LAURIE ROBERTS

Republican Party could have saved itself from Donald Trump (and here's how)

Laurie Roberts
opinion columnist

The Republican Party must be in full-on faint mode.

Donald Trump

First, Donald Trump declares that Mexico is shipping all its rapists and murderers over the border. Then he vows to build an "impenetrable" wall and make Mexico pay for it.

Every time he opens his rather expansive mouth, his poll numbers rise and on Thursday, Trump tossed out yet another bombshell. The D said he might run as an independent if the Republican Party isn't "fair" to him.

"I'll have to see how I'm being treated by the Republicans," Trump told the The Hill.  "Absolutely, if they're not fair, that would be a factor."

No doubt, Hillary has already sent him a thank-you note and an engraved invitation to a front-row seat at her inauguration.

As for Republicans? They're likely taking a hefty snort of smelling salts. A third-party Trump candidacy leaves Republicans DOA in 2016.

They have no one to blame but themselves.

Donald Trump is just another chump if the Republican Congress had actually done something about illegal immigration when they had the chance.

Not even a year ago, Republicans took control of both houses of Congress and were faced with deciding whether they wanted to actually occupy the White House again in our lifetime.

Had they passed almost any sort of comprehensive immigration reform, they likely would have been sitting pretty.

This was the Republicans' best chance for getting the things they most desire: a secure border, a better economy and more legal migration of the highly skilled workers we need rather than the relatives of those already here.

And oh yeah, a great shot at the White House in 2016.

They – the party that vowed to reach out to Latinos after they broke nearly 4-1 for Obama in 2012 – could have done what Democrats didn't do when they were in control of Congress.

They could have forged a compromise bill that would secure the border, provided a path to citizenship for Dreamers and legalization for their parents. They could have expanded guest worker programs to allow more legal movement across the border, reformed the visa system to bring in more highly skilled workers and save us a bundle.

((The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate Gang of 8's plan in 2013 would have cut the deficit by $900 billion over the next two decades, given the taxes that would be paid by new and legalized immigrants.))

They could have shoved it through Congress and dared Obama to veto it.

Instead of listening to logic, House Republicans listened to immigration hardliners who see any sort of compromise as capitulation.

And so we got what we have come to expect from Washington – nothing.

And outside of Washingtion, an enormous amount of voter frustration which has led to much gnashing of teeth and....

....Donald Trump.

Do you think he'd be a factor if the Republican Party had provided leadership on immigration reform instead of caving to the far right and demanding bumper sticker solutions?

Of course, Trump can't win in 2016. But he can ensure that no other Republican can either.