Tom Tancredo, the Republican congressman from Colorado is running for president, but he’s not running for president. He has no chance of winning the nomination; he’s running to inject his racist, vindictive views on immigration into the debate.

One-issue candidates seeking to shift the dynamic of a race are nothing new, but they’re rarely as successful as Mr. Tancredo’s been. Why is that?

OK, the GOP candidates are playing to wingnuts and wackjobs that dominate their parties selection process, but why has the immigration issue turned so ugly across the political spectrum?

Why did Hillary Clinton first waffle over, than condemn New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s plan to allow undocumented workers to get driver’s licenses in their state? The plan made sense from both public safety and law-and-order perspectives.

It’s predictable that the Republican fear machine is revving up for 2008. In recent cycles, the topics have been gay marriage, “Islamofascism”, Social Security “shortfalls” and “cultural elites.” The question is: why do the Democrats buy into these tactics and why do we?