Living in the Bubble

It's always amusing to watch the lefties at the LA Times engage in anthropology, as they document life in "red" states.

Here is a piece full of breathless surprise that people in Utah -- a fairly conservative state -- have been welcoming to immigrants, legal and illegal alike (and covers how attitudes are shifting in the wake of the current immigration debate. Might have been interesting to ask how much the behavior of the protestors themselves are changing opinions).

Anyway, here's the quote that betrays the agenda: "The raging debate on immigration reform has drowned out nuanced positions even in Utah, a conservative but paradoxically immigrant-friendly state." (emphasis added)

Get it? They're like an explorer calling, "Hey guys, look over here -- we've got conservatives who are immigrant-friendly!" Surely the open-borders crowd over at The Wall Street Journal (admitted conservatives), and people like noted conservative Bill Kristol (quite soft even on illegal immigration, as noted here) would be astonished to learn of the Times' surprise.

Maybe the Times meant to imply that most conservatives look askance at illegal immigration. That's true. But if that's what they meant, that's what they should have said. It's inaccurate -- and deeply unfair -- to imply that conservatives are hostile to people who have come here legally in pursuit of the American Dream.