Touch immigration, watch the sparks

RALEIGH -- Immigration is the new "third rail" of American politics. I know, because I remember the old third rail. The old third rail was Social Security. Touch it and die -- politically.

Back in the 1980s the Republican Party routinely came up with plans in Congress to "reform" Social Security. Like clockwork -- when the next congressional election came around -- the Democratic Party, led by then-Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, would demagogue the issue and pronounce through TV ads that Republicans wanted to privatize Social Security and, by the way, cut or eliminate Grandma's benefit check.

Now it's the Democrats' turn to touch the new third rail, immigration. It's happening to Democrats nationally, and it's happening here in North Carolina.

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DURING THE "GINGRICH REVOLUTION" OF 1994, Republican challengers in congressional districts throughout the country were schooled that "words mattered" and that the "best defense was a good a good offense." So the Republican message reflected the will of the majority of Americans that the Social Security contract must not be broken. Phrasing in speeches and advertising reflected the will of the majority.

A key phrase that many Republicans used and continue to use today is this: "We need to preserve, protect and strengthen Social Security." Republican incumbents and challengers alike were encouraged to "inoculate" themselves on the issue, in essence to pre-emptively strike with a positive message prior to being attacked.

Still, and until this day, Social Security reform remains a volatile issue with the electorate. To some degree the issue is a net plus for Democrats. One need only look at President Bush's 2005 proposal for personal savings accounts for younger workers. It was dead on arrival in Congress, and it fell on deaf ears with the public.

It seems to me that in the 2008 election the new emotional and substantive issue that the elite politicians did not grasp, but that now is squarely in their faces, is illegal immigration with all its ramifications. Securing the borders and national sovereignty are issues that neither party can ignore.

Just look at how Hillary Clinton "flubbed" the question, at a recent Democratic debate, regarding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's decision to issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens, to see the impact this issue can have on poll numbers. And of course Spitzer has since reversed course on granting the driver's licenses.

In the Republican presidential primaries, both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have tried to outdo each other on the immigration issue, but both have little credibility, based on their performances while in office. "Sanctuary cities" has been the main topic of discussion between the two campaigns.

In a recent Republican debate, both Giuliani and Romney chose to attack each either rather than to offer substantive solutions. On the campaign trail both have been supportive of a physical fence along the border, or a virtual fence, but with no date certain for completion.

Now leading the polls in Iowa and South Carolina is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has laid out a detailed plan for border security and enforcement. His plan also includes a date certain for completion of a physical fence.

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HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA, many Republican legislators in the General Assembly are trying to hold the Easley administration's feet to the fire with respect to the rule of law and attempts to circumvent the process when it comes to issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

And recently the community college system's lawyer issued a controversial directive that would admit illegals aliens to community colleges statewide if they pay out-of-state tuition. Debate is ensuing within the UNC system along somewhat similar lines.

Illegal immigration is becoming the defining issue of the 2008 election.

Those who stand for amnesty, driver's licenses for illegal aliens, in-state or out-of-state tuition for illegal aliens at our institutions of learning will pay a price at the polls.

Conversely, those who respect the rule of law, national sovereignty and the will of the American people will be rewarded politically when citizens cast their votes next fall.

(Marc Rotterman, who worked on the Reagan for President campaign in 1980 and in the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1984, is a senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation and a former member of the board of the American Conservative Union.)