Fineman: "A Season of Fear---The GOP’s shortsighted immigration play"

Howard Fineman (Newsweek):

If we had any sense, the fall elections would be about just one thing: the economy. But we do not have any sense. We are facing what Wall Street would call the “triple witching hour.” Republicans have their finger on three social-demographic hot buttons. The first is illegal immigration (in proposing a review of the 14th Amendment), and the second is Islam in America (in objecting to the mosque at ground zero). They won’t be able to avoid pushing the third, race, even if they wanted to, given that the two leading congressional Democrats facing ethics charges are African-American. The Democrats, in response, label the GOP xenophobic and intolerant—and those are the nice words. If Barack Obama’s inauguration—could it have been only 19 months ago?—was a moment of proud, blessed calm, we are now looking at a nasty, community-shredding season of fear. MORE...