump won on the issues Immigration and other identity issues will continue to be the key going forward. However distasteful it may be to them, Republicans need to continue to make their transformation into a White Party, or if it makes them feel better, the American Party.What they don't understand is that the same small percentage of minorities that supported them before will continue to support them. These are the minorities who are smart enough to realize that a strong white majority in the USA is in their own interest, and in the interest of the world at large. But only a small percentage of any indentity group are capable of grasping enlightened self-interest, or self-interest once removed.

Labels: immigration, politics