Well folks, I think it's safe to say that when talking about Marco Rubio, you can file this one under, 'WHAT THE HELL DID HE THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN?' Because, you see, Rubio's popularity has pretty much tanked among most Tea Party supporters, of which I am definitely one, who say the Florida Republican, who helped ignite the Tea Party movement with his 2010 Senate bid, has failed, and pretty miserably, to live up to all of the hype after having made a seriously wrong turn by deciding to join up with RINO John McCain in the push to provide amnesty to illegal immigrants.
Tea Partyers say their beef is not so much that Rubio is trying to fix the nation’s immigration system, but that the bill he helped write does nothing to repair the nation’s porous borders, even as it offers all manner of special pork to some lawmakers and expands the size of the federal government. And it does a lot of the things that he once said that he was against. Which at least gives the appearance, that this bill, which rivals Obamacare in both its complexity and length, is more about politics than it is about actually fixing an immigration system that many agree is badly broken.
The criticism is a major change for a man who was intricately entwined with the Tea Party. The movement enthusiastically backed Rubio early on as he chased establishment candidate Charlie Crist from the Republican primary en route to his 2010 general election victory. "I have heard repeatedly from people in Florida that they are ready to look for primary challengers, and I have heard from people around this entire country that they don’t want him to be the presidential nominee in 2016," said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. I, for one, will never vote for him again.
This entire immigration 'discussion' is but one example of how the entire immigration debate is already playing into the 2016 presidential sweepstakes. Rubio's potential rivals, some of whom also serve in the Senate, took a rather different tact. Sen. Rand Paul, for instance, of Kentucky flirted with supporting a broad immigration bill but ultimately backed off, saying he wasn’t convinced the borders would be secure. He voted against the final bill. So did Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has repeatedly bashed the bill Rubio helped craft as part of the "Gang of Eight." Both make a great deal more sense than Rubio.
Rubio's bill now faces what many are calling some pretty dim prospects over in the House, where his reputation could be further tarnished if his conservative colleagues reject, as they should, his legislation. "The thing that is most baffling for me is that this man is willing to lose millions upon millions of votes he could have had from Tea Partyers for illegal votes that he will not get because he is not a Democrat," said Ken Crow, an Iowa activist who formed TeaPartyCommunity.com. Obviously, Rubio was able to fool a great many of us, but he'll not be able to do so again.
And Amy Kremer of Tea Party Express said Rubio has been hurt by his stance and that mending fences will be nearly impossible. "People are more angry about immigration than they were about Obamacare," she said. "It is disheartening to work so hard to elect these conservatives and then see their base turn on them." Actually, it's so disheartening when you vote for someone who claimed to be a conservative, and to believe in the same things that you do, only to find out after they're elected that it was all just a ploy, and that you might as well have chosen to vote for a Democrat.
Rubio decided to take his big gamble this year when he chose to sign on with three fellow Republicans and become one of the 'bipartisan' gang. He said Republicans must embrace a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants if the party hopes to compete for Hispanics’ votes. The 'Gang of Eight's' bill would legalize illegal immigrants but, theoretically, withhold full citizenship for more than a decade, giving the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) time to spend more money on border security. But as we now know DHS could, and at any time, simply declare that the border is secure.
The final Senate vote was 68-32, with 14 RINOs voting in favor of the bill and all 32 opposing votes coming from the rest of the chamber’s Republicans. Just ahead of the vote, Rubio took to the Senate floor to defend himself and his bill. But he really accomplished nothing more than to further embarrass himself. He said he is convinced it will secure the borders and prevent another round of illegal immigration. Well then, he's either very naïve or very stupid. Neither of which being a quality that one often looks for in one's Senator. Unless you happen to be someone like former senator, John Kerry-Heinz.
He said millions of illegal immigrants have been living in the U.S. with little chance of being deported, amounting to a de facto amnesty. And he claimed to be bothered by the division with many of his former supporters. "To hear the worry, anxiety and growing anger in the voices of so many people who helped me get elected to the Senate, who I agree with on virtually every other issue, has been a real trial for me," he said. "I know they love America, and they are deeply worried about the direction this administration and the political left are trying to take our country." And he's helping move us in that direction.
Many in the Tea Party, myself included, question the political motivation of Rubio for his choosing to become one of the 'Gang of Eight' members. Mr. Crow also mentioned, "I will give you the quote I hear most often, ‘He got to Washington D.C. and drank the Potomac Kool-Aid,’ and he is now regarded with disdain in the tea party community. He is regarded in the same light that we now regard Sen. John McCain." Old 'Maverick' McCain, as well as fellow 'gang' member, Lindsey Graham have become the poster children, for many, when it comes to the many RINOs that we now have in Congress.
The backlash has taken a toll on Mr. Rubio, whose favorability rating in polls has dropped pretty significantly. Rubio, however, said this "certainly isn’t about gaining support for future office." Gee, no shit Sherlock! He'll be lucky if he gets re-elected in 2016, so he better enjoy things while he can. Personally, I'm hoping that Allen West can be talked into running against Rubio the next time around. I could be wrong, but I just don't see us having to worry about Col. West deciding to make the same journey over to the dark side as we have been made to watch Rubio do. He’s actually a conservative.
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