Everybody knows the story with Marco Rubio when it comes to the immigration issue being debated in Congress. The Florida Republican Senator has a lot on the line as he tries to shepherd a bill that is unpopular with a strong segment of the GOP base (a base that Rubio wants to cultivate for his potential 2016 plans to run for president), yet a bill that the Republican establishment feels is crucial for their future with the growing Latino electorate.
That means that in pushing so hard on immigration, he feels like he has to appease the Tea Party-wing of the GOP on a host of other pieces of domestic legislation. But even on the issue of immigration, he often gives the impression that if things aren't just right, he'll bail on the bill. That's the thrust of this video distributed from his office this morning, in which he responds to an inquiry from a constituent named Lynn in Wesley Chapel who expresses concerns about the unintended consequences of a large immigration reform bill and called for pilot programs and smaller pieces of legislation instead.
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 5, 2013.