political backlash 101

A few points about the recent "immigrant" protest marches in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, et al:

• The participants are not calling for equal rights for immigrants, but amnesty for illegal aliens. Two entirely different issues.
  
• Any discussion you see about opposition to "immigration" or "immigrants" is a blatant lie. I have never heard anyone say that they are opposed to immigration. What some people are opposed to is lawlessness and flagrant violation of current immigration policy. Follow the law on the way in the door, and we welcome you with open arms. Break the law as your first act in this country, and you deserve nothing but the inside of a jail cell.
  
• As you can see in the top-right corner of this photo, some of those masquerading under the banner of "immigrant rights" are actually engaging in a "reconquista" of the southwestern United States. Believe it or not, it's a fact.
  
• Why are those allegedly rallying in support of equal rights for immigrants carrying so many flags of their native countries? If they want equal rights here, maybe they should be carrying American flags. Granted some are, but there are at least as many with Mexican flags. If they're so fond of their home country, I hear it's quite easy to get across the border. It's not a one way type of thing either.
  
• Why is it that half a million illegal aliens can gather openly in downtown Los Angeles without fear of arrest and deportation? Kinda like the town hall meeting in Houston last year in which illegal aliens shouted down city officials who were trying to allay their fears about alleged (though unfortunately not actual) INS sweeps. These people are growing more brazen by the day, and our elected officials and bureaucratic overloards are coddling them as if they were natural born citizens of this country. It's completely unacceptable.
  
• As my title suggests, these protests are going to do little to bring about the amnesty that they seek. Quite the contrary, every talk radio show I caught today was on this top to bottom. This is going to create a backlash that will blindside the protesters like nothing they've seen. It's just like what happened with the marriage rights debate in 2004. Because of all the people staging protests and flagrantly violating the law by granting null and void marriage contracts, they pissed the rest of the country off and helped pass 11 state constitutional amendments and laws ridigly defining marriage. While I support their cause (marriage, not alien amnesty), their tactics were counter-productive in the long run. These amnesty protests will probably help get more Republicans elected in November and make the proposed immigration reform in Congress even more strict (as it should be).
  
• Although I can't credit it as my own, I had to pass along an amusing phrase I heard on the radio today. Someone called in and identified himself as an "undocumented border patrol agent" since he had participated in the Minuteman project. *claps* Genius...and patriot.