Posted on 02/03/2013 2:10:35 PM PST by JohnPDuncan
Schumer came with Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois. Graham and McCain brought fellow Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
It was clear to the senators that one voice could prove crucial to their hope to sell a plan to conservatives: Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and Cuban American with conservative credentials, who could become a champion untainted by past scars over immigration.
Soon after that meeting, Durbin was in the Senate gym and spotted Rubio pedaling a stationary bike.
"Marco, you got to be there," Durbin said. "I want you there because of your position in the party."
There was a catch: Rubio, like all senators in the group, had to agree that any bill would create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and would emphasize family unification.
"Are you willing to accept these two things?" Durbin asked.
"Yes," Rubio said. "Of course, I want to talk about how it's done."
Rubio had his own conditions: to ramp up border security first and make sure illegal immigrants go to the back of the line when applying for legal permanent residency, among other things.
Durbin called Schumer: Rubio was in.
"I have gotten more done in the Senate gym than almost any room in the Capitol complex," said Durbin, who described the encounter while in his Capitol office, where he keeps a copy of his Lithuanian mother's naturalization paper framed behind glass with the receipt for the fee she paid: $2.50.
As Rubio came on board, Lee stepped aside. He didn't agree with the emerging consensus on the pathway to legal status and the proposal to give agricultural workers a faster path to citizenship.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Yep. Pat saw the writing on the wall 20+ years ago just as we did. By the way, there aren’t more than a handfull of CONSERVATIVES left in D.C.
And was demonized by the MSM and Dems for warning of it and cast aside by the Dole squad.
He got booted off of MSNBC about a year ago as he was the only one critical of O and Dems.
They prefer phony Republicans like Steele and Morning Joe who every day take the Democrats side agreeing with them.
” And was demonized by the MSM and Dems for warning of it and cast aside by the Dole squad.”
Ah yes! Ole Bob Dole! Ole Bob Dole who for the past 30 years
kept telling us that the reason he registered as a Republican
as a young man was because the line to register was shorter for Republicans.The same “Ole Bob Dole” who privately told Reagan that he didn’t think he could get his tax cuts passed. (Reagan told Dole in so many words that he would crucify Dole
if he backed down.) THAT Ole Bob Dole......
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