The political media noted this week that Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) would be making the rounds on seven talk shows this week to discuss immigration reform. Well, we don't know what he said on all those others shows but what he said today on Meet The Press today was actually quite startling. First, he said that once the bill is finished being drafted, he'll be able to speak more about the details so we're not getting anything there. However, in the meantime, David Gregory pressed him on a statement the Senator made in the past, which was that if you had come here illegally, but want legal status you'll have to leave the country and then come back. Mr. Rubio backed away from that explaining that immigrants without legal status could stay here but they would have to pay many penalties and fines, along with additional costs to obtain applications for legal status then wait 10 years or so. He summed it up by saying that it was probably cheaper for some one to leave then try to come back than it was to stay here.
Huh? So what he is proposing is that we're going to make it so financially hard on someone to accomplish his citizenship goal that he'll just have to leave? That sounds like you're pushing for self-deportation to us. Where is the compassion or responsibility or principle in that?
Not to mention that his statement doesn't consider a motivation beyond monetary to come here and that is to escape persecution in the country of origin. We may get a little flack for this, but you know who all of this doesn't affect? Cubans. Because of our relations (or lack thereof) with that country, Cubans defect or seek political asylum, they don't go through the immigration system like everyone else. We're not saying that it is wrong to do that given the oppression in Cuba, but other large groups of immigrants, Mexicans for example, can not claim that. Although considering the violent narco-state that is Mexico now, they should be able to.
People immigrate to the United States for a better life, something we all concede because it's true. By extension, one could reason that Mexican immigrants bring their kids here for a better life, but infants are not aware of their circumstances so why not afford those children the Dream Act opportunity? We're kind of big on this here at The Opinion because if you are someone who has been here for most all your life then you're willing to fight and die for this country or become indebted to us by successfully graduating from college then you've earned your citizenship. We'd even go one step further... If you're kid successfully navigates the already daunting steps of the Dream Act, then the parents should be able to apply for citizenship, keeping the family together. However, Republicans view the Dream Act as a pathway to citizenship, which they say is amnesty, which is hence a deal breaker - as Mr. Rubio noted.
New York Times columnist David Brooks had the nerve to say that Marco Rubio was a hero for his efforts on immigration, 'standing up' to his party. 'Acts of heroism' he called them. On a day where they featured Rachel Robinson, wife of a real American hero Jackie Robinson, you put Marco Rubio in the same category? Give us a break. Mr. Rubio said that he doesn't get paid to make speeches but to solve problems. Well, he should tell that to his Senate colleague Mike Lee (R-UT) who said that he wanted a step-by-step approach to immigration where we address boarder security first and then look for other points of reform. As of this writing, boarder security in the United States has never been stricter, we have a net-zero amount on illegal crossings, and President Obama in his first four years has deported more individuals than George Bush did in his two terms so it's time to move on the rest.
And speaking of getting paid to solve problems, how does that work when you are the problem as Mr. Rubio is on gun safety legislation with his unsuccessful threat to filibuster even debating the issue? In addition to that, Mr. Rubio said that the Second Amendment is a constitutional right that he didn't write, hence he can not change it. We rarely do this but we're going to reference the Founding Fathers in that they called these points of the Constitution amendments for a reason... so that they could be amended, meaning changed. Today's political delusion is that the 'sacred' Constitution can not be changed so we'll get away from that because it's a fruitless discussion.
More in the parlance of our time, Mr. Rubio said that violence in our society is the problem and not guns. What is left out of that equation is that guns perpetuate the violence. Mr. Lee stated that the Manchin-Toomey Bill infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens because of expanding background checks to say gun shows. We just don't understand how that is more of an infringement than a simply safety measure. Also, if the gun laws we have right now are ineffective as Mr. Rubio said, isn't that reason enough to try to make them more effective. We do owe it to the families of Newtown and all the other American families that have fallen victim to such tragedies to do something, no block the process with a filibuster. There's no heroism in that.
We agree with everything Ken Burns said about Jackie Robinson and his mountainous significance in American history. Mrs. Robinson explained that her husband understood the responsibility heaped upon him, which she said made him act and speak carefully with patience, and always with dignity. And after an illustrious baseball career that saw him and his family under constant threat, when Jackie Robinson was asked by Lawrence Spivak on this very program in 1957 about patience with regard to equal rights, he calmly, heroically answered that the Civil War had been over for 93 years, and that "If that isn't patience I don't know what is."
Mrs. Robinson also said that she hoped that many people would go and see the film '42' about her late husband opening this weekend so that they would have perspective on history to make comparisons between then and now. Like the difference between then and now on how we define a hero.
One last thing... We were pretty hard on Senator Rubio today and we make no apologies for that, but we also wanted to point out something we agree with him on. Mr. Rubio said that Che Guevara was a murderer and a killer, and he is correct in that assessment. Che did great things but great doesn't always mean good. If you read Jon Lee Anderson's definitive biography of Che Guervara, you will know without uncertainty that this was not a man to be revered. The admiration Che receives, even in death, from people from afar came at the expense of a country's populace who lived in fear, hardship, and potentially death under his order.
Round Table: Senators Gillibrand and Lee join a discussion with the BBC’s Katty Kay,
New York Times Columnist David Brooks, and NBC News Political Director
Chuck Todd
Additional Guests: Filmmaker Ken Burns and Jackie Robinson’s wife, Rachel Robinson and Harrison Ford (via Press Pass)
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