The GOP's immigration debacle.

There was an excellent post a few weeks ago on Kos about how the media and the right wing echo chamber always somehow conclude that every issue or news item, no matter how damaging to the GOP, ultimately favors the Republicans politically.

Putz's post this morning is a perfect illustration of this phenomenon.

MICKEY KAUS looks at Republicans on the march to stop Bush.

The issue the Mickster is mulling is the GOP's embarrassing immigration meltdown, by far Rove's most tone-deaf move, because it pitted the GOP's financial base against it's cultural shock troops, the xenophobic and nationalistc Minutemen types. You know, like George Allen.

In effect, they split their own party, and ticked everyone off in the process. Not smart.

But to the Mickster, there's a Republican silver lining to every story.

Isn't this more evidence that opposition to Bush's immigration plan is a powerful base-mobilizer for the GOP?

Uh, no. Because voters don't typically think, "The leader of my party which currently controls all three branches of government is doing something that really makes me angry, so I'm going to go elect more people in my party."