Immigration and Affirmative Action

Peter Brown has an interesting op-ed in the Dallas Morning News comparing immigration with affirmative action in presidential politics:

Immigration is becoming for the 2008 election what affirmative action and racial preferences were 15 years ago – the kind of emotional wedge issue that offers Republicans a way to split rank-and-file Democrats from their leaders.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the battle over programs aimed at helping minorities was a major factor in many political campaigns. The election results often appeared to contradict what seemed to be the public’s opinion on the issue.

Looking back, much of the confusion stemmed from the wording of many poll questions on the subject. They tended to show strong support for “affirmative action,” which was how the programs were described by supporters and, often, the media.

But opponents used the term “racial preferences” to describe programs that often gave minorities an edge in competition for college admission and jobs. When pollsters used that language to describe the programs, they found strong public opposition. Click here for the full op-ed.

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