U.S. Marco Rubio (R-FL) stand with other senators in the gang of eight in an April news conference on immigration??
Conservative radio talk show hosts have signed a letter opposing the sweeping immigration reform bill in the Senate, bucking tea party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio's attempts to win their support for the bill, which combines enhanced border security with a legalization program for the nation's unauthorized immigrants. Rubio, a member of the "gang of eight" senators who drafted the bill, has become the most prominent conservative spokesman for its passage.
Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham, who had Rubio on her show multiple times in the past few months to let him make his pitch for the bill, signed onto the open letter that says the "unsalvageable" measure "would do more harm than good." The statement, signed by more than 100 conservative groups and leaders, argues that the bill is laden with earmarks and "rewards" law breakers by allowing most of the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants to legalize if they pass a background check and pay fines.
Some influential conservatives have argued that the party needs to embrace reform in order to combat its declining support among Hispanic voters and to fix a broken system, even though the bill is also high on President Barack Obama's agenda.
In the past, most in the right-wing talk show world have argued that any legalization of unauthorized immigrants is unacceptable "amnesty," forming a unified front that has helped kill previous attempts at reform under George W. Bush. But Rubio had appeared to make inroads with Ingraham and syndicated hosts Lars Larson and Mark Levin, who also signed the letter, this spring when he appeared on their shows.
Rubio made the case to all three hosts that the current immigration system provides "de facto amnesty" to unauthorized immigrants, while his bill will hold them accountable for overstaying visas or entering the country illegally. Levin, for one, seemed receptive to the argument, saying after his interview with the senator in April that, "It's a problem, we've got to address this problem, and he's right."
He apparently changed his mind.
Ingraham blasted her disenchantment with Rubio on her show last week, when she said Republicans had "put all our hopes in a person, instead of in principles," when they trusted Rubio to negotiate on their behalf for immigration reform.
Rush Limbaugh was notably absent from the list of signatories, though his brother, conservative commentator David Limbaugh, signed. Rush Limbaugh said when Rubio appeared on his show in April that he endorsed the senator as a "genuine conservative," but that he couldn't support the immigration bill.
We write to express our serious concerns regarding the Gang of Eight's immigration bill, S. 744. We oppose this bill and urge you to vote against it when it comes to the Senate floor. No matter how well intentioned, the Schumer-Rubio bill suffers from fundamental design flaws that make it unsalvageable. Many of us support various parts of the legislation, but the overall package is so unsatisfactory that the Senate would do better to start over from scratch.
We have a variety of concerns; some of us share only one, others share all. Among these concerns are that the bill:
- Is bloated and unwieldy along the lines of Obamacare or Dodd-Frank;
- Cedes excessive control over immigration law to an administration that has repeatedly proven itself to be untrustworthy, even duplicitous;
- Legalizes millions of illegal immigrants before securing the borders, thus ensuring future illegal immigration;
- Rewards law breakers and punishes law enforcement, undermining the rule of law;
- Hurts American job-seekers, especially those with less education;
- Threatens to bankrupt our already strained entitlement system;
- Expands government by creating new bureaucracies, authorizing new spending, and calling for endless regulations;
- Contains dangerous loopholes that threaten national security;
- Is shot through with earmarks for politically connected interest groups;
- Overwhelms our immigration bureaucracy, guaranteeing widespread fraud.
Reforming our immigration system is an important priority. But S.744 is such a defective measure that it would do more harm than good. We urge you to vote against it and against any cloture vote to bring up the bill. Only then can a constructive, measured debate take place on how to improve America's immigration policy.
Signed (affiliations are included for identification purposes only):
List of Gang of 8 Coalition Opposition Letter Signers
National Conservative Leaders
Barbara Anderson, Citizens for Limited Taxation
Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families
Rev. C.L. Bryant, One Nation Back to God
Howie Carr, New England Talk Radio Host
Conn Carroll, Senior Editorial Writer, Washington Examiner
Ann Corcoran, Refugee Resettlement Watch
Monica Crowley, Ph.D., Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
Glynn Custred, Professor Emeritus CSU East Bay
Jim Eagan, Sumner United for Responsible Government (Tennessee)
Elaine Donnelly, Founder and President, Center for Military Readiness
John Eastman, former Dean Chapman University Law School
Ken Eldred, CEO, Living Stones Foundation
Erick Erickson, Editor of RedState
Maria Espinoza, Houston Eagle Forum, The Remembrance Project
T. Willard Fair, President & CEO, Urban League of Greater Miami, Inc.
John Fonte, Hudson Institute
David Frum, Frum Forum
Brigitte Gabriel, President and Founder, Act for America
Frank Gaffney, President Center for Security Policy
Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Donna Hearne, Constitutional Coalition, St. Louis, Missouri
John Hinderaker, Powerline.com
David Horowitz, David Horowitz Freedom Center
Laura Ingraham, Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
Micky Kaus, Columnist, Daily Caller, author The End of Equality
Roger Kimball, Encounter Books and The New Criterion
Cliff Kincaid, President, America?s Survival
Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies
Stanley Kurtz, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center
Kelly Monroe Kullberg, Christians for a Sustainable Economy
Stanley Kurtz, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center
Lars Larson, Radio Host Compass Media Networks
Mark Levin, Author and Radio Host
David Limbaugh, Lawyer and Author
Herb London, President of the London Center for Policy Research
Dr. Gina Loudon, Nationally Syndicated Radio Talk Show host
Michelle Malkin, author of Invasion and syndicated columnist
Ed Martin, Chairman Missouri Republican Party
Jenny Beth Martin, Co-Founder and National Coordinator, Tea Party Patriots
Ken Masugi, Senior Fellow, The Claremont Institute
Andy McCarthy, executive director, Philadelphia Freedom Center
Eric Metaxas, Author and Speaker
Paul Mirengoff, Powerline.com
Frank L. Morris, Sr., Ph. D.
