Amnesty drags Rubio to 6th in polls
https://hub.numbersusa.com/images/51...logo-black.png NEWSLETTER WEEK of JULY 26
https://www.numbersusa.com/content/f...picture-21.jpg THIS ISSUE: Sens. Alexander & Rubio becoming examples for House Republicans who think they can advance political careers with amnesties and big immigration surges
Last night across the street from our NumbersUSA offices, I could literally "read the writing on the wall" for Republicans who are following the advice of their national party leaders, consultants and corporate fund-raisers to flood America's labor markets with foreign workers.
The words "Sen. Alexander under fire on immigration" scrolled across the electronic news screen that wraps around the corner of the complex that contains the local ABC TV station and Politico.
Being one of the 14 Republicans (30% of GOP Senators) who rescued the S. 744 amnesty bill from defeat last month is not helping any of them win any popularity contests.
Providing the starkest evidence was a Public Policy Polling report earlier this week on Sen Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The firm was widely regarded as one of the most accurate during last year's presidential campaign. In its polling of preferences for a Republican presidential nominee, it found:
"Marco Rubio, who had led all of our polling since December, has dropped all the way to 6th place. . . . Rubio was at 21 or 22% on all of our polls between January and March but his support has now dropped to half that level (10%)."
Rubio made the decision in January to become the face of the omnibus immigration bill, even allowing various special interest groups to run non-stop ads featuring him touting the legislation on conservative TV and radio, even though the bill was written primarily by the staff of New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer. Rubio made sure that few Republican Primary voters across the nati on would be unaware of his leadership for the giant bill. It was a huge gamble apparently based on national GOP consultants' belief that Rubio could convert conservative voters to his view that giving out some 30 million new green cards over the next decade would be good for the American people.
Sen. Alexander did most of his work to pass the bill in the background. He is facing re-election in 2014 and let his fellow Tennessee Republican, Sen. Corker, take the public leadership for the amnesty since he was just re-elected last fall and has five years before having to answer to voters again.
But Tennessee voters don't look to be in a mood to give Alexander a pass, according to the Politico article last night:
"Attending a rally in Smyrna, Tenn., last weekend, Alexander was greeted by a crowd of about 300 conservative activists -- organizers said -- wearing bright red T-shirts that read "Beat Lamar" in big bold letters. They held signs that blared: "You betrayed us" . . . Tea party groups were already watching Alexander given declining scores from the Club for Growth and Heritage Action, and they hope last month's immigration vote will be a tipping point against him. It's a test of their ability to punish GOP lawmakers for their stance on the Gang of Eight bill -- especially important given Senate Republicans did not move en masse to vote for the measure, and House Republicans want nothing to do with it.
"Unlike previous cycles, Lamar Alexander is in trouble," said Drew Ryun, political director of the conservative Madison Project and a former Republican National Committee deputy director. "Immigration is the big issue, especially given some of the things he's said in the past. His political doublespeak isn't going to work this time."
Activists representing several local tea party groups in Tennessee have teamed up with national conservative groups such as FreedomWorks, the Madison Project and Senate Conservatives Fund to find a cre dible, conservative candidate who can challenge Alexander in next year's primary.
Alexander, like most of the Republican Senators who voted for the big increase in foreign labor, has a huge campaign war chest filled with donations from the corporate wing of the party. It will be very difficult for a challenger to beat him. But just having to compete in a Primary is at the least a costly indignity that most incumbents of either party abhor.
The key to killing any chance of S. 744 ever becoming law lies with the majority of Republicans in the House telling Speaker Boehner not to bring any bills to the floor that can be "conferenced" with the Senate bill. If your Cong ressional District has a Republican Representative, we have provided on your Action Board a fax to warn them about the example that Sen. Rubio is providing for the political consequences of supporting amnesties and massive immigration increases.
We also have provided many of you with faxes to inform your Republican Representatives of an op-ed by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) that suggests the best way for Republicans to draw Hispanic-American votes is to help them move and stay in the middle class.
Most of the rest of you will find other faxes that have been posted on your Action Board this week.
Finally, our staff has been aggressively planning for your visits to home offices and Town Hall meetings of Representatives during the month of August. If you have not already signed up for special notifications, please email Melanie Oubre to let her know that you want to help --moubre@numbersusa.com.
ROY BECK
FRI, JULY 26th
