One problem with the GOP elites is that they seem to see the business benefits of illegal immigration to the exclusion of the heavy toll it exacts elsewhere, especially in the lives of law enforcement officers. LA County Deputy David March was murdered in the line of duty by illegal alien Armando Garcia in 2002. Garcia seems to have a habit of slipping in and out of the US to commit crimes (he's also wanted for a couple of counts of attempted murder and drug dealing) but now remains in Mexico. Probably. The truth is, authorities never know where he is from one day to the next. As long as Mexico won't apprehend him and extradite him for trial to the US, he will be getting away with killing an American cop.

You'd think a law-and-order Republican like Rep. David Drier (R-CA) would be in favor of bringing this cop-killer to justice, but you'd be wrong. He is against extradition. So in next year's election, Powder Blue Report delivers some sobering news for Drier--he'll face an opponent, who is March's father.

Adding March to Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist, who is running to replace Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA) in a safe GOP district, then factoring in Democrat flanking on the issue from New Mexico and Arizona's governors, and you have a recipe for a GOP crack-up centering on the illegal immigration fault line next year. Many otherwise staunch Republican votes could go to third-party runners who pledge attention to the issue, or even to Democrats who are toughing up for purely political reasons.