May Day! Republicans For Immigration 'Reform'?

If Gov. Charlie Crist still cares about firming up his conservative bona fides, he might want to say something serious about immigration.

Rival Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush left the field wide open on Tuesday with squishy comments about the need for immigration "reform." That's D.C. speak for legalizing illegal aliens. Some even call it "amnesty" and appeasement to migrant activists' upcoming May Day demonstrations.

Sounding tough, Rubio said, The American people have every right to expect the federal government to secure our borders and prevent illegal immigration."

But strip away the bromides and the son of Cuban immigrants comes down squarely against the strict border policies recently enacted in Arizona.

Bush, meantime, will join former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and others, including religious leaders, on a Thursday conference call to strategize ways to move a reform bill through Congress. This working group has called Arizona's law "divisive" because it empowers local law enforcement to question and detain suspected illegals.

GOP guru Karl Rove echoed those sentiments at the Villages today when he questioned the Arizona law's constitutionality.

It doesn't take a professional pollster to know this is not what Florida Republicans want to hear.

Your move, Charlie. Join the amen chorus and provide cover for Democrats, or stand for state's rights and no-nonsense border security.