Two polls were released Monday-- and both auger terrible news for the GOP. One, by the reputable Pew organization trumpets the broad national support for comprehensive immigration reform embodied in the Gang of Eight proposal. The other, by the Republican Party's own polling firm, Rasmussen, showed that Marco Rubio's support among Republican voters has plummeted because of his role in the drafting of that immigration legislation most Americans want to see passed. 71% of American voters say undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country. The racists, xenophobes, Know Nothings and teabaggers who are now the base of the GOP, disagree. Rubio's dilemma is fraying the Republican Party. Republican base icon Sarah Palin started the week rolling by smearing Rubio now that he's down and out with her followers.
"It’s beyond disingenuous for anyone to claim that a vote for this bill is a vote for security," Palin wrote. "Look no further than the fact that Senator Rubio and amnesty supporters nixed Senator Thune’s amendment that required the feds to finally build part of a needed security fence before moving forward on the status of illegal immigrants who’ve already broken the law to be here."And if shooting down the border fence wasn't proof enough, they blew another chance by killing Senator Paul’s ‘Trust But Verify’ amendment which required the completion of a fence in five years and required Congress to vote on whether the border is actually secure before furthering any immigration measures. And then they blew it yet again, nixing Senator Cornyn’s ‘Results’ amendment, which also required border enforcement standards. Now the Senate’s pro-amnesty crowd is offering a fig leaf to security via the Corker-Hoeven Amendment, but this is really nothing more than empty promises. It’s amnesty right now and border security … eh, well, someday.”Palin promised to make immigration a major issue in the 2014 election cycle, comparing it to 2010 when the tea party movement helped propel Republican gains as Americans rallied against President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law.“As the Senate moves to pass amnesty, the only bright spot in this travesty is the rallying revolution we can look forward to,” Palin wrote on Monday. “For just as opposition to Obamacare became a rallying cry for the 2010 midterm elections, opposition to this fundamentally transforming amnesty bill will galvanize the grass roots in next year’s elections. And 2014 is just around the corner.”Nor was this Palin’s only attack on Rubio in recent days. On Sunday, Palin highlighted a story from Townhall.com which insisted Rubio shifted his position on immigration between when he ran for the Senate in 2010 and today.“Politicians wonder why we can't trust them?” Palin demanded on Facebook on Sunday before including Alaska’s two U.S. senators-- Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Lisa Murkowski. “Campaign flip-flops like this and carve-out bribes in the Amnesty Bill for politicians like Begich and Murkowski to exempt Alaska seafood workers.”
The ad up top is being run-- and run heavily-- by the very far right U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as a reward to Rubio. The Chamber isn't interested in humanitarianism or racial equality; their only interest in the immigration fight is cheap labor. Can they make up for the damage Palin and the teabaggers are doing to Rubio's reputation inside his own party? Not a chance. Just listen to Lindsey Graham (from Fox News Sunday) explaining how his party has to be bigger than just the backward racists in his own state and Utah:
