by Jeffrey H. Anderson | Updated 12 Oct 2016 at 8:36 AM
Pro-'Gang of Eight' Republicans disproportionately bailing on their party's nominee
As Republican elites continue to defy Republican voters on the crucial issue of immigration, it’s not surprising that the Senate’s open-borders crowd is refusing to back the man who—largely because of his hawkish immigration position — was chosen by Republican voters to be their party’s nominee. While only 30 percent of Senate Republicans voted for the open-borders “Gang of Eight†legislation (30 percent too many), the percentage was far higher among Trump defectors. Among senators who were in office in 2013, 55 percent (6 of 11) of those who now say that they cannot support Trump voted to support the “Gang of Eight†legislation.
In sum, very few Republican officeholders who oppose Trump are losing much sleep over what Hillary Clinton would do on immigration, with Republican assistance, over the next four years. As Margot Anderson put it on Monday at the Federalist, "Republicans’ glee in joining the Trump takedown shows the wheels are already greased for Clinton’s identity-politics agenda if she gets elected."
These are serious matters — most importantly for the future of the country, but also for the future of the Republican Party. John Kraushaar, writing for National Journal on Monday, observed, "Republican Party leaders have been grappling with an uncomfortable reality: Their most reliable voters are entirely disconnected from the GOP leadership." Nowhere is that truer than on immigration — and the GOP divide over immigration goes a long way toward explaining the GOP divide over Trump.
http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/most-gop-senators-defecting-from-trump-backed-amnesty-push/
