Washington Times
By Ralph Z. Hallow
June 11, 2014
EXCLUSIVE:
Sen.
Rand Paul on Wednesday waded deeper into an issue that has proved
perilous to some of his GOP colleagues, throwing his political weight
behind an establishment lobby
effort to get Congress to reform the country’s immigration system this
year.
Mr.
Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky and possible 2016
presidential hopeful, participated in a telephone conference call with
members of a pro-immigration
reform group and reporters in an effort brokered by anti-tax activist
Grover Norquist.
The
business group that helped set up the call, the Partnership for a New
American Economy, immediately blasted an email Wednesday evening to
supporters crowing that Mr.
Paul had formally joined its pro-reform effort.
The
timing of the call only heightened the potential stakes for Mr. Paul
just one day after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was shockingly
ousted from office in the
Virginia Republican primary in favor of a little-known college
professor.
Tea
party activists who whipped up a get-out-the-vote effort for Mr.
Cantor’s opponent said they were motivated by the incumbent’s advocacy
for immigration reform, actions
on Obamacare and vote to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.
Mr.
Cantor was the second high-profile Republican to suffer political
damage by stepping forward on the immigration issue. Sen. Marco Rubio of
Florida, another potential
presidential contender, lost the support of his tea party base when he
advocated a plan for immigration that some argued created a pathway to
citizenship for illegal immigrants.
On Thursday morning, Mr. Paul’s staff insisted the senator does not support amnesty.
“He
has never advocated for amnesty in any other forum,” said spokesman
Brian Darling. “As a matter of fact, Sen. Paul offered an amendment on
the immigration bill last
year to strengthen border security by forcing annual votes in Congress
before any benefits from the bill were authorized.”
Mr.
Paul, a longtime favorite of the tea party movement, has made it clear
that he believes Congress needs the courage to enact immigration reform.
But his latest effort
pushed him further into the middle of a strident battle between
establishment Republicans like Mr. Norquist who see immigration reform
as essential to economic growth, and tea party activists who fear the
current efforts in Congress will only lead to de facto
amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Those
familiar with the efforts to enlist Mr. Paul in the call said if the
senator from Kentucky can use his influence with the two factions to
find common ground, he
would create the base of an expansive coalition to aid his presidential
ambitions.
The danger, others noted, is that he could be portrayed as an establishment sympathizer and have some his base turn against him.
One
of his chief rivals for tea party affection — both inside the Senate
and possibly in the 2016 GOP race — is Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has
made clear that he plans
to make Republicans uncomfortable if they gravitate toward amnesty.
Mr.
Cruz on Wednesday told TellDC, the video partner of The Washington
Times, that the Virginia election was a wake-up call to any elected
official who goes against their
constituencies’ wishes.
“That
election is a lesson to every elected official that if we don’t listen
to the people who elected us, our tenure here is limited,” the freshman
Republican said.
Mr.
Paul, whose supporters style him as a “live and let live” conservative,
can use the issue to try to coalesce behind his disparate GOP coalition
elements, including
tea party backers, traditionalist conservatives, business interests and
establishment Republicans.
A
top Paul aide confirmed the alliance of Mr. Paul and Mr. Norquist on
immigration reform, after The Times received a copy of an email sent to
Republicans, Democrats,
independents and others thought to be open to some kind of reform.
“Rand
made the calls on immigration reform with Grover this morning,” Doug
Stafford, who heads Mr. Paul’s political action committee, told The
Times.
The
email from the group announcing Mr. Paul’s participation opened with a
subject line that stated that the senator “adds voice to
#CallForReform.”
“Today,
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) joined Grover Norquist to talk about the
importance of passing immigration reform this year on the second call in
a series with conservative
leaders,” the group’s executive director, Jeremy Robbins, wrote in the
email.
The
message went on to note that “Senator Paul follows Sal Russo,
co-founder of the Tea Party Express, who launched the series last month
by calling for an overhaul of
America’s immigration laws this year.”
The
email concluded by noting that Mr. Paul and Mr. Russo “join an
increasingly large group of conservatives who understand that the future
of our economy depends on fixing
our outdated immigration reform system.”
Many
Americans of all political stripes regard the phrase “immigration
reform” as code for granting amnesty to foreigners living in the U.S.
illegally.
To
some “rule of law” conservatives, it is a swear word. To other
conservatives, putting millions of illegal immigrants on the road to
legal status and eventually to citizenship
is realistic politically and fair for people who flee warlords, drug
lords and dysfunctional economies abroad to find work in the U.S.
The
Partnership for a New American Economy boasts such high-profile members
as former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a common foe of gun
rights advocates and
many other conservatives, and the equally wealthy Rupert Murdoch, the
conservative owner of major newspapers and the Fox television family of
news and entertainment channels.
The
organization’s website claims it “brings together more than 500
Republican, Democratic, and independent mayors and business leaders
united in making the economic case
for streamlining, modernizing, and rationalizing our immigration
system.”
Mr.
Paul has been calling for a reform of immigration laws that secures the
borders first, provides for a robust guest-worker program and can,
under certain conditions,
lead to the legalization of those who entered the U.S. without
authorization or who overstayed their visas.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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