But I would quibble with John Pod on one small point, knowing I am fully open to the charge of nitpicking and pedantry. He says there is no conservative position on immigration. This strikes me as untrue. There are, I believe, some minimal principles all conservatives agree on and I think those who disagree really aren’t conservatives. Conservatives agree that there should be borders and that these borders have significance. Conservatives agree that citizenship has a definition and that there are rules, rights and responsibilities which come with it. Conservatives believe that it would be, at minimum, preferable if immigrants didn’t come here illegally. Conservatives agree that there is something called American culture (though we debate it’s adaptability and power to assimilate). Beyond that, I think John’s right to say there’s no single conservative position on immigration policy. But if you disagree with these principlees you’re either simply confused or you’re an adherent of some other orientation or ideology. ~Jonah Goldberg, The Corner

Via Kevin Drum, who has an interesting question.

Of course, neocons don’t necessarily agree that there is something called American culture (or at least they don’t agree that any historic American culture is something that needs to be preserved, except in its most abstract, ahistorical form of freedom, equality, democracy), and they certainly don’t all assume that borders have significance (even if they will grant reluctantly that borders do actually exist). Goldberg does have it right for once–conservatives do need, at a bare minimum, to accept the conditions he set down to still be conservative, and those who can’t aren’t really conservative. This is what the folks at VDare, Chronicles and TAC have been saying about the Open Borders crowd for years.

Also, here are some fairly good points from O’Sullivan and Krikorian.