There are a number of pieces now wondering why a hard line on immigration suddenly moved into the conservative core. Without going into assorted issues, the Republican embrace of amnesty was a trigger.
Sometimes a political movement shifts in response to a passionate campaign. But that's not what really happened here. Opponents were thin on top. A few years ago, I was one of the few people regularly writing articles attacking amnesty proposals.
But there was a larger reaction among conservatives who were angry at having amnesty relentlessly rammed down their throats. Their own positions were not anti-immigration. Many were even open to some sort of legalization. What made them angry was the extreme position being taken by the establishment which was not even willing to have an honest conversation about it.
And sometimes an extreme position leads to its own form of backlash. Between Obama and the GOP establishment, legalization became tainted and the stain spilled over into immigration. By the time Republican presidential candidates like Scott Walker, Trump and Cruz had figured out that opposing immigration was a pathway to the white working class vote, opposition within the conservative movement was minimal due to resentment of how amnesty had been pushed forward.
Tie in events like the Syrian refugee push and the skepticism became the natural position. I suspect that it won't remain so in the long term. But considering what a mess this primary season has become, it's tricky to try and predict anything.
The larger lesson here is for the establishment. Their policy push not only backfired and made their program impossible to pass, but nuked all of immigration. Do they really want to risk a repeat of that?