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Marco Rubio is exactly what the GOP needs on immigration

By: Griffin@griffinelection (Diary)  |  January 21st, 2013 at 07:42 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The immigration reform debate is coming whether we want it or not.  Obama has become a political heavyweight, steamrolling the weakest Speaker of the House in modern history and the impotent GOP caucus at every turn.  But he won’t stop there.  His stated objective is guns, debt ceiling and immigration.

If Obama can handle the immigration debate as masterfully as he has handled the past few contests, Republicans will be forced to either pass Obama’s bill or articulate to America their opposition to “Amnesty,” UNLESS, Marco Rubio can become the leader on immigration reform. 

No matter how you slice it, Democrats will vote for immigration reform and reap the benefits of it.  Simultaneously, Republicans in safe gerrymandered districts will howl about it and continue to hurt the GOP brand overall.

But there is an opening for a charismatic leader in the Senate to take the reigns, introduce his own bill, build support for it, compromise with D’s and push that sponsored bill to the President’s desk.  A senator that was able to do that, might just plant the seed that could potentially turn around GOP prospects in the Hispanic community.    

That Senator may even be able to garner 43% of the Hispanic vote in a General Presidential Election, the same percentage W received in 2004 before wiping the electoral floor with John Kerry. 

That is exactly what Marco Rubio is poised to do.  Leading Republicans are lining up behind Rubio’s new proposal – and they should.  It is happening either way and it doesn’t compromise any smaller government principals. 

Rubio’s plan essentially creates a path to citizenship – the most important plank to immigration reform, while also ensuring that illegals are estopped from cutting in front of immigrants pursuing a legal path to citizenship.  Other eye candy for the base include: moving skilled workers to the front of the line, use of E-verify for employers and stricter border patrol. 

This is exactly what we need and if Mr. Rubio can push this thing through then there will be a respectable modicum of political goodwill for Mr. Rubio to build upon in the future, which is something the GOP sorely needs.

COMMENTS

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  • trem

    The main benefit of Rubio’s plan is that there is nothing on it the Dems can point at and oppose. If Immigration reform is gonna happen, and we pretty much know it will, the main goal has to be that it is a GOP immigration reform. Handing Obama an immigration victory is handing the dems a lot more elections. Focus on passing our bill, what is actually on it is sadly secondary.

  • JKnight

    Personally, I still think that Marco Rubio has yet to truly prove himself to be Presidential material despite all the press attention and the adoration of some in the party (which is by no means an indication you’re going to be an effective chief executive or even can competently run a national campaign). He may still prove that with time, but the immigration issue is hardly the only thing he’d have to champion to prove that.

    As for the immigration issue, Democrats will ensure that they reap the most of immigration reform. They will not be afraid to up the ante, so to speak, so that Republicans cannot stomach it (this President has already done that with other issues). I’m not entirely sure it’s inevitable or that Democrats really want to push for it in any large, meaningful way. They certainly never made any attempt when they had their best chance to do exactly as they could want.

    • bobmark

      I agree about the Dems upping the ante. If Rubio’s plan gets any traction the Dems will tweak it to somehow make it unacceptable to the Reps. Then they’ll pull the “but Heritage thought up the ACA, how can you be against it?” act again.

      • trem

        It already has amnesty, what more could the Dems add to make it unacceptable?

        • bobmark

          At least Rubio’s amnesty has strings attached. Not advocating for R’s plan, but we’re going to get stuck with something so whatever it is needs to be ironclad, ‘cuz the D’s will do their very best to muck it up.

        • thirdeblue3639

          A fairly easy path to citizenship?

  • commonsenseobserver

    I agree with the broad principles, but the rules need to be tightened up even further, and there should not be a path to citizenship for any first-generation, non-DREAMer illegal immigrant, only legal permanent residency at most.