Posted on 06/19/2013 5:35:59 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Right rips Rubio as Republican immigration votes slip away
By Alexander Bolton - 06/19/13 08:05 PM ET
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is feeling the heat as potential GOP allies are now turning against his immigration reform bill.
Republican colleagues who were previously viewed as possible “yes” votes are keeping their distance from the 1,075-page measure.
On Wednesday, conservative activists ripped Rubio and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — both sponsors of the bipartisan immigration measure — at a Capitol Hill rally.
The crowd, which was protesting the bill’s effort to put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship, booed at the mention of Rubio’s name during the six-hour event.
The rally underscored the mounting opposition to the immigration reform bill among both grassroots conservatives and GOP senators.
Potential Senate Republican backing for the legislation has begun to evaporate because of deep skepticism over its border-security and enforcement provisions.
In recent weeks, senators on both sides of the aisle speculated that 70 members of the upper chamber might vote for the Senate bill. That tally is now seen as unattainable.
Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Rand Paul (Ky.) and John Cornyn (Texas), who were once viewed as possible supporters of the bill, are now expected to reject it.
Rubio, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, is seen as essential to passing the measure, but his involvement hasn’t persuaded many of his GOP colleagues to back it.
Many GOP senators say they want far more border-security provisions in the bill.
Republican Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.) and John Hoeven (N.D.) met Wednesday with members of the Gang of Eight, who drafted this bill, to negotiate a compromise on enforcement measures.
Corker told The Hill after the meeting that he and Hoeven thought there had been “substantial breakthroughs” with Democrats.
Corker and Hoeven declined to comment on the details of their proposal.
“We had a very positive morning, and we’re all now talking within our caucuses, and I’ll leave it at that,” Corker said.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has strongly defended the border-security language in the bill, said, “I’m not talking about any specifics.”
Senate Republican sources briefed on the talks said Corker, Hoeven and the Gang of Eight are mulling an increase of 20,000 border patrol agents along the southern border. This would nearly double the number of agents along the U.S.-Mexico border.
But the Corker-Hoeven push for allocating thousands of additional border agents appeared to change few minds within the Republican conference.
“I didn’t see it move many people. It’s not going to get me to vote for it,” said a lawmaker who attended a meeting at which Republican senators discussed the proposal. “I’m not going to vote for an immigration bill that doesn’t have a metric for securing the border.”
There is now growing uncertainty about whether Rubio — in the face of sustained criticism on the right — will end up voting for the Gang of Eight’s bill.
Rubio has declined to outline his plans, unlike other members of the Gang of Eight, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who have pledged their support.
Rubio ducked a question Sunday during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” about whether he would vote for final passage.
“I don’t want to get involved in hypotheticals and ultimatums,” he said.
He held to that line on Wednesday, telling a reporter, “I’ve already discussed it.”
Rubio has said he wants to see what kind of improvements will be made to the legislation.
In response to the proposal to dramatically boost the number of border patrol agents, he said, “We’ll have more to say about that later.”
Rubio has endured a spate of critical press reports in recent days.
The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza reported that an unnamed Rubio aide told him in an interview that some American workers “can’t cut it” as a rationale for giving visas to foreign workers.
Conservative press outlets who hold significant sway in presidential races have also criticized Rubio. For example, the right-leaning National Review has dubbed the senator’s efforts as “Rubio’s folly.”
Meanwhile, Rubio has distanced himself from other members of the Gang of Eight in recent weeks.
He has opted out of public appearances with them and did not join in Wednesday’s meeting with Corker and Hoeven, according to a person who attended.
Rubio’s staff says he is still aggressively selling the bill to conservatives.
The Florida senator appeared Wednesday morning on a national radio talk show hosted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and was scheduled to give a television interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday evening.
Rubio remains popular in his home state, giving him leeway to take a gamble on pushing landmark legislation.
There are also signs the prominence he’s taken in pushing immigration reform is doing him some political harm.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed that Florida voters give him a 51 percent to 35 percent job approval rating.
Only 33 percent of all respondents said they approved of his handling of immigration reform, compared to 41 percent who disapproved.
Republicans, however, approved of his handling of immigration by a margin of 52 percent to 24 percent.
It appears increasingly unlikely the legislation will be able to meet the ambitious goal set by Schumer, McCain and Graham of passing with 70 votes.
Members of the Gang of Eight can now only be sure of 61 or 62 votes for final passage.
“Obviously, we want to get as large a vote as possible. We’re working on it. I think it’s clear there’s like 61 or 62 votes. What we want to do is grow it as much as possible,” McCain said.
McCain said he hoped the 70-vote goal was not overly ambitious.
The danger is that by setting such a lofty target at the outset, the bill may appear to be losing momentum if it barely clears the 60-vote threshold needed for passage.
