Robert Stacy McCain:

[O]utside the NY/DC Republican Establishment, support for McCain’s amnesty/”guest workers” policy is political poison. It’s certainly a deal-breaker for blue-collar cultural conservatives in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia — the very same swing voters in swing states who should otherwise be “in play” because of Obama’s nomination.

McCain will speak to La Raza in July, indicating he still doesn’t realize how vastly unpopular his immigration stance is in Middle America. And that’s to say nothing of McCain’s Green moves. By pushing pet policies of the elite, the Republican nominee is neutralizing whatever advantage he might have gained from Obama’s own elitism.

I’m not so sure that he is wrong here, but the question arises: How did John McCain, who holds so many views that would seem to offend the Republican base, win the Republican nomination?