Republican Briefing Paper Notes that Immigration is Not Working for them as a Wedge Issue

The Creative Loafing Web Site has published what it claims is an exclusive copy of a secret Republican Party briefing on its 2008 election strategy. Entitled, "Wedge Issue Management Plan (WIMP)" and directed to "Republican campaigns and elected officials" the memo outlines wedge issues which they plan to use in the 2008 election cycle. For those unfamiliar, a Wedge issue is a social or political issue, often of a divisive or otherwise controversial nature, which is used by one political group to split apart or create a "wedge" in the support base of an opposing political group, with a view to enticing voters to give their support to the first group. (Answers.com) The Republicans have been masters at using wedge issues to mobilize their conservative base and to divide political communities. The full text of the memo is available at the Creative Loafing site. (click on title for hyperlink). Of note is the fact that, as Eristic Ragemail has argued, immigration is not paying dividends as a wedge issue for the Repubs. The memo is directed to Florida but it is fair to note that it is part of the larger Republican strategy.

Editor's note: CL was able to obtain an exclusive copy of a secret Republican Party briefing on its 2008 election strategy, which we reprint below:

Memorandum

April 30, 2008

From: GOP strategy brain trust

To: Republican campaigns and elected officials

Re: Wedge Issue Management Plan (WIMP)

We're very happy to see this election year progress as we trot out our WIMP agenda. This interim report should bring you up to speed on the many fronts on which we are working to both mollify our social and fiscal conservative bases and scare the bejeezus out of the moderate voters on other key issues that will force them to flee from the (ugggh) Democrats who managed to beat us out of nine seats in the Legislature in 2006.

We're turning that trend around by going back to basics with these time-honored issues for this year's campaigns, paired with our suggestions for what are sure to be this election year's hottest commodities: WIMP-approved specialty license plates. Order yours now!

Border patrol

Yeah, we know, immigration isn't as good an issue as it used to be for free media, but it is still gold out there in public -- polling shows two-thirds of the state wants stronger immigration enforcement. Toward that end, we saw a flurry of good anti-immigration and anti-illegal immigrant bills: 11 of 'em!

Our fave around the Issues Shop is the one from Rep. Don Brown of DeFuniak Springs, HB 73. It would make our allies in the police departments and sheriff's offices report people's immigration status, hamper all immigrants from getting driver licenses, require employers to verify the immigration status of newly hired employees and increase the criminal penalties for bringing illegals onto our white-sand shores.

We modeled this bill after one adopted in Oklahoma that has sent illegals fleeing the state as a result! (Note to the boys in Economic Development Issues: The Oklahoma economy took a big hit after this bill was passed, what with all the cheap labor going missing, so we should have a backup plan. Maybe another giveaway to one of our big corporate donors? Just thinking out loud here.)

Oh, and don't let it bother you that Rep. Brown's bill seemed bogged down in committees and unlikely to pass. Our supporters got the message anyway.

Even if the foregoing document is not authentic, the analysis is sound. Democrats need not run away from a pro-immigrant position in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.


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