Marco Rubio: "Keep On Dreamin'"

Sunday, Florida Tea Party favorite Marco Rubio, was on all 5 big TV gab fests plus Telemundo and Univision. What a joke! Have members of Congress with positive, substantive agendas ever been on all five? Elizabeth Warren? Bernie Sanders? Alan Grayson? Barbara Lee? Raul Grijalva? No, I must have missed those weeks too.

Rubio's role in the Senate's "Gang of Eight" has been to water down comprehensive immigration reform as severely as possible. They're unveiling their proposals today. Sunday, he told Fox News Sunday "This is not 'amnesty.' 'Amnesty' is the forgiveness of something. 'Amnesty' is anything that says 'do it illegally, it'll be cheaper and easier.'" Rubio is on the ad hoc committee to give right-wingers cover, to make it look like the Republican Party doesn't hate all immigrants and to make sure there is plenty of emphasis on further militarizing the U.S.-Mexico border and that the procedure for citizenship application is so onerous for undocumented workers that few will even apply. Under Rubio's proposal, undocumented workers allowed to stay in the U.S. would only get that status provisionally and wouldn't have access to any government programs, like food stamps, Medicare, Social Security and ObamaCare, even if they pay into them.

The NY Times likes Rubio's role because he's defending the plan and "prepared to throw his full weight behind it-- perhaps, at the same time, risking his own prospects for a widely expected presidential run in 2016."

In each appearance he spoke with a sense of urgency, arguing that the plan did not constitute amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country, arguing that they would receive no federal benefits during the 13 or so years it would take them to qualify for full legal citizenship and that the plan depended on tougher border security and better systems for verifying the employment and legal standing of people already in the country.

Mr. Rubio’s status as a Tea Party member, a prominent young Latino and a rising star in the Republican Party means his imprimatur on the legislation will carry weight. One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, last week praised Mr. Rubio as “indispensable” and “a game changer.”

The timing of the plan’s formal introduction remains unclear. Mr. Rubio would say only that it would come “as early as this week.” But a Democrat in the bipartisan group, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, said that all remaining hurdles had been removed.

“I see nothing in the way,” Mr. Schumer said on the ABC News program This Week, “and I think you’ll see a major agreement that’s balanced, that’s fair, that will have the widespread support of the American people on Tuesday.”

But ultimate passage is unsure. Republicans are deeply concerned about attracting Latino voters-- Mr. Obama won 70 percent of their votes last year-- but the measure is still seen as the major element of the president’s second-term agenda that has the best prospects.

The Senate group’s push for immigration overhaul was also being greeted on Sunday as an example of the sort of productive bipartisan cooperation that has become exceedingly rare in Washington.

“The eight of us have met in the middle, and I think that’s where the American people are,” Mr. Schumer said. He had only praise for Mr. Rubio, whom he called “a tremendous asset here.”

Even Karl Rove, who is known as a hard-nose partisan strategist and is a former political adviser to President George W. Bush, welcomed the cooperation on immigration.

“The Democrats and Republicans here have tried to cobble together a bill that is thoughtful, sensitive, tough, and with an eye toward getting something done,” Mr. Rove said on Fox News Sunday.

Whatever the outcome, he said it showed leadership on Mr. Rubio’s part, adding that concerning the presidential race in 2016, “I think it helps him.”

What a crock! As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, the most recent polls show that most Americans support creating a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are working in this country illegally-- and one with a shorter timeline than that contemplated by Congress.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they favor giving citizenship to those who came here illegally and now hold jobs. Support jumped to 76% for a plan that required immigrants to pay fines, back taxes and pass a security check, among other measures, to gain citizenship. Bipartisan legislation now being written in the Senate could open a pathway to citizenship with similar requirements.

People familiar with a Senate plan to rewrite immigration laws have said it would allow immigrants to apply for permanent legal residency, also known as a green card, only if border-security targets and other requirements have been met-- a process expected to take about 10 years.

...But the poll found strong support for a faster timeline, with 51% saying illegal immigrants with jobs should gain citizenship after five years. An additional 18% backed immediate citizenship. Some 12% said citizenship should be granted after 10 years. Only 14% said those immigrants should never be eligible for citizenship.

While 80% of Democrats and 54% of independents support a pathway to citizenship, a slim majority of Republicans still oppose such a measure, a fact that helps explain the tentative path such a plan will likely face in the GOP-controlled House.

So how, exactly, is Rubio earning a place as the latest Villager heartthrob? He certainly features prominently in the dossier prepared by a Democratic SuperPAC that exposes various Republicans' hypocrisy on immigration reform. Here are a few examples from the peanut gallery:

• Rubio on a path to citizenship: “Well, we have a path to citizenship. It’s called coming legally into this country.”

• McCain on racial profiling: “...drivers of cars with illegals in it that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeway.”

• Graham on birthright citizenship: “People come here to have babies...They come here to drop a child. It's called ‘drop and leave.’”

• Flake on birthright citizenship: “How in the world can you explain that’s a good policy to have? It simply doesn’t promote respect for the rule of law.”

• Cruz on enforcement: “triple the border patrol; use walls, fences, and technology; end sanctuary cities; repeal Obama’s newly ordered amnesty; end benefits like in-state tuition for illegal aliens.”

• McConnell on the DREAM Act: “I do not believe we should reward illegal behavior.”

• Vitter on the DREAM Act: “I am extremely pleased that the U.S. Senate has once again rejected the illegal alien student bailout known as the DREAM Act.”

• Grassley on the DREAM Act: “...discussing another amnesty will only create a rush to the border.”

And they have a special little section just on Senator Rubio:

Rubio: “You’re Never Going To Have A Legal Immigration System That Works If You Grant Amnesty.” According to Rubio in an interview with Human Events, “And you’re never going to have a legal immigration system that works if you grant amnesty. [...] There are going to be stories of very young kids that were brought to this country at a very young age who don’t even speak Spanish that are going to be sent back to Nicaragua or some other place. And it’s gonna feel weird and I understand that. The goal here is to have an immigration policy that works. And if you provide a path for people to enter this country illegally and if they stay here long enough and pay enough in taxes, well let them stay legally...why would anyone come in through the legal process?”[Human Events, 5/6/10]

PolitiFact: Rubio Said That The Arizona Immigration Law Would Create A “Police State,” Then Later Said He Would Have Voted For The Legislation. According to PolitiFact, “The law, generally speaking, makes being an illegal immigrant a state crime and requires legal immigrants to carry papers that confirm their legal status. On April 27, 2010 in front of a largely Cuban-American crowd in West Miami, Rubio likened Arizona's bill to the creation of a ‘police state,’ saying the American people wouldn't be comfortable with people being required to have documents on them at all times proving their citizenship status. Then on April 30, he told Fox News' Neil Cavuto that didn't believe the Arizona law was ‘the best answer to that problem.’ But in an interview with a conservative blogger nine days later, Rubio said he would've voted for the measure.” [PolitiFact.com, 5/12/10]

Rubio Said That The Democratic Version Of The DREAM Act Would “Create Incentives For Illegal Immigration, Chain Migration, And All Sorts Of Problems.” During an interview with the National Review, Rubio stated, “The problem is that all of the existing policy proposals that are out there like the DREAM Act create amnesty. They create incentives for illegal immigration, chain migration, and all sorts of problems. What I have said is that I believe we can deal with these kids and these circumstances without making all of the DREAM Act’s mistakes.” [National Review, 3/30/12]
• New York Times Editorial: Rubio’s Version Of The DREAM Act Would Not Provide A Path To Citizenship. According to the New York Times Editorial Board, “Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has recently been floating his stripped-down version of the Dream Act, a bill to legalize young unauthorized immigrants-- Americans in all but name-- who serve in the military or go to college. Mr. Rubio’s idea to make it palatable to his party is to offer them legalization without citizenship. ‘You can legalize someone’s status,’ he says, ‘without placing them on a path toward citizenship.’ He warns that if Dream Act youths became citizens, they could-- horrors-- someday sponsor family members to enter legally. This idea is nothing more than some newly invented third-class status-- not illegal, but not American. It’s the Dream Act without the dream and should be dismissed out of hand, along with similar half-measures embraced by Mitt Romney and other Republican presidential candidates, who endorse legalization for military service but not college, and not citizenship in any case.” [New York Times Editorial, 3/27/12]

Rubio Co-Sponsored Mandatory E-Verify Bill With Senator Grassley. According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Sen. Marco Rubio has signed on as a co-sponsor to a bill that would reauthorize the E-Verify employment check system and make it mandatory for all employers. ‘I know firsthand the great things that immigration has meant for America,’ Rubio said in a statement posted on his website. ‘Immigration is woven into the fabric of our nation and is a critical part of our future. But we can’t be the only nation in the world that does not enforce its immigration laws. Consistently, I have stated that a modernization of the legal immigration system is impossible unless we must first secure the border and implement an E-Verify system that will help prevent the hiring and exploitation of undocumented workers. That’s why I support Senator Charles Grassley’s bill to make E-Verify permanent.’” [The Tampa Bay Times, 6/15/11]

Rubio Said That English Should Be The Official Language Of The United States. According to the Miami Herald’s Naked Politics blog, “Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio said only ‘nuances’ separate his stance on immigration from that of his new ally, U.S. Sen. James DeMint of South Carolina. Rubio, who is Cuban-American, said he agrees with DeMint's position that English should be the official language of the U.S. ‘We have to have a common language that unites the people,'' said Rubio, the former state lawmaker from Miami. ‘I'm not in favor of banning other languages, but my name is spelled the same way in Spanish as it is in English.’ Lucky for him, since ballots might not be available in Spanish and Creole in Rubio's diverse Miami turf under legislation backed by DeMint that says government documents and services need only be available in English.” [The Miami Herald’s Naked Politics Blog, 6/16/09]