Tampabay.com
JUNE 20, 2008

Shift on immigration could cost McCain in FL

MIAMI - The issue of illegal immigration used to set Sen. John McCain apart.

While many in his party called for taller fences and harsher penalties, McCain wanted to give undocumented workers a path to citizenship. When his Republican rivals for the presidential nomination called him soft on border security, McCain flew to Miami last June to say they were "pandering for votes."

Now McCain is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and he's still running as a party maverick on fighting global warming and cutting federal spending. But not immigration.

The harder edge he now espouses may have satisfied the conservative base and saved McCain's campaign, but it has created a potential pitfall in the must-win Sunshine State. (story here)

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