Jeb on Undocumented Immigrants: "Politely Ask Them to Leave"
Jeb Bush, speaking to the National Auto Dealers Association in San Francisco, told the crowd that his policy for addressing undocumented immigrants would be to "politely ask them to leave." Here's American Bridge tracking footage from the event:
MEMO: GOP Candidates Paying Steve King’s Ransom for Primary?
It goes to show just how sharply the Republican party has moved to the right that serious presidential hopefuls are spending today kissing Steve King's ring. Chris Christie calls anti-immigrant crusader King “a very good friend” but he hasn't said if he supports the federal DREAM Act, and he hasn't said if he'd repeal the president's executive action on immigration. And Scott Walker? Silent on the federal DREAM Act as well. But even without answering those questions their actions are going to have consequences, because general election voters also happen to have eyes and ears. American Bridge is going to hold these candidates accountable all election cycle, and after appearing on the stump with people that say things like this, it will be crystal clear to voters where they stand.
American Bridge Bracketing Steve King Sweepstakes With Twitter Ads, Video, Trackers, Press Call
GOP Presidential Candidates Will Be Held Accountable For Bowing To The Most Extreme Wing Of The Republican Party
Steve King's Iowa Freedom Summit tomorrow will be replete with GOP presidential candidates courting his favor -- Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson and more are slated to attend. It goes to show just how sharply the party has moved to the right that its most serious presidential hopefuls are spending their weekend hoping to flatter the most notoriously anti-immigrant member of Congress, not to mention palling around with the likes of Donald Trump and Sarah Palin. But their desperate attempts to endear themselves to the conservative base will not come without consequences, namely because general election voters also happen to have eyes and ears. American Bridge is holding these candidates accountable for their lunges to the far right.GOP busted in immigration doublespeak days before 2016 hopefuls kiss King’s ring
After American Bridge busted Republicans speaking out of both sides of their mouths on immigration reform last night, the Washington press corps is taking note of one of the most cynical political ploys you’ll ever see. And remember-- this is just days before 2016 hopefuls fly to Iowa to kiss Steve King’s ring. King, for his part, didn’t mix messages last night, sticking to calling one of the president’s guests “a deportable.”
Resources for Reporters: GOP Following Steve King's Lead On Immigration (Again)
Republicans are poised to again ignore their own autopsy and record losses among Latino voters to follow Steve "Anchor Baby" King's playbook, attempting to deport DREAMers and threatening funding to DHS. Here's a few resources from American Bridge to help track this morning's debate and vote:
- Bridge Project's report barriers to reform in the House.
- Bridge Project's report on barriers to reform in the Senate.
- Bridge Project's report on how GOP failures left immigration up to the President.
- American Bridge's microsite "All Steve King's Men," which details how Republicans follow Steve King's lead on immigration.
Marco Rubio's Immigration Flip-Flop In Full Effect
When immigration reform first reemerged as a crucial issue in 2013, Marco Rubio appeared eager to play a leadership role…
VIDEO: The New Voice Of The GOP On Immigration
If you believed that Republicans controlling both houses of Congress meant that they would make efforts to work with President Obama and prove they could govern, I've got a bridge to sell you (but I'm going to need to see your papers first). Nearly a year and a half ago, the Senate passed a balanced, bipartisan bill to fix our broken immigration system. All the Republican House "Leadership" had to do was put it up for a vote. But they've proven that that's never going to happen, so President Obama used executive action to make progress. So how would House Republicans respond? Did they finally pass their own comprehensive immigration reform bill? Of course not. Wednesday, they handed the microphone to de-facto Speaker Ted Cruz, Steve King, Michele Bachmann and friends, and yesterday, they voted to rebuke the President's actions and call for more deportations. Some things never change.
All of the poison in all of the wells!
