Boy, Marco squirms in and out of the “immigration hole” faster than the Eldest’s pet snake. We Conservatives had problems with this former TEA Party darling since he decided that he would hook up with Senator Chuckie Schumer (D-NY) who basically took him to the cleaners w/respect illegal immigration. A lot of us went “HUH?” when Schumer sent him forth to try to “convince” Conservatives “hey, this Amnesty isn’t all that bad!”.
Downhill from there and this has dogged him ever since. This is what happens when you break the Consistency rule – on such an important issue, Trust has been lost. The problem is that with Rubio’s constant straddling that line (like a football player doing foot drills, one side and then the other) with small steps first this side and then another. So who knows what his real intentions are? And today, he made it REAL problematic for himself and the primary voters on Meet The Press – it really was a head scratcher for me:
TODD: Let me ask you, by the way, quickly, on the eleven million [illegal aliens residing in the United States]. Are you still for find a way for them to stay legally in the United States?
Rubio: We are not going to be able to do anything on people who are here illegally until we first prove to people that illegal immigration is under control and America is safe.
WHAT?
Read that line a couple of times and two points jump out (being Dr. Obvious here):
- Do nothing, first
- Prove we have it under control first
This is supposed to “comfort” us to let us know where he stands if elected? And THAT is the question for you all to ponder – if he gains the Oval Office, what should we believe him to do?
In an interview airing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Florida Republican contender for the presidency said felons shouldn’t be allowed to stay, but those who commit lesser crimes could still qualify. He didn’t specify if the people allowed to stay would ever be able to become citizens.
“If you’re a criminal alien, no, you can’t stay. If you’re someone that hasn’t been here for a very long time, you can’t stay,” he said. “I don’t think you’re gonna round up and deport 12 million people.”
And I believe this summarizes my outlook on Rubio – there is no Trust on this issue:
There is too much distrust and today’s statement will just reinforce that.
The grass roots don’t support amnesty, a path to citizenship, or even legal status for illegals, because they know it will only lead to more illegal immigration. They remember that we tried such a shenanigan before. Under President Reagan we adopted the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”). That “immigration reform” legalized four million illegal aliens. IRCA was a monumental failure. Thirty-odd years later there are millions more illegal aliens to legalize.
And with chain migration, it isn’t just those that are here now.
Look, I WANT immigration – I just want it LEGALLY. I also don’t want immigration just for the sake of the Chamber of Commerce to fill “good jobs at cheaper wages” by continuing to look the other way (at best) and encouraging more illegals to come (Sanctuary Cities and States) to undercut American low skilled workers (e.g., the labor participation rate) and abusing H-1B visas to cram down at the middle and top end.
We do have a country and we do have citizens. THese last couple of Administrations, however, it seems that the Elite, the Political Class, sees us as mere pawns or the Progressive view point that we are just cogs in a machine and totally replaceable at any time or place. Or, like with what Labour did in Britain, enact policies that tilted to exchanging one population / electorate for another.
And Rubio, by not knocking down the criticisms that have been building this close to the Iowa caucuses and NH Primary, may be angering the very votes he needs.
