When Will the GOP Ditch the 'Scapegoat the Immigrants' Playbook?

First it was SCHIP, now it's the Stimulus.

What we're seeing from Republicans on immigration so far this Congress is kind of like Groundhog Day, Memento, and a Bush State of the Union Address all rolled into one. Call it cyclical delusion.

GOP strategists keep talking about how the Party needs to make nice with Hispanic voters, but Republicans just can't seem to resist reaching for that trusty "Scapegoat the Immigrants" playbook, and thinking that it will work this time. At this rate, Republican lawmakers are set to turn every single piece of legislation into a nasty debate about immigration.

Key Democrats are taking notice, and providing some advice for their friends across the aisle. According to Senator Harry Reid (D - NV), Republicans need to:

"Get off this illegal immigrant stuff."

Earlier this week, Republicans tried to block health care for kids ( on the grounds that legal immigrant children would qualify), and now they are trying to delay passage of the economic stimulus package because of immigration issues. Reid says the bill has nothing to do with anything illegal -- and that it creates jobs for people in this country lawfully.

If this scenario sounds hopelessly familiar, it's because we've been through it before.