New York Times blogger Nate Silver lambasted a Politico article yesterday, titled, “Immigration reform could be bonanza for Democrats.”
Silver fired off several tweets in response to the story (chronicled here), but this one has to be my favorite:
Politico attempting to use statistics is like Taco Bell attempting to cook French food.
— Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) April 23, 2013
While Silver questions the statistical accuracy of Politico’s analysis, I’m even more curious about their motive. Simply put, why is Politico all of a sudden so concerned about the electoral survival of the Republican Party?
I mean, presumably, Politico would enjoy seeing Republicans demographically destroyed. Yet, they seem to doing everything in their power to warn conservatives of the pending dangers of immigration reform.
What is more, they seem to be attempting to scare conservatives into fearing the big, bad Hispanic voters are coming for them. Here’s an excerpt:
“If these people had been on the voting rolls in 2012 and voted along the same lines as other Hispanic voters did last fall, President Barack Obama’s relatively narrow victory last fall would have been considerably wider, a POLITICO analysis showed.”
First, I commend their use of, “these people.”
But let’s not cherry pick or be unfair here. This latest Politico article comes directly on the heels of another Politico report, claiming that: “The Senate’s Gang of Eight delivered an immigration overhaul bill this week that was far more generous to their constituencies than Democrats and Hispanic activists expected.”
Keep in mind, these aren’t opinion pieces, but reported articles.
So again, I ask: Why is Politico suddenly so intent on warning conservatives they are being played?