Some conservatives, such as Al Regnery, continue to claim that John McCain has to somehow appease the right for his apostasy on the immigration issue. But since when did being rabidly anti-immigrant—even rabidly anti-illegal immigrant—become a litmus test of conservatism? If that were the case, Ronald Reagan, who signed what many now denounce as an “amnesty bill” in 1986, would have flunked.

Moreover, this year’s voting results confirm what was already evident: that while immigration may be a hot-button issue for some conservatives (including, it seems, many talk radio hosts), it is hardly of paramount importance to most Republican voters, much less to the electorate as a whole. Mitt Romney, who had veered into the anti-immigrant camp, hoped to win votes because of his stance. No doubt he did, but it wasn’t enough, not even in states like California and Arizona that are supposedly the most anti-immigrant.

Early on Tuesday evening, right-wing pundits were pointing to exit polls showing McCain struggling in his home state as evidence that the immigration issue was catching up with him. Turns out those polls were off-base. McCain wound up winning Arizona with a bigger margin over Romney than Romney had over McCain in his home state of Massachusetts. Then McCain went on to clobber Romney in California, winning almost every congressional district, including those in southern California that were allegedly hotbeds of anti-immigrant sentiment. Far from hurting him, McCain’s more moderate stance on the issue is a plus. For one thing, it is reeling in Latino voters; Cuban-Americans may have made the margin of difference for McCain in the crucial state of Florida.

Anti-immigration sentiment is a fool’s gold issue. It looks alluring from a distance but up close it is revealed as nothing but dross. Just ask President Tancredo.