On some blog recently – can’t remember offhand which – came a reference to “the conservative position on immigration.” That quickly drew the obvious reply: What exactly is the conservative position on immigration, legal or otherwise – and what, for that matter, would be the liberal view?
Self-described adherents to both political perspectives are well divided. On the Republican-conservative side, for example, you’ve got no lack of shut-the-borders/deport-the-illegals advocates. But then there’s also President George Bush, who proposes something quite different, and many other Republicans – including such members of Congress as Oregon Senator Gordon Smith and Idaho Senator Larry Craig – who hold roughly similar views. Democrats and liberals, for somewhat different reasons, are also torn.
Which is leading to some interesting political activity, such as the Republican protest against (most of) the leading banks.
To be clear: This isn’t a formal Republican Party protest. But it does originate from the right, which does for example seem to be the main source of Oregonians for Immigration Reform.
What do they have against the banks? The fact that most banks will do business with people who are not in the United States legally. (Which is not new.) It’s a substantial point; the ability to store and move money efficiently is surely a significant part of the support system.
So there’s now a Bank of America Boycott web site up, along with Embargo Wells Fargo. And a list of banks, broken down by state, which “Do Accept the Matricula Consular Card and therefore they do help illegal aliens.”
There’s a specific political link here. The site Deport Gordon Smith (which is conservative-based, including promotional material for Republican presidential contender Tom Tancredo) carries a link to Embargo Wells Fargo.
This will not stop with the banks – the corporate connections and links will run much more broadly. And it seems likely to complicate life for the lot of candidates in the next couple of cycles.
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