Does the new executive director of the Virginia Republican Party believe that 40% to 75% of the state's Republicans should be "deported" from the party because they want the government to deport illegal aliens?
A poll from last year suggests that might be the result if Shaun Kenney were to get his way.
A national blogger/internet firestorm has erupted over claims that Kenney wants to drive out of the party anybody who opposes "reform" that allows illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. and especially to those who want laws enforced that require deportation of people who are here illegally. [SEE Daily Caller and Mickey Kaus]
- But 40% of Virginia's Republican voters said their preference is to "deport most" illegal aliens, in a poll by Pulse Opinion Research last year.
- And another 35% of the state's Republican voters said their preferred option would be to "deport some but ensure the rest take no jobs or taxpayer assistance."
- Only 32% said they preferred to give legal status and work permits to most illegal aliens, which is the position that Kenney seems to embrace based on his very welcoming meeting with pro-amnesty supporters this month and a now-widely-circulated blog he wrote earlier this year before he was appointed to run the state party.
Kenney ridicules people who think deportation should be an important part of immigration policies. His comments suggest that he thinks those 40% to 75% of Republicans who favor deportation may be bigots who are simply afraid of illegal immigrants because they are "the other" and that they might change their minds if they just got to know illegal immigrants as human beings.
The new staff head of the Virginia Republicans is also at odds with Republican voters over importing more foreign workers. Here's his statement:
Conservatives embrace the idea of more Americans coming into this country to work hard and prosper.
But the Pulse Opinion Research poll found that only 10% of the state's Republicans think immigration numbers should be increased.
VIRGINIANS DEFINITELY DON'T THINK THERE IS A NEED FOR MORE FOREIGN WORKERS
The polling in Virginia was done a year ago. Some opinions may have changed a bit in one direction or another since then, but national polling on similar questions has shown very little change over the past year.
QUESTION: Do you agree or disagree that the United States is faced with labor shortages and needs more immigrant workers?
Strongly agree -- 7% Republicans, 7% all Virginia voters
Somewhat agree -- 12% GOP, 19% all voters
Somewhat disagree -- 22% GOP, 28% all voters
Strongly disagree -- 52% GOP, 38% all voters
Not sure -- 8% & 8%
What Kenney seems to want is what Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) and his fellow U.S. House leaders want -- massive legalization of illegal aliens and increases in foreign labor. Consider this statement of his:
You will hear a lot of talk in the coming months about immigration reform. In it will be included guest worker programs, documented worker status, real border enforcement that doesn’t require walls, and a sound program that takes an antiquated immigration system and brings it into the 21st century.
That’s not amnesty, that’s reform.
And there is this statement from Kenney:
Conservatives have a moral duty to drive out nativism once and for all. . . . It’s time to clean house.
It looks like he is using the word "nativism" in a way that is broader than its true meaning but that includes virtually all who are opposed to mass leglalization of illegal aliens. He will need to clarify himself quickly because the voters of the state who Kenney will rely on to elect candidates from his party view immigration quite differently than Rep. Cantor and his fellow leaders in Washington.
POLL SHOWS WHERE VIRGINIA VOTERS STAND ON THE DETAILS & PRINCIPLES OF IMMIGRATION
Rep. Cantor has powerful positions in Washington, but his views on immigration over the last couple of years are not in line with those of Virginia Republicans -- or with Virginia voters in general.
Here are some more results from the Pulse Opinion Research poll:
QUESTION: Congress is considering a bill to give work permits to an estimated 7 million illegal immigrant workers. Do you support or oppose?
Strongly support the work permits -- 6% Republicans, 16% all Virginia voters
Somewhat support -- 17% GOP, 25% all voters
Somewhat oppose -- 17% GOP, 17% all voters
Strongly oppose -- 59% GOP, 39% all voters
Not sure -- 3% & 3%
Kenney frames his empathy for illegal immigrants in moral and religious terms. But the poll found Virginia voters see morality a little differently:
QUESTION: How much moral responsibility do you feel Congress has to help protect the ability of current illegal immigrants to hold a job and support their families without fear of deportation?
A lot -- 7% Republicans, 16% all Virginia voters
Some -- 17% GOP, 27% all voters
Very little -- 24% GOP, 20% all voters
None -- 46% GOP, 31% all voters
Not sure -- 6% & 7%
QUESTION: How much moral responsibility do you feel Congress has to help protect unemployed or low-wage Americans from having to compete with foreign workers for U.S. jobs?
A lot -- 55% Republicans, 45% all voters
Some -- 24% GOP, 31% all voters
Very little -- 11% GOP, 13% all voters
None -- 9% GOP, 7% all voters
Not sure -- 2% & 4%
What is playing out in Virginia is a microcosm for the nation. The vast majority of Republicans elected by voters to Congress oppose the legalization and foreign-worker-importation principles laid out by U.S. House Speaker Boehner (R-Ohio) in January. But most of the national party's leaders and consultants favor them.
A big problem for Kenney right now is that most Virginia voters disagree with the Republican consultants' campaign for more foreign workers.
ROY BECK is Founder & President of NumbersUSA
