If the immigration bill has been killed, then the collateral damage is the coalition between conservatives and other people who are what you might call right-of-center (I do not use the term “conservative” since there seems to be an immigration litmus test that is being imposed).

Don’t believe me? Well, in addition to my vote of no confidence, why not read AJ-Strata’s superb blog¬†(particularly this post), or the stuff at Big Lizards. Or how about the comments from The Anchoress or DJ Drummond?

What we have had is one portion of the Republican coalition loudly tell another portion of the coalition “(Screw) you”.¬† How so? Well, the Chamber of Commerce has immigration reform as a priority. Now, for two consecutive Congresses, they have seen other Republicans align with anti-business Democrats (let’s not kid ourselves about Barbara Boxer and Byron Dorgan – they view business as just another source of wealth to be redistributed as they see fit). They often were willing to go toe-to-toe with the AFL-CIO.¬† Well, now they have been very publicly dissed by those who are purportedly allied with them politically. On an issue they found important. On an issue that they tried to make things work out on.

This sort of thing is not easily forgiven.¬† That goes doubly so with the type of rhetoric that flies on this issue – or with Tom Tancredo’s threatened purge.¬† So now what happens?

Personally, I’m not terribly motivated to do much for the GOP that seems to treat folks like me as second-class Republicans.¬† I certainly have lost confidence in conservatism as well.¬† They have chosen the path of ideological purity – and while it might get those who demand it the leadership they like, it will also mean that all they can do is make brave, valiant, principled stands that inevitably end in one defeat or another.

I’m sick, disgusted, and angry about this.¬† Clearly,¬†some other right-of-center blogs are also upset about this direction that seems to be going on.¬† How many of them will the GOP lose?¬† And will they even try to win us back – or will they too afraid to address our concerns, lest the self-appointed commissars at National Review, Human Events, and on talk radio disapprove?

One thing for sure: In the future, I will only vote for presidential candidates that make their own decisions.¬† If I so much as think that they take polls or run their decisions by National Review or Laura Ingraham, I’ll just find better ways to spend my time.¬† I’ve always wanted to learn how to play golf – and I think it would be far more rewarding to teach my nephew how to pitch or write novels than to keep sticking my neck out for a party that is determined to commit suicide in the name of ideological purity and cannot even seem to be willing to stick up for me against the self-appointed commissars who are free with epithets like “sellout”, “party hack”, “quisling”, and “traitor”.