In case you haven't heard, Republicans are adamant that when Obama announces his immigration reform executive action tonight, he will be "poisoning the well." But how can you poison a well that's already been poisoned so many times? Why, it seems every time the President takes a position, according to Republicans, he's "poisoning the well." When President Obama tried to pass background checks on gun sales after Newtown -- a policy supported by 9 in 10 voters -- Lindsey Graham accused him of poisoning the well. And when Obama signed legislation reforming a broken health care system -- a goal of Democratic and Republican presidents for decades -- John McCain said he had poisoned the well. Jeff Flake said that if Obama took any credit for the immigration reform principles in the bipartisan Senate bill, he would be poisoning the well. According to Marco Rubio, policy to protect DREAMers poisoned the well. To other Republicans it was the president's refusal to cave to their demands during their government shutdown that poisoned the well, or criticizing Paul Ryan's draconian budget, or passing a stimulus package, or repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. So what was truly the moment when President Obama poisoned the well? What was the well-poisoning-iest moment of his illustrious well-poisoning career? To Republicans, it appears that perhaps it was just the moment he was elected president -- ever since then, the GOP can't stop finding newly poisoned wells.
Governor Christie goes to Mexico to not talk about immigration
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie brags to anyone who will listen about how he's a straight talker, brandishing his brashness credentials by shouting down constituents who disagree with him at town hall meetings. But this year, as Christie travels to key 2016 states like New Hampshire and Iowa, he has so far avoided giving straight answers to the questions asked of a prospective presidential candidate, or really any answers at all. His trip to Mexico this week seemed like yet another example of the Governor positioning himself for a possible presidential run, leading the New York Times and others to wonder whether this would finally be the time that Christie meaningfully addressed foreign policy. To take a page out of the Governor's straight-talking book, we'll sum it up for you in a single word: NOPE. In a keynote speech to the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico, Christie went out of his way to avoid addressing immigration or the crisis currently taking place on the U.S.-Mexico border. Christie contorted himself to skirt even using the word "immigration" once in the speech, lest he bring up an issue that continues to tank his party's support among the growing U.S. Latino population. Christie's only reference to the thousands of miles of border between our countries was in the context of the flow of commerce, rather than that of people. Indeed, Christie's sleeper foreign policy credentials stayed in hiding, with the Governor delivering your basic GOP stateside stump speech with a small South of the Border twist. In his discussion of our "very special relationship" with Mexico, Christie devoted several minutes to domestic U.S. energy policy, including the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline -- no section of which would come close to crossing into Mexico. The United States' manufacturing jobs, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy projects and higher education institutions all earned shout-outs in the speech over immigration issues like the situation at our border with Mexico. Governor Christie may think he can get away with neglecting to mention immigration issues and/or substantively discuss foreign policy issues during his New Jersey trade mission to Mexico, but if he runs for President, voters will demand the full enchilada.
Rand Paul Can Run Away From His Burger, But Not From His Record On Immigration
On issue after issue, Rand Paul tries to have it both ways. He has lauded himself as a champion for "minority rights" while opposing parts of the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. He has proclaimed on national television his desire to end all foreign aid, including for Israel, only to then claim he has never proposed such a thing. And when it comes to immigration, for months, Paul has been trying to have his cake and eat it too. He has repeatedly claimed to be supportive of immigration reform, trying to appear as though his 2016 candidacy could broaden the GOP base, but his record tells a different story. Paul voted against the Senate's bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill -- a bill that allocated significant resources to border security -- in addition to attacking DACA, effectively supporting a return to deporting DREAMers. Since the Senate passed its bill, the GOP has only moved backwards on the issue, cowering to the extreme anti-immigrant wing of the party driven by Steve King and all of his men. Rand Paul hasn't done a single thing to distance himself from this position, and now he's fundraising with King himself. And still, Paul wants to dissociate himself with the anti-immigrant crowd and avoid any tough questions about immigration policy. So much so that when a DREAMer introduced herself to Steve King at lunch, Rand literally dropped his burger and ran away from the table.