Rush (and other Talk Radio) dump Rubio’s amnesty for lack of guaranteed enforcement

The effort to build more conservative support for Sen. Schumer’s latest giant amnesty began to crumble over the last 24 hours.No development was bigger than Rush Limbaugh’s backing away.Now that there’s an actual bill to read, Rush wasn’t so charmed by Sen. Marco Rubio’s promises of immigration enforcement on his show today.The fact that Rush didn’t buy Rubio’s sales job today, is a big deal because it was Rush’s willingness to believe Rubio’s assurances in January that caused a lot of media commentators to suggest that passage really was inevitable.In January, many media outlets were ecstatic to see Rush so charmed by Rubio’s appearance with him on that show. “Marco Rubio Slays Rush Limbaugh, Wins Approval of Immigration Message,” declared the Huffington Post.But that was based on promises without legislative language.After Rubio left the show today, Rush declared his continuing infatuation with him as a politician, but . . .The bill itself, however? I’m never gonna understand it. I’m never gonna understand the thinking here.” — Limbaugh(Chris Chmielenski, our Director of Content & Activism, has done a stunning comparison of Rubio’s promises in January and what he and the bill said today. https://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/cchmielenski/april-18-2013/rubio.html)What is undermining what had been potential conservative support for a comprehensive immigration bill was the revelations that nearly every enforcement measure has loopholes as big as the holes along the Mexican border.Rubio is a bold politician.He left the comfort of the Capitol this afternoon to dive into the Phoenix Park Hotel four blocks away. It was the final afternoon of the annual “Feet to the Fire” gathering sponsored by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Nearly 50 radio hosts were set up inside, live broadcasting their shows for two days. (I did about a dozen of the shows myself.)Rubio chose nationally syndicated radio talk show host Mike Siegel who, like Rush, had seen too much of the bill to be buying. Siegel said he oposes the bill “because it violates the law that presently exists on the books.”Rubio responded: It’s a pretty tough road. It’s not perfect but I think it’s better than leaving them here the way they are right now . . . (It’s time to) clean up this mess and make sure it never happens again.” — RubioBut Siegel said Rubio’s push on immigration could hurt him if he decides to run for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination:He’s disappointing his base and I think it’s going to hurt him politically.” — SiegelLast night, Rubio had tried to make the same sale to talk show giant Mark Levin who went out of his way to talk about what a friend he is of the young freshman Senator. But when Rubio started ticking off all the enforcement in the bill, Levin reminded him that all that had been promised in earlier bills that had passed but never been enforced.After the show, Levin posted this terse assessment of the Schumer bill Rubio was promoting: Count me out: the border is NOT secured and Obama cannot be trusted, period.” — LevinParticularly insulting to Rubio was that after he left Limbaugh’s show today, Rush started quoting Sen. Sessions (R-Ala.) who is Rubio’s chief opponent in the debate:Sen. Jeff Sessions warns that passing the Senate immigration reform bill would have devastating effects on the US job market and fiscal outlook. Senator Sessions, a Republican from Alabama, says that the immigration reform bill opens up citizenship to recent arrivals and, remarkably, millions who overstayed their visas. It even opens up citizenship to those who have been deported from the country, meaning they can qualify.” — LimbaughDuring my two days with talk radio hosts at the Phoenix Park Hotel, I found a growing evidence of perhaps the deadliest of political opposition — ridicule — toward the Schumer amnesty bill.Several cracked jokes on the air that the bill is so tough that if the enforcement isn’t carried out, it orders the creation of a . . . COMMISSION to study the situation. “Oh, no, ANYthing but that . . . the rack, drawing and quartering, anything but a commission! Don’t take my word about the broken enforcement promises. If you have any inclination at all to believe Rubio and Schumer in their insistence in their national news conference today that this bill has incredibly tough enforcement provisions, please read Chris’ blog at: https://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/cchmielenski/april-18-2013/rubio.htmlROY BECK is Founder & President of NumbersUSA