Marco Rubio works both sides on immigration

Marco Rubio works both sides on immigration

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Sen. Marco Rubio is shown. | AP Photo

Rubio is working an odd-bedfellows coalition, from hard-liners to progressive leaders. | AP Photo
By MANU RAJU and SCOTT WONG | 4/30/12 7:49 PM EDT

A year ago Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the Chicago-born son of Puerto Rican immigrants, called Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) an “extremist” on immigration.

But after hearing Rubio’s pitch last week on his version of the so-called DREAM Act, the liberal Illinois Democrat sang a more positive tune — so much so that some of his colleagues are beginning to rib him about it.

“I was catching all this grief from Democrats: ‘Oh, now you’re Rubio’s best friend.’ ‘Hey, does he have a little office for you when he’s VP?’” Gutierrez recalled in an interview. “There’s no meanness to it — it’s part of the politics of this place.”

The meeting with Gutierrez and top Democrats was one of many stops on a Rubio charm offensive as the Florida Republican has engaged in a behind-the-scenes lobbying blitz to sell his proposal that would help children of illegal immigrants gain a more-permanent legal status.

Rubio is working an odd-bedfellows coalition, ranging from hard-line anti-illegal immigration groups like Numbers USA to progressive leaders in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. And as he meets with Democrats, he is actively moving to head off a conservative rebellion, trying to curry support from the influential Heritage Foundation, religious leaders like Richard Land and tea party favorites like Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and Rep. Steve King of Iowa.

But the rookie senator is already finding that building a coalition on a hot issue like immigration — in an election year, no less — is an incredibly tough slog.

If his proposal is too tough on enforcement, he’ll lose support from Democrats and Latino advocacy groups. If he softens his proposal too much, he risks turning off conservatives who are approaching Rubio, a rising star in the party, with an open mind. For now, both sides are reluctant to fully embrace his proposals.

“There are significant obstacles,” Rubio, a potential Mitt Romney running mate, told POLITICO. “I’m not saying this is going to be easy and this issue comes with a long history and things that happened before I got here. So I’m dealing with that a little bit, too.”

For now, Rubio’s strategy is to solicit input from key conservatives in his party, who could influence a significant number of Hill Republicans. At the same time, Rubio’s team is trying to woo groups representing children who could be affected by his proposal, a move that would pressure Democrats who claim they’re worried about young people brought to the country illegally through no fault of their own.



Marco Rubio works both sides on immigration - Manu Raju and Scott Wong - POLITICO.com

A House Divided Cannot Stand
Mark 3:20-27

A House Divided Cannot Stand
20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” 23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house."