The Republican Party and their most extreme membership must think that we don’t have brains, or that we simply do not know enough about American politics to demand that Republicans be held accountable for their past promises. This includes Republican Senator Marco Rubio, whose thinking changes as he inches closer to a potential 2016 presidential bid.
Over a year ago, members of the Latino community and activists in favor of immigration reform praised Senator Rubio for his work in the famed bi-partisan, “Gang of Eight” senators who managed to write and pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate. Yet in a recent ugly confrontation with DREAMers in South Carolina, Senator Rubio warned the group that they were hurting their own cause because they had no right to immigrate to this country illegally.
It almost seems as though Senator Rubio is being advised by Senator Rand Paul, the king of changing his political stance on an array of issues, including immigration reform.
After the scolding Rubio gave DREAMers, a Republican strategist told a reporter, “I cannot imagine anything better happening to Rubio here in South Carolina.” Why? Because Republican voters in South Carolina are among the most conservative and also have a considerable amount of power to choose who will be the Republican nominee during the 2016 presidential race. Therefore, Rubio had to throw his previous convictions out the window and fuel the extremist politics that he believes will help him win a Republican primary.
What a shame! Apparently the senator believes that winning the presidency is more important than fixing this huge problem facing our country. In terms of immigration reform, the senator was once lauded as someone with true leadership within his party. That is no longer the case.
In fact, this week, Senator Rubio signaled he is in favor of considering ways to block the funds needed to keep the government functioning, that is, a government shutdown (for the second time in a year) at a cost of over $24 billion to citizens, if President Obama dares to enact any executive action on immigration.
Come on! Republicans have refused time and time again to take action, regardless of what President Obama says or does. They are only interested in criticizing and contradicting the president; even though he is simply doing the job he was elected to do on an issue the Republican Party has completely abdicated all responsibility.
I have said it time and time again, Republicans will not return to the White House as long as their attitude towards the Latino community remains the same. And Rubio will not help them in this regard. Latinos have realized who the real Senator Rubio is, and he is not even close to being the “Republican Savior and great hope of the Republican Party.” At the end of the day, he is just another Republican politician who has turned his back on us.
This piece originally appeared in Spanish in the Washington Hispanic.
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