[guest post by Dana]

In a cynical and calculated move, the White House is pushing to get as many legal immigrants as possible to become citizens before the next presidential election takes place:

White House officials announced the start of a nationwide campaign on Thursday to encourage legal immigrants to become American citizens, which could add millions of voters to the electorate in time for the presidential election next year.

With about 8.8 million legal residents in the country who are eligible to become citizens, White House officials said they were trying to make it easier to complete the final steps to citizenship.

The government will be taking extra steps to aid applicants, including prep classes and practice tests taken on cell phones.

In spite of the the White House claiming it chose this week to launch the campaign because today is Citizenship Day, and claiming that the campaign is strictly non-partisan, there is this:

[T]he White House is also aware of federal figures showing that about 60 percent of immigrants eligible to naturalize are Latino and about 20 percent are Asian, both groups that voted overwhelmingly for President Obama. Nearly a third of legal permanent residents eligible to naturalize are Mexican.

The campaign, which includes a blitz of television ads with a welcoming message for immigrants, gives Mr. Obama a chance to set up a contrast with Republicans vying to succeed him. In the Republican debate on Wednesday night, Donald J. Trump, the real estate magnate who has been leading the polls among the Republican candidates, returned to his hard-line proposals that include building a wall along the length of the southern border.

Advocacy groups supporting the citizenship drive have been alarmed by the tough tone of the Republican campaign and are thus capitalizing on the resulting fear and anger:

“People are hearing the hate and racist xenophobia on the national stage from the presidential candidates. They are angry, and this is an opportunity for us to organize.”

–Dana

Allahpundit has the details.

How I treasure the possibility that this schlump takes a dive in the polls — just because of how much fun it would be to watch people rub his nose in it.