When Marco Rubio and his fellow seven gangsters in the Gang of Eight tried to impose amnesty upon the country Senator Jeff Sessions spearheaded the battle against it.
There is no American senator that more strongly opposes amnesty and that more forcefully advocates on behalf of an American First immigration policy than the senator from Alabama.
And on Sunday February 28 just two days before Super Tuesday and three days after the anti-Trump conservative" pundits on Fox and in other outlets began talking themselves into thinking that Rubio would be the savior from Trump for which theyve been searching Sessions endorsed Donald Trump.
This is a big deal.
In addition to sucking from his sails whatever wind Rubio and his backers thought he had Sessions endorsement of Trump also deals a huge blow to Ted Cruz Sessions colleague in the senate who has been styling himself as the Gang of Eights chief nemesis. After all if the latter was true then why would a stalwart immigration patriot like Sessions not endorse Cruz?
The answer is that Cruz was not amnestys chief nemesis.
It is true that Cruz did not support making Americas 12 million or so illegal immigrants citizens. At the very least he didnt support doing so immediately. Hedid however advocate on behalf of granting them legal statusthe first step to citizenship.
Cruz now denies that he ever promoted this position. While he concedes that he did indeed argue for legalization while reckoning with the Gang of Eight he nowclaims that this was just a maneuver designed to doom the amnesty bill to defeat.
Hispanic Republicans who have known and worked closely with Cruz for years insist that they know better.
Robert De Posada a former Director of Hispanic Affairs for the RNC and the founder of the Latino Coalition" a conservative" organization is adamant: Its just a flat out lie. Period." He continued: Theres just no truth behind it."
De Posada who worked (unsuccessfully) with George W. Bushs administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform" conceded that while Cruz may have changed his mind on this issue over the years it is simply not true that he neverfavored legalization. But dont sit here and flat out lie that you have never been for legalization when the facts are very clear."
And what are the facts? The facts are that Cruz distinguished himself as among the most talented and aggressive of lawyers in the army of attorneys that Bush had assembled to craft his pro-immigration policies. All such policies included at the very least legalizationthe first step on the path to citizenship.
In the early 2000s Cruz joined the board of HAPI an organization of conservative" Hispanics that passionately argued on behalf of legalization. According to The Daily Beast the group endorsed and labored to have implemented in law both President Bushs principles for immigration reform" and even the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform act" of 2006!
Back in 2013 Mickey Kaus writing in The Daily Caller remarked that ifRubio and the Gang of Eight have its way if amnesty passes he knows who he will blame: Ted Cruz.
Cruz was the national politician best positioned to stop the bipartisan MSM-backed push for legalization first. He not only failed to rise to the occasion hes recently increased its chance of becoming law."
Kaus leveled a two-count indictment" against the Texas senator:
First while he wouldve ideally been in the press and on the Senate floor day after day making the case against the Gang of 8 con job even if it risked costing him some MSM and donor support" instead Cruz contributed the minimum necessary to maintain his credibility as a foe of the Gang of 8 ."
Cruz promoted an online petition made a Senate floor presentation and gave some speeches to black marchers and Tea Partiers its true. But the job of actually leading the opposition day in and out fell to Jeff Sessions ."
Sessions was organized forceful and logical" and yet he failed to bring the PR heft to the fight that Cruz could."
Second Cruz exploited the August recess period the time when the grassroots could attend town halls and register their outrage with the Gang of Eights designs by talking about not amnesty but the defunding of Obamacare!
Into this void stepped Cruz who made a bold attempt to rouse a grassroots army for the cause of…defunding Obamacare. So instead of haranguing their members about unchecked immigration hard core red-staters would harangue them about the Democrats health care plans."
Kaus concluded: Almost certainly both these moves have helped Cruzs presidential ambitions" for Big GOP Donors who almost unanimously favor amnesty are sophisticated enough to know the difference between fighting 100 against it and going through the motions."
Voters at this time Kaus notes were galvanized by Cruzs fight to defund Obamacare. They were never galvanized by Cruzs big fight to stop amnesty and illegal immigrationbecause there was no such fight on Cruzs part.
Its no wonder that Cruzs heart was never in that fight. He labored tirelessly for years with an eye toward enabling illegal immigrants to remain in the country (to say nothing of dramatically increasing the number of legal immigrants).
And legalization as any fool should be able to recognize is but amnesty by a different name for legalization forgives the crime of invading America andprovides the first steps toward citizenship.
