02/28/2015
Senator Marco Rubio is like a lot of politicians who think you can reward lawbreaking rather than punish it, with no negative consequences to the social and legal fabric of the nation. He is a Firster, who recommends that America Secure The Border First, then dole out amnesty to the millions of foreign lawbreakers who successfully invaded to steal US jobs and benefits.Anyone with a clue about human psychology understands that reward and punishment are the basis of shaping behavior. Parents and teachers know that fact very well through experience. Even a few politicians have noticed, like Senator Chuck Grassley, who regretted his vote for the 1986 Reagan amnesty, saying, “You know what I found out? If you reward illegality, you get more of it.”
Rubio hoped that his leadership role in the hated Gang of Eight amnesty gang would be forgotten by now, but it hasn’t among those of us who care about law and borders. Being a top amnesty poodle is a disqualifier for higher office.
So the Amnesty Man groveled ever so slightly at CPAC, admitting his error to Sean Hannity (another amnesty supporter, at least after the 2012 election disaster).
Remember that Marco wasn’t merely a craven young senator seeking favorable publicity by latching onto an issue that the liberal media like. As the Daily Caller reported in 2013 about his history back in the Florida legislature: Rubio Has Long History of Blocking Immigration Enforcement.
He can speak convincingly about general conservative principles, but he is an ambitious grifter looking for power. He now chatters about American exceptionalism with references to Reagan, because he thinks it will help him politically.
How perfect that Sean Hannity (now back on the No Amnesty wagon after intense retraining by Ann Coulter) was chosen to interview the newly chastened Rubio. They are a perfect pair.
HANNITY: You went forward with your immigration proposal and at the end of the day you said it didn’t work, I tried, it’s not going to work. The last time I interviewed you on the radio about it you said you regretted going forward, you learned from the process, you thought you made a mistake. Explain.The Florida senator is hoping for a remake starting at CPAC where he tried to sound like Mr. Enforcement. But he wants border security only as a means to admit lots more immigrants. He has changed his tune because being the hispanic Republican Senator leading the secretive Gang of Eight turned out to be a political loser among conservative voters.RUBIO: It wasn’t very popular. Here’e the thing. It’s a serious problem that has to be confronted.
A man so casual with national sovereignty cannot be trusted with national leadership.
Rubio: I’ve learned lesson on immigration, The Hill, February 27, 2015Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told the Conservative Political Action Conference that he’s learned he was wrong on his approach to immigration reform.
Rubio, a onetime Tea Party favorite whose support for a comprehensive immigration reform package hurt him with the base, told the conservative crowd that he now understands U.S. borders must be secured before anything else can be done.
“It wasn’t very popular, I don’t know if you know that from some of the folks here,” Rubio said with a smile, earning laughs from the crowd, when asked about his earlier support for the bill by Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“You have 10 or 12 million people in this country, many of whom have lived here for longer than a decade, have not otherwise violated our law other than immigration laws, I get all that,” Rubio said. “But what I’ve learned is you can’t even have a conversation about that until people believe and know, not just believe but it’s proven to them that future illegal immigration will be controlled.”
That tone is a big change from his support for the 2013 bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that badly wounded him with the GOP base, though it’s a return to the views he held before he joined the bipartisan group.
Rubio said recent border issues had proven his earlier approach was wrong, calling a border security first approach “the only way forward.”
“You can’t just tell people you’re going to secure the border, we’re going to do E-Verify, you have to do that, they have to see it, they have to see it working, and then they’re going to have a reasonable conversation with you about the other parts, but they’re not going to even want to talk about that until that’s done first. And what’s happened over the last two years, the migratory crisis this summer, the two executive orders, that’s even more true than it’s been
Rubio’s shift on the issue is the latest sign he’s leaning towards a presidential run, as he looks to repair relations with conservatives. It’s also a marked split from his former mentor and likely opponent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who has doubled down on his support for immigration reform.
Rubio’s speech itself focused on his two core messages: American exceptionalism and a need to help the working class get ahead — with Rubio’s personal anecdotes getting the strongest response.
“For me America isn’t just a country, it’s a place that literally changed the history of my family,” he said as the audience nodded along attentively. “America doesn’t owe me anything, but I have a debt to America that I will never be able to repay.”
Rubio kept his speech very short, using just over six minutes of the twelve he was allowed and leaving the rest for questions. The CPAC hall was mostly full despite his early speaking time, though the final few rows filled in with bleary-eyed college students a few minutes after he took the stage.
The audience’s response was a bit muted compared to the one some Thursday speakers received. That’s likely more because Rubio had less red-meat applause lines built into the speech and because the crowd was dragging a bit after a likely party-filled night.
Hannity joked about how many in attendance “weren’t feeling well this morning, you were up late drinking,” earning laughs from the crowd and pointing out he had his own water bottle with him.
Rubio also got strong cheers for slamming Democrats’ foreign policy.
“Because of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy our allies no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us,” he said to applause before ripping “a foreign policy that treats the ayatollah of Iran with more respect than the prime minister of Israel.”
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.