When I was in South Carolina covering this year's Republican primary I was struck by how many supporters of Sen. John McCain thought he would be the toughest candidate on immigration, including one military veteran who said it was the most important issue to him, and said he figured McCain was the candidate who would throw all illegal immigrants out.
McCain, of course, has never been identified with that position. In fact, he was the chief champion, along with Sen. Ted Kennedy, of the bill to legalize almost all of them, putting them on a path to citizenship.
Now comes the Center for Immigration Studies, which funded a poll that finds that South Carolina veteran's misperception is shared by a lot of voters.
According to the poll of 546 Republican primary voters, only 34 percent of McCain's supporters identified him with the position of allowing illegal immigrants to stay and be put on a path to citizenship. Meanwhile, 35 percent said his approach was to "enforce the law causing illegals to go home," known as the attrition plan.
But Republicans were also not well-informed about other candidates. More than one-in-four of Rep. Ron Paul's supporters said he wanted to offer illegal immigrants a path to citizenship — a position in stark contrast to his actual get-tough stance.
Overall, a strong majority of Republican voters — 56 percent — said they want an attrition solution to the problem, while just 28 percent say the answer is to grant citizenship rights.
On the Democratic side the poll found 52 percent of Sen. Barack Obama's supporters knew he backed the citizenship rights plan, while 42 percent of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters knew that she did.
That still leaves a huge chunk of voters that either misperceived their candidate's stance or didn't know. Given the far lower number of Democrats who say immigration is a top voting issue, that's not surprising. But for Republicans, who say the issue does matter, it is a shock.
— Stephen Dinan, national political reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (9)
I just love the irony here: Obama's supporters are frequently labeled as "drinking the kool-aid," blindly & mindlessly caught up in his emotional appeal without examining the issues. Yet, here they are, at least on a single issue proving themselves to be the most informed of the lot.
Posted by Elena | April 2, 2008 10:41 AM
Maybe if voters had to pass a knowledge test before voting, then Ron Paul would have won the Republican nomination.
Posted by John Campbell | April 2, 2008 11:20 AM
Bingo Mr. Campbell.
Posted by Mark | April 2, 2008 1:16 PM
Following either of plan I guess we would relocate the Statue of Liberty to Four Corners Area and have it face south?
Posted by Larry Stone | April 3, 2008 2:43 AM
Elena is obviously an Obama supporter and is "drinking the kool-aid," blindly & mindlessly caught up in his emotional appeal without examining the issues" - Because when I read this article I see that 75%(- a few%) of Ron Paul supporters know his stance on this issue.
Two good smear tactics by the writer:
1)"But Republicans were also not well-informed about other candidates." - The sentence before showing Ron Paul's stats?!?
2)Then, all the other canidates' stats were in easy to see percentages, and Ron Paul's numbers were equated with this goofy take - "More than one-in-four of Rep. Ron Paul's supporters.....a position in stark contrast to his"
Why not just say 73% of Ron Paul supporters are informed of his stance???
Ya......I guess you got to try to peddle your agenda as well.
Posted by frzngds | April 3, 2008 2:45 AM
Neither political parties can be trusted when it comes to the illegal immigration occupation of our country. More states are trying to enact strict laws for enforcement against predator employers. However, THE SAVE ACT has the teeth and packs the punch, to halt this pestilence overwhelming our wilting economy. Very few Senators and Representatives have THE PEOPLE' S best interest in mind. The Democratic hierarchy have specifically been pandering to special interest groups, and very few have offered to co-author THE FEDERAL SAVE ACT.
Keep calling your Democrat Representative today AND REGISTER YOUR OUTRAGE at ongoing efforts to keep our country from enforcing its immigration laws!
Posted by Dave | April 3, 2008 5:44 PM
The root problem of this country is in its Constitution, which says all are created equal. It misses the fact that all do not stay equal. We must reform voting, such that votes are weighed according to community service, age, citizenship status, time in country, education, and criminal record. If we do not, then single-issue, incompetent, sound-bite voters will be courted, and methods enacted to ensure that their numbers are increased (such as with amnesty, etc). We need to empower the long-term citizen�s law-abiding, informed, educated vote, not have it overridden by two incompetent voters looking to further their own, self-centered objectives or outright incompetence over the good of the country. Until then, we will always have sub-prime leadership...across the board.
Posted by theantibush | April 10, 2008 2:06 PM
Thanks Dave-
Representative Neil Abercrombie
U.S. House of Representatives
1502 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0001
Subject: DO NOT Reject the Discharge Petition and Oppose the SAVE Act! (HR 4088)
Dear Representative,
All sovereign nations enforce their immigration laws.
Please keep the USA open to lawful immigration, and mind your duty to protect the sovereignty of the Nation.
Sincerely,
Anti Bush
758
Kapahulu Dr.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
Posted by theantibush | April 10, 2008 2:18 PM
All three candidates want amnesty for illegals. Everyone should know that...The only option is to pick the candidate that will enforce the laws already in the books and who will abide by the people's wishes no matter how SHE personally feels about amnesty. Our current president doesn't care what the majority wants.
Clara
Indiana
Posted by Clara | April 10, 2008 4:32 PM