DEAN ON THE 2006 ELECTIONS

In early December, Dean told us that Bush would be up to his old divisive tricks for the upcoming elections:

Saying Bush had used race and gay rights to divide the electorate, Dean said, "In 2006, it's going to be immigration; that's who he's going to scapegoat next." He said Democrats must favor tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws and provide tighter border security, but said a balanced immigration policy would provide a way to give many of the 11 million illegal immigrants a path to legal status.

The recent wingnut uproar over the defeat the the GOP versions of the Senate immigration bill confirm Dean's suspicion but I don't think he realized that this would also split the GOP. The business faction certainly doesn't want harsh measures enacted against the illegal workers and will try to prevent the hardliners in the GOP from getting their way. Even U.S. Chamber of Commerce is behind a path to legalization for current immigrants but it looks like Dobson's hordes favor harsh laws:

When it comes to the details of dealing with immigration it is clear that values voters believe enforcement against illegal aliens should be the main component. Ninety one percent of the respondents believe that illegal immigrants should be returned to their country of origin.