Marco Rubio on Friday and said he would vote “hell no” on a spending deal struck by Republican and Democratic congressional leaders. Now his past is catching up with him, stoking old grievances from conservative rivals who are reopening one of the most vulnerable episodes in his past.
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Ted Cruz, locked in a heated battle with Marco Rubio over their immigration records, received an assist Saturday afternoon from one of the most hardline opponents of illegal immigration in the U.S. Senate.
This is why Rubio was desperate to claim that his immigration dispute with Cruz is minimal.
Rubio’s campaign has zeroed in on an amendment proposed by Cruz that would have stripped a path to citizenship out of the legislation while leaving in place a path to legal status.
After this week’s Republican presidential debate, Cruz stands convicted under the doctrine of “takes one to know one”. I half expected her to pull out a 9 mil on Rubio, shoot him in the leg, and scream “Citizenship, motherfucker!”
Often playing defense on immigration, the Florida senator shifted to offense this week by going after Cruz’s evolving rhetoric. Yet in the three days following the debate, it was Cruz who found himself contending more than Rubio with his involvement in the so-called “Gang of Eight” bill, a development that has put the Texan in his most defensive posture since entering the race. “I opposed the Gang of Eight; Marco Rubio authored the Gang of Eight”.
“I introduced an amendment that made anyone here illegally permanently ineligible for citizenship”.
“Let’s have a moment of simple clarity: I oppose amnesty, I oppose citizenship, I oppose legalization for illegal immigrants”.
The next month on the Senate floor, Cruz doubled down on his support for legal status for the 11 million. “And indeed, under the terms of the bill, they would be eligible for LPR status as well”.
Cruz has called that a poison pill created to highlight Democrats’ hypocrisy by painting them as more interested in gaining votes than helping immigrants. “We beat it”, Cruz said. Because Donald Trump has insisted that illegal immigrants can never become legal unless they leave the country.
According to it, Trump has the support of 34 percent Republican voters.
It’s not a debate among the nation’s surging Hispanic population: About three-quarters support a pathway to citizenship.
Voters at Cruz’s Las Vegas rally on Thursday felt differently.
He later added of the exchange on immigration between the two, “I think Cruz probably drew some blood on that”.
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“When you spend your whole time telling people that you’re a clear talker and you say what you mean and everyone else is a sellout, but you’re the only purist, I think it’s fair to say, “Well, hold on a second”.
