One of the features of the Republican debate at Nevada is that it crystallized the most disappointing feature of the GOP campaign so far — an almost total default on the subject of immigration. It is hard to think of a more dispiriting performance than to see the candidates for the party of liberty and free markets and limited government and growth and life quarrelling about who mowed Governor Romney’s lawn. And there hasn’t been a ray of light from the Republicans in the whole confounded campaign. It would not be too much to say it’s sickening.

We don’t gainsay the problem on the Mexican border. We are not against enforcing our immigration laws. Nor are we suggesting President Obama has a better approach. But not a single Republican candidate has spoken up for the idea that America is an under-populated country. In terms of population density, it is, at 83 persons a square mile, an impoverished country, barely a quarter of the rich density of China, which is running way behind India. America just has enormous room for population growth.*

And a desperate need. The need will be felt particularly acutely if one of the Republicans is elected president and guides our policies back to economic growth and job creation. Then we’re going to regret all this hostility to immigration. We’re going to need skilled and unskilled immigrants. If we’re going to have free movement of capital and free movement of goods we’re going to need the free movement of labor.

Nor is it just illegal immigration up for discussion. The television on which we watched the debate interrupted the candidates to present a paid ad for an organization that opposes even legal immigration. What an irony that the Republicans, who are, after all, the party with the most pro-life candidates, can’t, when it comes to immigration, talk about the value of all human capital.

Our religious sages understand the point. Our economists understand the point. It seems that only our candidates don’t understand the point. Nor are we persuaded by the argument that people, who are hurting for the lack of jobs, are angry. All the greater the need for leadership. This is not a problem the Democrats can solve with their anti-growth, cut-ever-smaller-pieces-of-the-pie approach. This is a moment for Republican, free market, pro-life arguments, pro-growth arguments. And the current crop of GOP candidates has just failed to rise to the issue.

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* A list of population density by country is available at Wikipedia here.