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 1:45 PM, May 6, 2013 • By WILLIAM KRISTOLYuval Levin has an excellent piece at NRO, "Reforming Immigration Reform," on how the Gang of Eight's immigration bill could be improved. Levin notes "that, compared with some other conservative critics (including some of NR's editors), my starting point on this subject is significantly friendlier to the sort of approach Rubio seems to have in mind." I share Levin's general perspective on immigration, and his desire to see sensible reforms. But a majority of the Senate is unlikely to adopt his proposed amendments. So I wonder if, in practice, the comprehensive Gang of Eight bill is in fact reformable. And I wonder (and Levin agrees with this in principle) whether it wouldn't be a lot easier to get a desirable outcome by having separate bills focusing on the different aspects of the immigration issue, rather than seeking to improve the Gang of Eight "comprehensive" legislation.
So why accept the Gang of Eight template in the first place? Shouldn't the House move ahead on its own with separate bills addressing border security, e-verify, high skill immigration, etc.? If various pieces of legislation start to move in the House, it would be harder for supporters of the comprehensive Senate bill to say that it’s the Gang of Eight bill or nothing. And if the Gang of Eight eventually fails in the Senate, it wouldn’t be easy for Harry Reid—having emphasized how important the issue of immigration is-- to refuse to take up legislation the House has passed. In which case, the best thing for now would be to defeat or at least delay the Senate bill, and to let the House go first with separate pieces of legislation.
Doesn't this run the risk of having nothing at all pass both houses this session? Yes. So to embrace this "House first" approach does mean accepting, as a fallback, that the status quo is preferable to the Gang of Eight legislation. For what it's worth, I'm increasingly coming to believe that's the case.
6:45 PM, Apr 16, 2013 • By MICHAEL WARRENMarco Rubio was direct about the biggest challenge he has as his comprehensive immigration reform bill is released this week. “It’s going to require a lot of communication,” said Rubio on a conference call with reporters Tuesday evening.
Read more... 11:46 AM, Mar 19, 2013 • By MICHAEL WARRENDemocratic House member Luis Gutierrez of Illinois reiterated his support for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants while acknowledging that in order to receive Republican support, that path may not be "clean, clear and quick." He also stated that illegal immigrants who want to become citizens ought to embrace American culture and encouraged them to learn English.
Read more... 3:31 PM, Mar 13, 2013 • By LEE SMITHToday Sen. Marco Rubio introduced the Egypt Accountability and Democracy Amendment, legislation blocking “economic support funds and new foreign military financing” “unless economic reforms and human rights safeguards are adopted, while also initiating a more thorough, longer term reevaluation of U.S. military assistance to Egypt.”
Read more... 10:52 AM, Feb 16, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPERIn a statement posted to his website, Florida senator Marco Rubio announced that he's leaving today for Israel and Jordan.
Read more... 11:46 AM, Feb 15, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPERIn an article titled, "Refusal to Lead," Republican senator Marco Rubio writes, "The biggest foreign policy problem facing the United States right now is not too much U.S. engagement, but the danger of a world in which we increasingly refuse to lead. There are few global challenges that can be solved without decisive American leadership."
Read more... 8:26 PM, Feb 13, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPERIn response to the outrage over Marco Rubio's decision to drink water during his response to the State of the Union Address, his PAC, Reclaim America, has begun selling water bottles.
Read more... Hosted by Michael Graham.11:50 AM, Feb 13, 2013 • By TWS PODCASTTHE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:
Read more... 3:01 AM, Feb 13, 2013 • By MICHAEL WARRENThere wasn’t much in the way of substance to distinguish Marco Rubio’s official Republican response to the State of the Union Address from the Tea Party response by Rubio’s Senate colleague, Rand Paul. Both were delivered by potential 2016 presidential nominees who entered the Senate on a wave of grassroots support in 2010. Both senators offered conservative rebuttals to President Obama’s stridently pro-government address.
Read more... 10:24 PM, Feb 12, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPERThe Republican response to the State of the Union Address, which will be delivered by Marco Rubio, as prepared for delivery:
Read more... 6:10 PM, Feb 12, 2013 • By DANIEL HALPERThe following are excerpts of the Republican response to the State of the Union Address, which will be delivered by Marco Rubio:
Read more... He’ll be broad, upbeat—and preview the coming disaster.7:00 AM, Feb 12, 2013 • By STEPHEN F. HAYESFrom the earliest days of Marco Rubio’s plucky campaign for the U.S. Senate, his diehard supporters spoke of the day that their man would have an opportunity to challenge Barack Obama – his policies, his vision, his rhetoric. They were certain that Rubio was so gifted an orator and possessed such a unique set of political skills that he would be able to make immediate and improbable leaps that most politicians could not execute.
Read more... 3:49 PM, Feb 6, 2013 • By MICHAEL WARRENMarco Rubio, the Florida Republican senator elected in 2010, will give the Republican response to Barack Obama's state of the union address next week. From a joint statement from House speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell:
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