Posted on 04/24/2015 5:32:46 AM PDT by Bratch
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“Marco gives the same speech with donors that he does in public,” one Rubio advisor assured BuzzFeed. I’m sure he’s right. After all, when has Marco Rubio ever said different things to different audiences about his stance on immigration?
I do think it’s safe to say that Rubio’s choosing his words carefully on this subject, even among friends in private settings. All it would take to blow him up for good on the right is a hidden smartphone recorder catching him crowing about amnesty, and he knows it. He’s the safest pick in the field precisely because he’s not prone to huge unforced errors.
According to a half-dozen Republican fundraisers and contributors who have been courted by the Rubio camp, the candidate’s aggressive advocacy for the Senate’s 2013 immigration bill has proved to be a substantial draw within the GOP money crowd — and his campaign has shown little hesitation about cashing in. Even as Rubio labors to publicly distance himself from the legislation so loathed by conservative primary voters, he and his aides have privately highlighted this line in his resume when soliciting support from the deep-pocketed donors in the party’s more moderate business wing…
It isn’t only committed Rubio donors who are swooning after hearing the candidate’s immigration spiel. During a press call in February with other pro-immigration figures in GOP fundraising, California-based fast food CEO Andrew Puzder said that regardless of whatever public murkiness might surround the senator’s position, Rubio had personally assured him he was still dedicated to the cause.
“I actually have spoken with Sen. Rubio on the issue and he has not backed away from wanting immigration reform at all,” Puzder said. “He does think it’s very difficult to do it unless you address illegal immigration first so there may be a step process to doing this. But he’s still a very strong advocate for getting immigration reform that’s effective and helps people, and he’s one of the leaders in our party on this issue.”…
[E]very source interviewed said that no matter how radioactive Rubio’s immigration record might be to the right, it has done nothing but help him in this early stage of the primaries, when filling the campaign war chest is the chief concern. Two Republican fundraisers who have met with Rubio — requesting anonymity to candidly assess his efforts — even expressed surprise at how enthusiastic the candidate has seemed in private to promote his work on the Senate’s immigration bill, given his strong reluctance to do so in public.
It’s true that legalizing illegals has remained part of Rubio’s immigration platform even after the Gang of Eight debacle. When Bob Schieffer asked him last Sunday if he’d sign the Gang of Eight bill as president, not only didn’t Rubio rule it out, he talked specifically about legalization as the third step in his new plan. (Step one: More security.) Norman Braman, who’s shaping up to be one of his biggest donors, told BuzzFeed, “He believes we have to secure the borders first, and I believe we have to secure the borders first.” But then you read that bit about how surprisingly “enthusiastic” Rubio has been in talking up his Gang of Eight work with the pro-amnesty donor class and you wonder how committed he can possibly be to holding the line on security as president if Democrats push hard, as they surely will. If this guy ends up winning backed by hundreds of millions of dollars from the GOP’s pro-legalization wing, how much can he dig in realistically once Chuck Schumer insists that a comprehensive bill is the only way to beat a Senate Democratic filibuster? President Cruz might be willing to hold the line on security because his base is on the right. Rubio’s base, increasingly, will be the center-right and monied establishmentarians. See why he couldn’t give Schieffer a straight answer?
But look. This is why I’ve said all along, contrary to conventional wisdom, that he did himselfmore good than harm by joining the Gang of Eight. Back in late 2012, when he was mulling whether to join the Gang or not and risk his goodwill among conservatives, I think the sort of pander that BuzzFeed is describing today is precisely what he had in mind. He thought about 2016, realized that no one wins the GOP nomination without having lots of donor-class money behind him, and calculated that the surest way to impress that class would be to go to bat for their pet issue notwithstanding the beating he’d take from tea partiers for it. He took his lumps and his polls dropped, but he knew when the time came that the people who really mattered in choosing a president would remember. And so they have, with Rubio himself happy to refresh the memory of anyone who might have forgotten. This is why I say he’s a smart tactician even when you hate the moves he’s making. He plays the long game, and it’s paying off. I wouldn’t bet against him.
