Accepting amnesty is not good for GOP leading

Politics is little more than a game of numbers.

Winning elections is less about issues and policies than it is about simple math.

So I'm puzzled why the Republican leadership is softening to some form of amnesty for an estimated 12 million undocumented illegal immigrants in this nation.

On paper, at least, it might make sense. A huge percentage of Hispanics are family oriented, church-based and hard working.

That formula would seem to spell some success for the GOP.

But that's where the math comes into play.

Hispanics also tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, and despite a push by the Republicans to change that narrative, it just doesn't work that way.

Amnesty would spell the end to the Republican party. Period.

I suspect the change in the amnesty position stems from the highly likely scenario that this president in his last two years in office will issue some form of executive order on amnesty regardless of any plan offered by the GOP.

If given that amnesty, the Hispanic vote will fall solidly in the Democratic camp, and Republicans will be left with Midwestern rural support and little else.

The sweeping immigration reform that came out of the Reagan administration was designed to revamp a national policy once and for all.

Fast forward 30 years and the problem of illegal immigration has grown substantially. There is no national appetite to stem the flow of a largely dependent Hispanic population despite another math problem -- how do we pay for the increased services required to provide for the needs of 12 million additional people?

The root problem seems simple.

The economy and opportunities in many Latin countries pale by comparison to the riches of America. So who can blame anyone for wanting to better their lives?

Also in America, Hispanic workers will often accept jobs that non-working Americans shun. And they are plentiful.

So the reasons to open wide our borders makes sense from many standpoints.

But there's an associated cost with accepting an avalanche of newcomers who arrive with limited language skills, lower job skills and a need -- for at least a time -- to government services.

That is the final math problem.

If you've noticed, our country is broke. Our debt increases by the hour and the burden on taxpayers shows no signs of slowing.

The question of just how to address this massive issue may be one of those rare problems that lacks a solution.

What Republicans need to understand is that a move toward unlimited amnesty may be inevitable. But the math would indicate it also means an end to the Republican party for generations to come.

The choices are not easy. But the outcome is certain for the future of a national Republican party.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat.