Marco Rubio, El Presidente? Not Anytime Soon... Not In The U.S.A.

I suspect Marco Rubio is starting to realize he has a tiger by the tail-- and I doubt he has the depth of character to hold on much longer. The far right has really turned against him. Neo-fascist religionist kook Bryan Fischer starts nearly all his days tweeting endless incantations against the hapless Rubio and his attempt to work on a comprehensive immigration reform program.

Over the weekend I noticed that an anti-immigrant right-wing "Democrat," Mickey Kaus-- yeah, yeah, I know... not an actual Democrat-- one of those creatures who makes a living on the right by playing a Democrat while spouting a reactionary or bigoted agenda, picked up on Fischer's anti-Rubio crusade at the Daily Caller.

Rubio: Illegals will pay fines or be deported! Ambassador of Amnesty Marco Rubio argues on Powerline-- or rather, “Marco Rubio” argues, since the words are  attributed only to his “office”-- that critics overstate the number of new immigrants who would be added by his legalization bill:

There are approximately 11 million illegals currently in the US, and many of them won’t be eligible for legalization (because they haven’t been here long enough, don’t pass background checks, can’t afford the fines, etc.) and will have to be deported.

Really? We’re going to deport a significant chunk of the 11 million–and not just because they’ve arrived since 2011 (the cutoff), but because they don’t scratch together enough money (initially, $1,000)  for fines?  Would Sen. Schumer and Cecilia Munoz go along with this characterization of the legislation? Answer: no. It’s not going to happen. Rubio-- and his “office”-- are cementing his new national reputation as a dissembler...

P.S.: Even if Rubio really intended to deport “many’ of the 11M, that wouldn’t work. Why? Because the individuals who know they would be deported-- e.g. they came here too recently, they have criminal records or they don’t want to pay the fine-- will simply not come forward. They-- the “many”-- will just stay in the shadows where they are now. That means the bill will not come close to achieving its alleged purpose, which is to bring all current illegals out into the open.

P.P.S.: And how are these mass deportations going to help Republicans woo Latino voters?

What’s the alternative? Don’t pretend you’re suddenly going to deport millions of people. Move to stop the flow of new illegals. When that’s accomplished-- e.g. through E-verify, a fence, and a visa-checking system-- and when those enforcement mechanisms have survived court challenges, then try to bring illegals out of the shadows. At that point, some years down the road, with the future illegal flow cut off (and “chain migration” curtailed), you can afford to be honest about how mean you are willing to be. Some people will still have to be deported, but not for failing to pay a fine or for losing their job and slipping below 125% of the poverty line (as allegedly would happen under Rubio’s plan).

There's a lot of dirt on Rubio from the days he and ex-Congressman David Rivera were roommates in a Tallahassee party house, where mobsters, cocaine, women and millions of illegal dollars made it the center of Florida's corrupt go-go scene while Rubio was the House Speaker and Rivera was his henchman. With Know Nothings and the neo-fascist wing of the GOP destroying Rubio with the activist Republican base now, Democrats will be able to hold onto that material for elections beyond 2016. And I say, if they want Cruz... give them Cruz!