Yes, I’ve repeatedly lamented the fact that Rubio seems to be unable to make the case to mass legalization skeptics that he’s reformed, that he isn’t going to recklessly open the doors to unrestricted immigration, etc. “Marco,” I’ve said, “you need to reach out to your skeptics more directly, and give them reasons to believe you.” (Well, OK, really I just tweeted the above, and links to my blog posts, to @marcorubio where, admittedly, at best, some low-level staffer may or may not have glanced at them in scrolling through “mention” notifications, but still, what else can you do?)
But what worries me is this: what if this is intentional?
Consider Obama’s stance on gay marriage. Here’s a ThinkProgress timeline, dating from 2011, of Obama’s various statements on gay marriage, in which, as soon as he cast his eye on statewide office, he dropped his prior support of gay marriage, most famously in an interview with megachurch pastor Rick Warren. Only in 2012, in the midst of campaigning, when he concluded that public opinion had shifted, did he announce that he had “evolved” on the issue, but, as Townhall.com (and multiple other news/commentary sites), this was widely perceived as much more a matter of political pragmatism enabling him to openly admit a position that he had denied in the past, in order to get the support of the Christian and socially-conservative black community, rather than a true change of heart.
In other words, Obama lied. He treated his anti-gay-marriage supporters as chumbolones, chumps, rubes, whose votes he would take without regard for broken promises.
What if we who support Rubio in spite of his support for mass legalization, are the rubes now? What if he is already planning to “evolve” after the election ends? What if he has no real commitment to enforcement except as window-dressing?
It would sure as heck explain why Rubio does nothing more than repeat his same lines over and over again, why he doesn’t seem to acknowledge the real concerns people have about mass legalization, and mass immigration in general, even though, near as I can tell, this is the single biggest reason why he can’t make more headway on Trump and Cruz.
Which means the nightmare scenario of Donald Trump as nominee, supported by true believers, the so-called “low-information voters”, and those who just want to punish the Establishment, draws ever closer.
UPDATE: I am, right now, watching Bill O’Reilly ask Rubio what he, himself, wants, and would try to sell to the American people. He’s very snaky, and tries to deflect to “what the American people want” until, after being pushed repeatedly, finally going to his list. “They must have been here for a certain period of time.” How long? “The must pay a fine.” How much? “They must learn English.” How well? But O’Reilly doesn’t push further, and moves to another question.
Further update: Here’s the transcript of this interview from Monday night.
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