Striking a deal with Corker and Hoeven on increasing border patrol agents by as many as 20,000 may not bring a flood of Republican votes, but at least it would secure the support of those two lawmakers.
That could, in turn, bring along Corker’s home-state colleague, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a pragmatic deal-maker who leans toward the center.
Senate aides say if the Gang of Eight agrees to Corker’s and Hoeven’s demands to boost federal spending on border security, they will be expected to vote “yes.”
One critic of the bill called the Corker-Hoeven proposal a desperate “Hail Mary” to increase Republican support.
The Gang of Eight rejected a proposal by Cornyn to add 5,000 border patrol agents along the southern border during last month’s Judiciary Committee markup.
If Rubio were against this amnesty bill, he would be out front saying so at every opportunity, but he's not. He's still DEFENDING it.
And he's still allowing Mark Zuckerberg's phony conservative group to use his name in their lying commercials.
I don't know why you're continuing to stick up for Marco Rubio. Notwithstanding your comments about supporting strong border enforcement, you sound as though you haven't been following this story at all, and are stuck on the early talking points.
I don't see how any Freeper can be so ill-informed about everything that's transpired in this debacle, or why anyone in this community would even think of giving Rubio a pass on this, when the evidence clearly shows that he's betrayed us all.
The only possible explanation, is that you're an establishment Republican, and not a conservative. You won't last much longer around here, if that's the case.
About the only hope for an Arizonan is to pressure their rep...but mine is a democrat, so no luck there, either! No one in DC give’s a rat’s rear about my thoughts, because they all ARE RAT’S REARS!
Rubio is a turncoat and a traitor. Promising no amnesty to tea party voters and pushing for amnesty two years later. Completely disgusting.
It’s time to call/email/fax Senators and Congressmen again over amnesty. Here’s a sample letter.
Dear Honorable US Senator ...,
Sir, I am extremely upset with this latest sham amnesty immigration bill the US Senate is currently debating.
Words cannot express my anger at the utter foolishness of this bill. Rewarding criminal behavior encourages more criminal behavior. People cannot begin their careers in America by breaking the law. Further, it hurts minimum wage American workers by causing them to compete with millions of foreign workers. by I am dismayed at those in Congress who lack the understanding of this critical issue to our nation.
I along with most other Americans are in favor of legal immigration for those who are willing to learn our language, culture, and invest the time and money required to become a U.S. citizen - but not for those who willfully break on our laws, spit on our country, demand benefits, and are not willing to go through proper channels to become an American citizen.
What is the solution? It won’t be easy because we didn’t get into this situation overnight. I believe we need to do the following immediately:
1) Secure our borders
2) Enforce existing law
3) Not allow any amnesty provisions of any kind
4) Improve our visa system
5) Prosecute and fine those businesses which knowingly employ illegal workers
6) Give law enforcement officials the necessary resources and authority to combat illegal immigration
7) Deport illegal aliens violating the law after being fingerprinted, photographed, iris scanned, charged with a felony, and their information placed in a national database.
8) Send a bill for deportation/prison costs to the embassy of the illegal immigrant’s national origin.
9) 2nd time and thereafter repeat offenses by illegal aliens should be sent to work prison camps for a maximum of 6 months - building the southern fence/wall.
10) Seize and liquidate all assets from illegal aliens and use the proceeds for our military and local law enforcement.
11) Must not give illegal immigrants government welfare benefits of any kind, including Social Security
12) Designate English as our national language
13) Change the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants
14) Mandatory proof of citizenship for voting
15) Mandatory proof of legal status for DL or ANY government issued ID or benefits card
16) Put pressure on the Mexican government and other nations to reduce illegal immigration to America.
17) Encourage only legal immigration and citizenship to for those wanting to become Americans.
These ENFORCED changes would strengthen America greatly.
Please consider voting against this terrible legislation should it come before the full House floor.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Insults? Come on it’s just a difference of opinion. We’re
on the same page, it’s just I refuse to be ruled by my
emotions on this. If in the near future Rubio goes across
the isle on any more major issues, I’ll be right there yelling
“cut of his head” with you.
Windflier? Are you a hang glider or ultra lite pilot or
something like that?
Emotions? Friend, clear evidence of Rubio's betrayal is staring you right in the face. You needn't succumb to emotionalism to see it.
Conservatives and patriots are rightly pissed at this man. The emotion you see being expressed is a byproduct of his factual attempt to sell our side on this treasonous and disastrous bill. He did so, while many conservatives still trusted him as a steward of the people's will and our shared core principles.
Anger at what Rubio has attempted, is entirely appropriate, but you won't get there unless you look at the plain facts first.
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