How House Republicans Sabotage Their Presidential Candidates

Source: Nationaljournal


House Republicans' bill to undo one of President Obama's immigrant protection programs will never become law. But it could still cause the GOP trouble in the next presidential election. And to understand why, just look at how Rep. Cory Gardner voted on Friday night.

Faced with a similar vote in 2013, the Colorado Republican stuck with his party and voted to end the program. But this time, facing a tough Senate campaign in the one 2014 battleground state that most epitomizes a rapidly diversifying America, Gardner split from party leaders to oppose the GOP effort to kill the immigration program.

Gardner, who represents a safe Republican district, has modified several positions over the past year to better position himself to win statewide in Colorado, the tipping-point state in the last two presidential elections. He appears to be following the playbook most Republican political thinkers prescribe if the party hopes to attract the new voters necessary to retake the White House after a crushing disappointment in 2012.

But, as Friday's House vote on the "deferred-action" or DACA program demonstrated, most Republicans aren't making similar changes to their immigration positions. And consequently, it's unlikely the next GOP presidential nominee, put through the rigors of a hyper-competitive primary controlled largely by conservative activists, will have the same flexibility, given opposition to DACA is now thoroughly woven into orthodoxy. The party's standard-bearer, in effect, will have to try to win Colorado after taking policy positions the state's current GOP Senate nominee plainly thinks would hurt his chances at victory.

Read whole article: http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/how-house-republicans-sabotage-their-presidential-candidates-20140802