New "Conservative Immigration Reform" from Rubio omits mention of Obama

[pampango]

Americans for a Conservative Direction — a pro-immigration reform group led by “establishment” Republicans — has released a new ad backing the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill, as Senate Republicans appear increasingly optimistic that reform can move through Congress.

The ad’s messaging seems to reflect the lesson of a February Washington Post poll, which found that Republicans are a stunning 21 percent less likely to support establishing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants if President Barack Obama’s name is attached to the proposal. By branding the plan as “conservative immigration reform,” Americans for a Conservative Direction hopes to distract Republican voters from the fact that the plan is actually very close to President Obama’s proposal.

If Republican reform advocates are nervous about selling an immigration deal to their base, they seem less concerned with winning support in the Senate. Senator Lindsey Graham — a co-sponsor of the “Gang of Eight” bill who is also backed by Americans for a Conservative Direction — recently told conservative Wall Street Journal commentator Fred Barnes that the bill could pass the Senate with as many as 70 votes, including 22 Republicans. While that prediction seems incredibly optimistic, it does appear likely that the bill has enough support to clear the 60-vote threshold that Republican reform opponents will no doubt require.

That still leaves the question of whether the bill can pass through the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority skews much farther to the right than its Senate counterpart.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/watch-rubio-pitches-conservative-immigration-reform-in-new-ad/

Funny how the republican insiders are still afraid that their base is going to fry them over immigration reform.