Posted on Sat., Jun. 30,

GOP chairman: Immigration will define 2008 election
The number of Spanish-speaking evangelicals is growing, in Wichita and across the U.S.

BY DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle

The chairman of the Kansas Republican Party predicted Friday that immigration will be the defining domestic issue of the 2008 presidential campaign and said it could hurt early front-runners John McCain and Rudy Giuliani in the Republican primaries.

Kris Kobach, a former chief immigration adviser in the U.S. Justice Department, said the comprehensive immigration reform bill killed in the Senate this week died because it was light on border enforcement and heavy on amnesty for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country.

He called it primarily an amnesty bill "with a couple enforcement ornaments hanging on it."

Kobach gave his analysis during a seminar Friday at the national convention of the Grand Order of Pachyderm Clubs at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. About 150 Republican activists from around the country have registered for the event, a mix of social activities, issue discussions and political strategy meetings.

The Wichita Pachyderm Club is host for the convention.

Kobach said supporting the immigration bill has injured the presidential chances of McCain, R-Ariz., who once led the race but has faltered in recent polls.

The immigration issue also could hurt Giuliani, a former New York City Mayor, who will have to answer to skeptical GOP conservatives for having once sued the federal government to keep New York a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants.

The candidate getting the biggest boost is former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" actor Fred Thompson, Kobach said. Thompson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney both take a harder line on immigration, he said.

"I think it would help both of them," Kobach said, but added, "I think Romney is gaining less traction among conservatives than he hoped."

And even though Reps. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., remain long shots, their strong stance on the issue has brought them much-needed attention in the crowded Republican field.

One of the other topics of the convention is how to attract more minority voters to the Republican Party.

Dan Stockemer, founder of the Wichita Pachyderm Club and former Sedgwick County GOP chairman, acknowledged the party is walking a fine line as it seeks to balance its desire for more Hispanic voters and its desire to be the hard-line party on illegal immigration.

He said many Hispanics who are here legally -- especially Cuban-Americans in the vote-rich swing state of Florida -- support the GOP position on undocumented immigrants. Other Hispanic voters, largely Catholic, can likely be swayed to the Republican side by its positions on social issues such as abortion, which their church opposes, Stockemer said.

"In the long run, I personally don't think it (immigration) will hurt the Republican Party," he said.

One Hispanic Republican who attended Kobach's presentation is lawyer Rick Macias. He said the party's position won't alienate large numbers of Hispanics as long as the focus remains on legality and doesn't stray into race-bashing.

"I really think it has a lot less to do with prejudice toward any group," he said. "The idea is primarily the rule of law."

http://www.kansas.com/194/story/110387.html