In just the last few days, two prominent conservative columnists, David Brooks in the New York Times and Michael Gerson in the Washington Post, have done must-read pieces lambasting talk radio hosts and some in the Republican Party for their short-sighted and deeply unsuccessful efforts to use Latino immigrants as a wedge issue.  While we have yet to see how talk radio or the party's leaders will react to these columns, it is a very hopeful sign that those in the party who have been privately concerned about the deteriorating relationship between Republicans and Latinos now feel empowered to voice those concerns publicly.