In fact, between the goodwill he’s built with billionaire amnesty fans and the goodwill he’s builtwith billionaire superhawks, I wonder how much of a money edge Jeb will end up having over him. There’ll be some advantage, no doubt, but probably without the knockout potential that Jeb was counting on. Imagine the irony if Bush ends up losing the primary because another guy in the field convinced the donor class he’s more like Dubya than Jeb is. Speaking of which, in lieu of an exit question, a tribute to my two favorite flip-floppers:
A Walker/Rubio ticket would encompass, like, six different positions on immigration
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) April 22, 2015
Rubio would be just another barely-employed Florida ambulance chaser without the GOP...
I will not be voting for Rubio, I have heard his position on immigration, in a nut shell, “bend over America the ruling socialists know what to do.”
Good. Then you will have Hillary instead.
No I will not have Hillary instead, besides what is the difference between once socialist and another. You remind me of the Bush lackeys on here saying Bush was a conservative.
Well how did that work out for you, great I guess because he isn’t and never was a conservative, and he gave us Roberts, who twisted himself into a knot to support ObeCare.
My position is the country is already finished, people vote for republicans who then betray the very oath they take.
Here you go, see what your valued Republicans are doing, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3282592/posts these same republicans support Rubio’s position on immigration
The only issue with this line of reasoning is that, unlike the drones in the Democrat Party, the conservative base can, and will, think for itself and reject a candidate not to its liking. Rubio, like Walker, has a serious problem on this issue.
That line does not work. If you are convinced Republican amnesty pimps are better for the country work to get Cruz nominated. W showed us Republicans can and will do more damage than Clinton did.
Mitch and the weeper of the house keep screwing us. Got it?
Rubio will give Bush a bit of a run ... but the billionaires that own the GOP part and parcel have spoken ... they will force feed us Bush.
It’s all too disgusting to handle. From the Patriot Act to Citizens United ... how to kill a once great Republic.
I see your point, TheCuban.
It is MUCH better when a Republican grants amnesty to 51 million illegal immigrants, than it is when a Democrat grants amnesty to 51 million illegal immigrants.
MUCH better.
Perhaps something useful will come from Rubio’s duplicity in that he might be competing for Bush’s constituency More likely Rubio will be Jeb’s stalking horse and will fight it out with the conservatives in the first primaries helping to eliminate the conservatives one by one so that Jeb doesn’t have to spend quite so much money from the sidelines trashing the conservatives as each leads for a time. In the second half of the process the only viable candidate left will be Bush and he will begin to campaign for himself instead of just against the conservatives. Bush is still highly likely to be the Republican Nominee and at this point, Mrs. Bill is highly likely to be the next president, that is, of course, if the country makes it until the projected end of the Sultan’s term.
He shows up every three years or so, posts a few Northeast Corridor anti-Southern bigotry posts or some RINO comment or another.
The Senate Republicans will usually do the exact opposite of what they promise to do.
Those lame tactics won’t work, for Rubio or Jebster.
We’re not going to vote for national suicide, which is what amnesty for fraudulently documented foreigners is.
Rubio has already proven he cannot be trusted. He schemed with Schumer against the citizens in favor of fraudulently documented foreigners and their employers and then lied about what was in his Gang’s bill.
NO CHEAP LABOR IMPORTERS !
The belief that you should only support a politician who is 100% aligned with your view on all issues is why we have Obama.
I do not like nor do I trust Rubio on a whole host of issues.
“It is MUCH better when a Republican grants amnesty to 51 million illegal immigrants, than it is when a Democrat grants amnesty to 51 million illegal immigrants.
MUCH better.”
thx for the backup Laz
I'd settle for 65% at this point.
Rubio comes in at about 50% of my big issues
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