Mike Needham, CEO Heritage Action
Peter K. N??ez, Former U. S Attorney Southern District of California, Former Assistant Secretary for Enforcement Department of the Treasury
Rev. Rick Scarborough; President of Vision America Action
John O?Sullivan, Editor-at-Large, National Review
Daniel Pipes, President, Middle East Forum
Judson Phillips, Founder Tea Party Nation
Andy Ramirez, Law Enforcement Advocate and Journalist
Sandy Rios, Vice-President Family PAC Federal and Morning Host for AFR Talk
Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder Eagle Forum
Smart Girl Politics Action
Carol Swain, Professor of Political Science and of Law, Vanderbilt University
Tea Party Nation
Virginia Thomas, Liberty Consulting
Brad Thor, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Richard Viguerie
Former Congressman Allen West
Tom West, Professor Hillsdale College
Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association and American Family Radio
Grassroots Activists throughout the Country
Alabama Federation of Republican Women
American Grizzlies United (Wisconsin)
Angela Bean, Coordinator South Atlanta Tea Party Patriots (Georgia)
Blanchard Tea Party (Idaho)
Jack and Joan Billman, Greencastle Defenders of Liberty, Greencastle, Indiana
Martha Brewer, Lamar County Tea Party Patriots (Alabama)
Canton T.E.A. Party (Georgia)
Sam Clovis, President Serious Civics for America, Inc. (Iowa)
Common Sense Campaign of South Alabama
Carroll County Tea Party Association (Georgia)
Darin Danielski, Lake County Area Defenders of Liberty, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Dyersville Tea Party (Iowa)
Kay Edmonds, Precinct Delegate, Clinton, MI, l9.12 Forum Steering Committee Member, Lenawee GOP Executive Committee Member, Veteran (Post Korea)
Empower Indiana (Indiana)
Hamilton County Patriots (Indiana)
Mark Herr, The Midsouth Tea Party (Tennessee)
Dustin Inmman Society, Georgia
Bill & Prudence Fields, Eagle Forum Virginia
Friends of Idaho
Georgia Conservatives in Action
Kay Godwin and Pat Tippett, Co-Chairs, Georgia Conservatives in Action
Becky Gerritson, President Wetumpka TEA Party, Wetumpka, Alabama
Donna Goeddaeus, Northwoods Patriots Tea Party, Conover, Wisconsin
Green Bay (Brown County) Wisconsin TEA Party
Greencastle Defenders of Liberty (Indiana)
Ron Hei, Tea Party Patriots of Covington County
Wally Hauck, Ph.D., President of Optimum Leadership, Member of Milford, CT Republican Town Committee
Marcia Hora, Iowa Grassroots Coalition
Illinois Tea Party
Danny B. Joyner, Commander, Alabama Patriots, Brewton, Alabama
Dave Kramer, Dyersville Tea Party (Iowa)
Las Vegas Valley Tea Party (Nevada)
Janna Loar, State Leader Ohio Counts
Michigan Eagle Forum
Montgomery Tea Party (Alabama)
Lisa Nancollas, Mifflin County Tea Party Patriots and Pennsylvania State Coordinator Tea Party Patriots
Sara Jo Odom, Eagle Forum Oklahoma
Patriots of Liberty TEA Party, Auburn, Alabama
Bobbie Patray, President Eagle Forum Tennessee
Carol Payne, Eagle Forum Lubbock, Texas
Pennsylvania Coalition for Responsible Government
John Putnam, Chairman, Jasper County Republican Central Committee (Missouri)
Merre Putnam, State Committewoman, 32nd Senatorial District
Steve Ramey and David Hancock, Gwinnett Tea Party (Atlanta)
Russell Ramland Park Cities/Preston Hollow Leadership Forum, Dallas, Texas
Jennifer Schubert-Akin, Activist Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Janet Smith, Local Coordinator, Greenfield Area Tea Party, Greenfield Indiana
Standpoint Tea Party Patriots (Idaho)
Rainy Day Patriots (Alabama)
Jeff Schwilk, San Diegans for Secure Borders Coalition
Kim Simac and Shirley Kufeldt, Northwood Patriots, Eagle River, Wisconsin
Todd Isaac ?Ike? Skelton Lebanon Tea Party (Missouri)
Janet Smith, Greenfield Area Tea Party (Indiana)
Loretta and Ricky Short, Wetumpka TEA Party (Alabama)
Eunie Smith, President, Eagle Forum of Alabama
South West Pennsylvania Eagle Forum
Pam Stout, Idaho State Coordinator, Tea Party Patriots
Barbara Susco, Florida Eagle Forum
Taxed Enough Already Party, Barbour County, Alabama
Taxed Enough Already Party, Quitman County, Georgia
Tea Party North (Indiana)
Vanderburgh County Tea Party Patriots (Indiana)
Dawn Wildman SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition, Inc.
Don and Skeet Workman, Eagle Forum Lubbock, Texas
Sally Zelikovsky, Founder of Bay Area Patriots and Coordinator of San Francisco Tea Party
Dennis Zellaha, Tea Party Patriots and Iowa Grassroots Coalition (Iowa)
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