Rep. Steve King: ‘They Drive Wedges Between Us’

The congressman speaks with Jim Rutenberg about the “I-word” and showing Gov. Chris Christie the ropes in Iowa.

Your outspoken nature has drawn national attention, especially on Twitter. You and your wife have had some fun reading the nastier tweets in public. Any favorites? One said I smelled like “mothballs and dusty Bibles,” or something like that.

We picked up 15 seats in the House and maybe nine in the Senate. That’s the kind of punishment I can handle.

Whatever kind of crisis emerges, the agenda that they have long advocated for magically becomes the silver bullet for the circumstances that have arrived.

Every Republican who was critical of my remarks was pro-amnesty to some degree. Boehner gave license, and the rest gave chase.

Oh, we don’t have too many in-depth conversations. You know, he’s not a very talkative fella anyway.

There were several of the pork producers there for that purpose. I helped arrange that conversation. And they got a real straight answer. Christie followed through on that.

(SNIP) And on the Democrat side, they see Hispanics as a huge, monolithic voting bloc.

Rand Paul's immigration speech
...The Republican Party must embrace more legal immigration.

Unfortunately, like many of the major debates in Washington, immigration has become a stalemate-where both sides are imprisoned by their own rhetoric or attachment to sacred cows that prevent the possibility of a balanced solution.

Immigration Reform will not occur until Conservative Republicans, like myself, become part of the solution. I am here today to begin that conversation.

Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants.

If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you...

This is where prudence, compassion and thrift all point us toward the same goal: bringing these workers out of the shadows and into being taxpaying members of society.

Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers.12 million more people assimilating into society. 12 million more people being productive contributors.
[Posted on 03/19/2013 7:04:07 AM PDT by Perdogg]
Rand Paul calls on conservatives to embrace immigration reform
Latinos, should be a natural constituency for the party, Paul argued, but "Republicans have pushed them away with harsh rhetoric over immigration." ...he would create a bipartisan panel to determine how many visas should be granted for workers already in the United States and those who might follow... [and the buried lead] "Imagine 12 million people who are already here coming out of the shadows to become new taxpayers...
[Posted on 04/21/2013 1:52:42 PM PDT by SoConPubbie]
[but he's not in favor of amnesty, snicker, definition of is is]

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