Over at Right Wing News.
Why did the Republicans support this bill so fiercely even when their base opposed it and while the wheels were coming off the party? Hawkins has the answer:

I also asked my source why he thought so many Republicans had been supporting such an incredibly unpopular bill. He gave three reasons:
First off, there was what he referred to as the “Rovian School of thought,” which says that passing this bill would capture the Hispanic vote for the GOP for decades to come.
Next up, there’s the “Chamber of Commerce” vote. He says these Republicans were heavily influenced by business groups that want cheap labor no matter what the cost is for the rest of the country.
Then there was the last group, the smallest group in his opinion, who were willing to sign onto a terrible bill just so they could say they were part of a big reform that had bipartisan support.

I find the first reason incredibly naive. I wonder if anyone gave it any thought how many of these illegals would actually bother to become citizens. Why bother? You have to jump through hoops and pay a fine. Better just to get your Z visa and stay in the country as long as you want. And those Hispanics who have come to this country legally and hate this bill will not vote for a Republican if it passed. I don’t think that they got that. And even if some of these illegals actually did become citizens years from now, would that offset the thousands who were ready to leave the party over this issue? It’s thinking like this that makes me think that this party should be renamed the stupid party.