That depends on the details. If amnesty goes through it may be as forgotten by election time as Reagan’s signing the 1986 amnesty has been. If it doesn’t, Rubio can distance himself from the measure, saying that he was for greater enforcement first and he won’t support amnesty unless the border is secure. There may be as many stay-at-home conservatives as there were this time, but if Rubio can pick up enough other votes to make up for them, then conceivably he could win.
There are many details out there that affect how any given voter decides to vote. And, no, there is no way for Rubio to come out of his amnesty pushing without permanently losing the vote of some conservatives.
By pushing amnesty with the likes of McCain, Graham and the Dims in the Gang of 8, he has alienated some conservatives and he won't win their vote in the future, especially if this latest amnesty scheme becomes law.
And no one who pushes amnesty can claim to be a fiscal conservative, so he loses on that issue, also.
“That depends on the details. If amnesty goes through it may be as forgotten by election time...”
It won’t be forgotten by me.
I have voted Republican in every election (and most primaries, as well) since 1990. But if amnesty passes, and Rubio is elemental in that passing, I will withhold my vote in 2016. It’s that simple. (I won’t be voting for any “Bush” either, nor for Chris Christie.)
I am but one vote, and I’ll admit that there’s no chance that ANY Republican can win my state again, ever. But I sense there are quite a few in this forum who feel the same as I.