In our survey conducted in mid-December in the battleground, the most competitive 65 congressional districts – 25 held by Democrats and 40 by Republicans1 – Republicans have no starting advantage on taxes, despite the Republican-leaning sample. Moreover, the Democrats establish a large advantage when they show their tax-cutting priorities, focused on the middle class and reversing inequality by requiring the wealthiest to pay taxes too. Voters rally to this approach on tax cuts whether it is on short-term issues like the Alternative Minimum Tax or major long-term tax reform. At the end of the survey, the Democratic candidate not only increased their vote margin in Republican districts, they gained trust on handling taxes. 

As we shall see in this survey, this battleground electorate wants bold changes to the tax system to help the middle class financially and to make sure the top end pays. To be frank, we have seen few areas – from health care to Iraq – where the Democrats’ argument and policy so dominate those of the Republicans – defeating them consistently by 15 to 20 points or more.

In 1999, the Immigration and Naturalization Service launched "Operation Vanguard," a program whose stated purpose was to remove the employment magnet that draws undocumented workers to the United States. The program targeted undocumented workers in the meatpacking industry by identifying workers with discrepancies between their employment and Social Security records, suggesting the use of a false Social Security number. After workers were identified, agents scheduled interviews, admittedly hoping that a large number of workers would not show up at all, but would "voluntarily terminate." 

And terminate they did. Not just those without papers, but a significant number of authorized workers who nonetheless had discrepancies in their documentation. Many of them preferred to quit rather than be interviewed because of widespread trepidation in immigrant communities regarding the INS (now U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE).  

Because so many workers were leaving their jobs in Nebraska, slaughter-line speeds had to be slowed down. This slower pace of production hurt farmers, because it produced a decline in demand and prices paid for cattle and hogs. Likewise, it badly hurt consumers, who faced appreciably reduced supplies of cattle and hogs and corresponding price increases. Meatpackers argued that losing their workers could cause them to close plants, damaging the whole infrastructure of the industry. Others argued that the economic effects would reach the Latino business community.  

The economic impact of Operation Vanguard on the state was so profound that Gov. Mike Johanns appointed a task force to study its statewide effects. In October 2000 the task force recommended against a resumption of the program and for endorsing amendments easing restrictions on permanent residency and citizenship and considering an amnesty.

Colorado is a success story of sorts for the camp that believes illegal immigrants are nothing more than criminals who ought to be barred at the border. 

The state's tough laws -- which encourage local police to check papers and make sure no one without a fistful of proper documentation receives one penny's worth of social services or a driver's license -- actually worked. Immigrants, both illegal and documented (who don't want the hassle), have stayed away. 

In fact, so few migrant workers showed up for last year's harvest that crops were left to rot in the field. 

In order to avoid a repeat of that in the future, Colorado has hit on another idea: Use convicted criminals to pick crops. 

Farmers can pay convicts piddling wages; the crops will get picked under armed guard; Colorado's farming industry will remain viable; the dregs of society will earn their three hots and a cot; and everyone will be happy.  

Well, not quite everyone. Landscapers and the owners of restaurants, car washes and other service-oriented businesses can't fill their low-wage jobs either. But it isn't as if Colorado's ready for prisoners to bus tables or trim residential trees. 

So why would Colorado reward farmers with 60-cent-an-hour labor when the farmers who formerly relied on illegal immigrants were breaking the law? After all, the argument goes, businesses should be held accountable for their role in the growing illegal immigrant problem. 

Because the sad truth that few in the anti-immigration crowd wish to admit is that cheap labor artificially suppresses food prices. 

Unless Americans are willing to further subsidize through tax dollars the cost of bringing crops to market or to pay higher prices in the grocery stores, we need some type of lawbreaker -- whether an illegal immigrant or an American criminal -- to do the backbreaking work for next to nothing in wages.

When he was governor, Huckabee held the following positions on illegal immigration: He supported higher education benefits for children of illegal immigrants, opposed a federal roundup of illegals from his state in 2005, opposed a 2001 bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote in the state, and in 2001, a member of his administration pushed for legislation to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

		Approve	Disapprove	Unsure
		%	%	%		N
	1/4-6/08	32	64	4		1,023
	12/14-16/07	32	65	3		1,011
	12/6-9/07	37	57	5		1,027
	11/30 - 12/2/07	34	62	4		1,006
	11/11-14/07	32	61	7		1,014
	11/2-4/07	31	64	5		1,024
	10/12-14/07	32	64	3		1,009
	10/4-7/07	32	64	4		1,010

	Approve	Disapprove	Mixed Feelings	Unsure
	%	%	%	%		.
1/7-9/08	34	63	2	1		.
12/3-5/07	36	61	1	1		.
11/5-7/07	32	65	3	-		.
10/1-3/07	31	66	2	1

TPJ'S BUSH WATCH
		Approve	Trail Mo	Disapprove	No Opinion	Spread
	2007
AP-Ipsos	1/7-9/08	34		63	3	-29
Gallup	1/4-6/08	32		64	4	-32
	December Avg	33.00	-0.45	63.50	3.50	-30.50
	December Avg	33.45	0.85	61.82	4.45	-28.36
	November Avg	32.60	-0.50	61.81	5.59	-29.21
	October Avg	33.10	-0.07	60.90	5.90	-27.80
	September Avg	33.17	1.17	61.75	5.17	-28.58
	August Avg	32.00	1.58	61.67	6.33	-29.33
	July Avg	30.42	-0.43	63.50	6.08	-33.08
	June Avg	30.85	-2.38	63.23	6.00	-32.38
	May Avg	33.22	-1.70	61.33	5.56	-28.11
	April Avg	34.92	1.49	59.92	5.15	-25.00
	March Avg	33.43	-0.24	60.43	6.14	-27.00
	February Avg	33.67	-0.22	60.17	6.08	-26.50
	January Avg	33.89	-1.61	61.61	4.83	-27.70
	2006
	December Avg	35.50	-0.93	59.25	5.42	-23.75
	November Avg	36.43	-1.07	58.00	5.50	-21.57
	October Avg	37.50	-3.42	57.11	5.36	-19.61
	September Avg	40.92	2.64	54.23	4.77	-13.31