Friday, February 27, 2015 09:42 PM
By: Joel Himelfarb

If attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) are any indication, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has a way to go to convince many on the right when it comes to immigration.

Two years ago, Republican leaders and some conservatives including Rubio sought to move the party away from the staunch anti-amnesty stance taken by many in the GOP grass-roots.

But rank-and-file Republicans made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants unless the border was secured beforehand and interior enforcement was substantially improved.

"I have had my eye on Marco Rubio for a long time, and when he came out with the Gang of Eight I thought, 'What are you doing? What is going on?' It just kind of stopped me in my tracks, just because I did not understand that at all," said Air Force veteran Roz Bellis, a CPAC attendee.

"So I will still be looking at him, but I still have that in the back of my mind," she told The Washington Times.

In 2013, many establishment Republicans hoped they could get the immigration issue "off the table" by passing overhaul legislation. Rubio was part of the Senate "Gang of Eight" — four Republicans and four Democrats — who put together a bill legalizing most illegal immigrants and putting them on a long-term path to citizenship while taking steps aimed at improving border security.

The legislation passed the Senate in June 2013 by a vote of 68 to 32, with Rubio joining 13 other Republicans and all Democrats voting in favor.

House GOP leaders attempted press the Republican Caucus to go along, but a mini-rebellion forced the leadership to back off.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's stunning defeat in the Republican primary a year later at the hands of now-Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia's 7th Congressional District also helped drive home how skeptical many conservatives are when it comes to amnesty and legalization.

And, judging from interviews the Times conducted with CPAC attendees, it is apparent that such sentiments continue to dog the Republican Party.

Larry Minniear, 63, said that he is wary of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner when it comes to the immigration issue.

"I don’t trust them for much of anything," Minniear said, calling them "very wishy-washy."

Bob Nichols, 63, said Republicans had caved on immigration and faulted McConnell and Boehner for failing to act decisively against Obama on the issue.

"It is really disturbing that we hired people that didn't go through with what they were supposed to do," said Nichols, a New Jersey resident. "I am not real happy with either one of them."

Those activists found support from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, like Rubio a potential 2016 candidate, who told CPAC attendees they were being betrayed.

"Unfortunately, Republican leadership is cutting a deal with Harry Reid and the Democrats to give in on executive amnesty," Cruz said. He told attendees that it is happening "because they are not listening to you."

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/CPAC.../27/id/627429/