Engineering an electoral success with demographic changes does not necessarily pay off. Ask the Republican Party in California.The legacy of Ronald Reagan’s presidencies in the 80s is rather divisive: Republicans consider him the hero that defeated the Soviet Empire, leading the US to an era of prosperity and optimism; Democrats on the other hand regard him as an uneducated simpleton, who curb-stomped workers’ rights, ushered in the era of neoliberalism (to which they have by now converted entirely) and if he succeeded in anything it was merely by luck.
There is something, however, that Democrats can thank him for and Republicans should blame him for: turning California blue (i.e. democratic) forever. The IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act) of 1986 regularized illegal immigrants who had entered the country before 1982, provided that they could prove a degree of knowledge of the English language, American history and political institutions. The estimated number of illegal immigrants benefiting from this amnesty is approximately 3 million. Continue reading