According to an article on washingtonpost.com: “President Bush called for a “compassionate” Republican Party and warned against the GOP becoming “anti-immigrant” in one of his last interviews as president, defending his vision of the party that has become unpopular among some Republicans.”
This is a wise suggestion in light of what has become a hostile environment towards immigrants. Those politicians who continue to fall for the extremist anti-immigrant propaganda spewed by some conservative radio hosts and cable personalities will fall into the Tancredo-trap. Those politicians will have the support of a vocal, but small minority of Americans that will not help to bring the GOP to where they need to be to win in the future. Although the President initially supported Comprehensive Immigration Reform, when it failed to pass Congress – the Administration took a decidedly enforcement-centric approach that lead to a backlash among Hispanic voters.
