Rising GOP star Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) gave an impressive speech on immigration Friday to the Hispanic Leadership Network conference, an event led by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The Miami Herald reports that Sen. Rubio’s “sweeping” immigration speech took swipes at both Republicans and Democrats for playing politics with an issue so crucial to hispanics, calling for a compassionate approach for dealing with the issue of illegal immigration. The presumptive top pick for running mate to any of the remaining Republican presidential candidates conquered an early challenge during his remarks, addressing a group of protesters at the event who stood and interrupted Sen. Rubio’s speech. “Let me tell you guys something; these young men and women raise a very legitimate issue,” Sen. Rubio said. “They came here to a crowd that they know might not be kind to their point of view on issues. And they had the bravery and the courage to raise their voices. I thank God I’m in a country where I can do that and I want them to hear what I have to say.” CBS Miami notes that in his speech, Sen. Rubio spoke of the main problem in immigration being how to balance and honor “our legacy of immigrants” with “our legacy as a nation of laws.” “It’s impossible to walk a block in Miami, in Los Angeles, San Antonio without running into someone who is being deeply impacted by a broken legal immigration system,” Sen. Rubio told the conference. Sen. Rubio had a message to fellow conservatives similar to comments he made earlier in the week when he denounced the language used an ad attacking Mitt Romney produced by the campaign of Newt Gingrich. “For those of us who come from the conservative movement, we must admit that there are those among us who have used rhetoric that is harsh and intolerable, inexcusable, and we must admit, myself included, that sometimes we’ve been too slow in condemning that language for what it is,” Sen.Rubio sad. “But at the same time, on the left there are those that are using this issue for pure politics creating unrealistic and unreasonable expectations among those in the Latino community across this country.” Sen. Rubio did not directly address the DREAM Act, but said that “there is broad support in America for the notion that for those children that were brought here at a very young age, by their parents through no fault of their own, who have grown up here their entire lives, and now want to serve in the military or are high academic achievers and want to go to school and contribute to America’s future, I think there is broad bipartisan support for the notion that we should somehow figure out a way to accommodate them. “Figure out a way to accommodate them in a way that does not encourage illegal immigration in the future.” Sen. Rubio’s remarks Friday have received acclaim from several media commentators. “GOP Golden Boy Marco Rubio revealed the magnitude of his star power today,” writes the Business Insider’s Grace Wyler. “Delivering an impassioned speech on immigration that showed exactly why he is the true heir apparent of the Republican Party.” “Senator Rubio did little to disappoint the party’s faithful,” FIU Professor Ediberto Roman writes in the Huffington Post . “He was indeed impressive. Whether his impressive approach elevates the conversation and results in change that benefits this country is, however, still an open question. Nevertheless, his poise was remarkable.” Fox News reports that even as Sen.Rubio called for a softer tone on immigration, he reiterated his emphasis for bi-partisan support for the need for a modernized system, a new Visa program, E-Verify, tougher border security and a functional guest worker program. “I challenge the Republican nominees and all Republicans to not just be the anti-illegal immigration party,” he said. “That’s not who we are and that’s not who we should be, we should be the pro-legal immigration party.” Here’s a transcript and video of Sen. Rubio’s speech:
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The Marco Rubio Speech on Immigration That Everyone’s Talking About
The New York Times has the background, ” Gingrich Ad Faulting Romney on Immigration Stirs Furor .” (There’s an audio clip at the link.) And Michelle responds, ” Gingrich channels open-borders SEIU; Rubio rebukes; Update : Newt retreats .” And now at The Hill , ” Gingrich slams Romney immigration reform plan as ‘Obama-level fantasy’ “: The former House Speaker derided Mitt Romney’s idea of “self-deportation” — articulated in Monday’s GOP debate — as a “fantasy” while defending his own immigration plan, which would legalize the status of illegal immigrants with significant roots in the community and who had avoided arrest. “I think you have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatic, you know, $20 million a year income with no work to have some fantasy this far from reality,” Gingrich said. “Remember that I talked very specifically about people who have been here a long time, who are grandmothers and grandfathers, who have been paying their bills, they have been working, they are part of the community. Now, for Romney to believe that somebody’s grandmother is going to be so cut off that she is going to self-deport, I mean this verges — this is an Obama-level fantasy.” He also defended an ad that referred to Romney as “anti-immigrant” even after his campaign pulled the spot, which was denounced by popular Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in an interview with the Miami Herald. “Well, he certainly shows no concern for the humanity of people who are already here. I mean I just think the idea we’re going to deport grandmothers and grandfathers is a sufficient level of inhumanity,” Gingrich said. More at the link . And also at Los Angeles Times , ” Romney and Gingrich battle for Florida’s Latino vote .”
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Republican Candidates Trade Barbs Over Immigration
An important issue here is that Univision seems intent to damage both Marco Rubio and Republicans.
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Univision Chairman Calls Rubio "Anti-Hispanic"
Despite all the hype about Republicans wanting Sen. Marco Rubio as the number two on the Republican presidential ticket, there’s talk among some GOP in Washington about wanting Michele Bachmann as the veep, U.S News reports . On the Democrat side, they want Hillary Clinton to replace Joe Biden to try and woo “educated whites.” Of course, Clinton has said time and time again that she plans on leaving President Obama ‘s administration once the first term is up in 2012. Even so, a debate between Bachmann and Clinton is a brawl I’d pay money to see.
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VP girl fight?
At this point, talk of a Somebody-Rubio ticket or an Obama-Clinton ticket is just idle speculation. For what it’s worth, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida insists he’s not interested in the vice-presidency, and President Obama insists that Vice President Biden is sticking around for the long haul. But in Florida, they’re polling on this question nonetheless : Keep reading this post . . .
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Would Rubio as Veep Help Carry Florida? Early Data Says, ‘Probably.’
Many Republicans see Marco Rubio as a rising star who can help them win over Hispanics, but the Florida senator says toned-down rhetoric on immigration would be more likely to bring those voters to the GOP.
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Rubio Faults GOP ‘Rhetoric’
This morning, Quinnipiac finds slightly brighter — or perhaps less dark — news for Florida governor Rick Scott, while Sen. Marco Rubio continues to enjoy positive approval ratings: Florida voters, especially women, like Gov. Rick Scott more as a person, but all voters still disapprove 50 – 37 percent of the job he’s doing, in a Quinnipiac University poll released today, compared to a 52 – 35 percent disapproval August 5 and a 57 – 29 percent disapproval May 25. . . . U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio does better than Scott among Florida voters. He has a 49 – 31 percent approval rating, with positive scores of 81 – 10 percent among Republicans and 52 – 30 percent among independent voters. Democrats disapprove 52 – 19 percent. Keep reading this post . . .
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Florida Republicans, Independents Still Like Rubio
It’s been said that while the Republican party is still looking for its ideal presidential candidate for the 2012 election, the party has a bumper crop of impressive potential running mates and/or options for 2016. Among those mentioned often are Florida senator Marco Rubio, Louisiana governor
