While Democrats control the U.S.? ?Senate,? ?some of the chief political drama in that chamber comes from the Republican side of the isle as three potential presidential candidates -- U.S.? ?Sen.? ?Ted Cruz of Texas,? ?U.S.? ?Sen.? ?Rand Paul of Kentucky and U.S.? ?Sen.? ?Marco Rubio of Florida -- jostle for position on immigration reform while keeping an eye on? ?2016.?
Presidential hopefuls trying to outmaneuver each other in the Senate is a rare sight in American history though there have been a handful of examples in recent years.? ?Barack Obama had to keep an eye on Hillary Clinton on one hand and John McCain on the other.? ?JFK boxed out the likes of LBJ and Hubert Humphrey both in the Senate and on the campaign trail back in the? ?1960? ?election cycle.?
As one of the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination,? ?Rubio faces some hazards as he continues to be the most public advocate for the immigration reform bill.? ?With conservatives across the nation expressing their reservations concerning the bill,? ?Rubio continues to reach out to them,? ?hoping they will back the bill if it provides more funding for and focus on improving border security.?
Making the rounds this past weekend in support of his immigration reform bill,? ?Rubio appeared on ABCs? ?This Week? ?on Sunday and insisted increasing border security would help rally conservatives behind the proposal.? ?Rubio also claimed adding more border security was the only way the bill would pass both chambers of Congress.
"The vast majority of Americans,? ?the vast majority of conservative Republicans are prepared to support immigration reform,? ?but only if we can ensure that were not going to have another wave of illegal immigration in the future,? ?Rubio said.? ?And so I think they have pointed to valid criticisms of how the border security plan is structured in the bill,? ?and quite frankly very reasonable ways to address it.
??I think the debate now is about what that border security provision looks like,? ?Rubio added.? ?And if we do that,? ?this bill will have strong bipartisan support.? ?If we fail,? ?were going to keep trying,? ?because at the end of the day,? ?the only way were going to pass an immigration reform law out of the House and Senate so the president can sign it,? ?is that it has real border security measures within it.?
Rubio sat down with the Washington Examiner for an interview published on Monday in which he insisted the bill had the votes to make it through the Senate but increased border security would help it in the Republican-controlled House.?
While Rubio tries to walk the tightrope in advocating for the bill while not turning off conservatives,? ?he also has to keep an eye on two fellow members of the Republican caucus.? ?Paul appears likely to vote for the bill as long as its amended to provide more border control.?
If any immigration bill is to pass,? ?the Senate needs to be more serious about securing our border,? ?Paul said last week.? ?I am in favor of immigration reform and I view it as an important issue that must be handled properly.? ?But,? ?in order for reform to take place,? ?we must first secure our nation's border.?"
Paul expounded on that in a speech last Thursday at a forum on immigration being run by the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles.
??The Republican Party must embrace more legal immigration,? ?Paul said.? ?Unfortunately,? ?like many of the major debates in Washington,? ?immigration has become a stalemate -- where both sides are imprisoned by their own rhetoric or attachment to sacred cows that prevent the possibility of a balanced solution.
??First,? ?everyone has to acknowledge that we aren't going to deport? ?12? ?million illegal immigrants,? ?Paul continued.? ?If you wish to work,? ?if you wish to live and work in America,? ?then we will find a place for you.? ?In order to bring conservatives to this cause, however,? ?those who work for reform must understand that a real solution must ensure that our borders are secure.?
But the senator from Kentucky could be on the other side of immigration reform than his father,? ?former U.S.? ?Rep.? ?Ron Paul who has expressed concern about national ID cards being included in the immigration reform bill.?
A group affiliated with Ron Paul came out swinging against the bill on Sunday.? ?The Campaign for Liberty? ?bashed the immigration reform bill? ?--? ?but not on immigration.? ?The group continued Ron Pauls warnings that the immigration reform bill included provisions which could undermine Americans? ?civil liberties.?
The Senate is set to take up the so-called? ?immigration reform? ?bill tomorrow?! ?the Campaign for Liberty wrote in a message to supporters sent out late Sunday.? "?And buried deep within the bill are plans to develop a National ID Database of every American citizen,? ?linked with birth dates,? ?Social Security numbers,? ?biometric information? ?--? ?like photos and retinal scans? ?--? ?laying the groundwork for full-scale tracking of every aspect of our lives.?
Ron Pauls not the only Texan who is critical of the immigration reform bill.? ?Cruz,? ?a favorite of the tea party movement,? ?took to the floor of the Senate last week to denounce the immigration reform bill?
I very much want common-sense immigration reform to pass,? ?Cruz insisted on the Senate floor on Tuesday.? ?As written,? ?this bill will not pass into law.? ?And if this bill did become law,? ?it would not solve the problem.? ?Indeed,? ?it would make the problem of illegal immigration that we have today worse rather than better.?
Noting there was? ?widespread bipartisan agreement? ?on immigration?; ?Cruz slammed the? ?conduct of the White House and the Senate Democrats?" ?who he accused of being? ?more interested in finding a partisan issue to campaign on in? ?2014? ?and? ?2016? ?than they are in actually passing a bill to fix our broken immigration system.
?The only thing that can change that is if the American people speak up,? ?Cruz continued.? ?The only thing that can change that is if the stakeholders make clear to the Obama White House,? ?to the Senate Democrats [that] failure is not an option,? ?that if this fails because as a political matter you insisted on a path to citizenship and threw everything else overboard,? ?that failure would be unacceptable.? ?I very much hope we work together in a bipartisan manner to fix this problem in a way that secures the border,? ?in a way that respects rule of law and in a way that improves legal immigration so we remain a nation that welcomes and celebrates legal immigrants.?
With Rubio playing a highly visible role in supporting the bill,? ?hes leaving potential? ?2016? ?rivals room to run to his right on the issue.? ?Despite concerns from his father and his still considerable political following,? ?Rand Paul appears ready to join Rubio and support immigration reform.?
But Cruz is going a very different road,? ?bashing immigration reform as a political ploy to increase Democratic turnout.? ?If Cruz enters the? ?2016? ?presidential contest,? ?hell have a line of attack against the likes of Rubio and Paul that could resonate with Republican primary voters.?
In the meantime,? ?a prominent Florida Republican who supports immigration reform threw a jab at Cruz over the weekend.? ?Former Gov.? ?Jeb Bush,? ?who is also a potential presidential candidate in? ?2016,? ?had kind words for Cruz during an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network but hinted the senator was more concerned with principles than solutions.?
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at? ?904-?521-3722.
