Commentary below.

Members say they are feeling newly emboldened to go their own way after the White House this month signaled a willingness to tackle the controversial issue next year. What’s more, Democrats recognize the issue is a politically sensitive one for Republicans hoping to curry favor with Hispanic voters in 2010.

Really? That’s the grand strategy? First of all, let’s get something out of our systems: Hispanics are generally not going to vote for Republicans. Just like blacks aren’t going to buck the Democrats for the GOP. It’s going to happen. Democrats could fill their ads without derogatory phrases and they’d still receive the support of Hispanic and black voters. It’s just the way it is.

Second, Democrats are willing to alienate independents and conservative Democrats in order to win the support of Hispanics — a voting block whose support they already have? Liberals seem to think unemployed Americans and their friends and family members just can’t wait to grant amnesty to 12 million people who are taking American jobs. They’re in for a rude awakening.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who heads the Congressional Hispanic CaucusImmigration Task Force, said Hispanic lawmakers were taking notes during the health care reform debate, when House Republicans stood firm in their opposition to key aspects of the Democratic plan. In the end, he said, Democrats preserved the heart of their proposal by holding together, not by chipping away at core principles to win over Republicans.

“Had we negotiated with the Republicans on a bipartisan basis, we wouldn’t have had a public option, so there would have been nothing to mobilize us. We did that with immigration reform in the past,” Gutierrez said, signaling that he plans to begin the immigration reform process with a less compromised bill than he has before.

“Our bill will be to immigration reform what the public option was to health care reform,” Gutierrez said.

I’m sorry, did I miss something? The health care proposal Gutierrez is talking about barely passed the House and only did so after Republicans and conservative Democrats had demands met on key issues like abortion funding. Even at that, the legislation has yet to pass the Senate and Harry Reid doesn’t have the votes to pass legislation with a public option.

Democrats are willing to alienate independents and conservative Democrats in order to pass amnesty legislation in a single chamber? Sounds like political suicide.