Robert De Posada Cruzs old colleague remarked: When he went so far as to say that hes never been for legalizing thats where he crossed the line and lost people like me." De Posada elaborates: Its a character issue where a lot of us are just like Um no."
Perhaps Senator Sessions who had never before endorsed a presidential candidate and who laments that for thirty years he never encountered a politician who has followed through with the promise to fix" the problem of illegal immigration has about as much faith in Cruzs credibility on this issue as does De Posada.
Jack Kerwick received his doctoral degree in philosophy from Temple University. His area of specialization is ethics and political philosophy. He is a professor of philosophy at several colleges and universities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Jack blogs at Beliefnet.com: At the Intersection of Faith & Culture
When Marco Rubio and his fellow seven gangsters in the Gang of Eight tried to impose amnesty upon the country Senator Jeff Sessions spearheaded the battle against it.
There is no American senator that more strongly opposes amnesty and that more forcefully advocates on behalf of an American First immigration policy than the senator from Alabama.
And on Sunday February 28 just two days before Super Tuesday and three days after the anti-Trump conservative" pundits on Fox and in other outlets began talking themselves into thinking that Rubio would be the savior from Trump for which theyve been searching Sessions endorsed Donald Trump.
This is a big deal.
In addition to sucking from his sails whatever wind Rubio and his backers thought he had Sessions endorsement of Trump also deals a huge blow to Ted Cruz Sessions colleague in the senate who has been styling himself as the Gang of Eights chief nemesis. After all if the latter was true then why would a stalwart immigration patriot like Sessions not endorse Cruz?
The answer is that Cruz was not amnestys chief nemesis.
It is true that Cruz did not support making Americas 12 million or so illegal immigrants citizens. At the very least he didnt support doing so immediately. Hedid however advocate on behalf of granting them legal statusthe first step to citizenship.
Cruz now denies that he ever promoted this position. While he concedes that he did indeed argue for legalization while reckoning with the Gang of Eight he nowclaims that this was just a maneuver designed to doom the amnesty bill to defeat.
Hispanic Republicans who have known and worked closely with Cruz for years insist that they know better.
Robert De Posada a former Director of Hispanic Affairs for the RNC and the founder of the Latino Coalition" a conservative" organization is adamant: Its just a flat out lie. Period." He continued: Theres just no truth behind it."
De Posada who worked (unsuccessfully) with George W. Bushs administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform" conceded that while Cruz may have changed his mind on this issue over the years it is simply not true that he neverfavored legalization. But dont sit here and flat out lie that you have never been for legalization when the facts are very clear."
And what are the facts? The facts are that Cruz distinguished himself as among the most talented and aggressive of lawyers in the army of attorneys that Bush had assembled to craft his pro-immigration policies. All such policies included at the very least legalizationthe first step on the path to citizenship.
In the early 2000s Cruz joined the board of HAPI an organization of conservative" Hispanics that passionately argued on behalf of legalization. According to The Daily Beast the group endorsed and labored to have implemented in law both President Bushs principles for immigration reform" and even the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform act" of 2006!
Back in 2013 Mickey Kaus writing in The Daily Caller remarked that ifRubio and the Gang of Eight have its way if amnesty passes he knows who he will blame: Ted Cruz.
Cruz was the national politician best positioned to stop the bipartisan MSM-backed push for legalization first. He not only failed to rise to the occasion hes recently increased its chance of becoming law."
Kaus leveled a two-count indictment" against the Texas senator:
First while he wouldve ideally been in the press and on the Senate floor day after day making the case against the Gang of 8 con job even if it risked costing him some MSM and donor support" instead Cruz contributed the minimum necessary to maintain his credibility as a foe of the Gang of 8 ."
Cruz promoted an online petition made a Senate floor presentation and gave some speeches to black marchers and Tea Partiers its true. But the job of actually leading the opposition day in and out fell to Jeff Sessions ."
Sessions was organized forceful and logical" and yet he failed to bring the PR heft to the fight that Cruz could."
Second Cruz exploited the August recess period the time when the grassroots could attend town halls and register their outrage with the Gang of Eights designs by talking about not amnesty but the defunding of Obamacare!
Into this void stepped Cruz who made a bold attempt to rouse a grassroots army for the cause of…defunding Obamacare. So instead of haranguing their members about unchecked immigration hard core red-staters would harangue them about the Democrats health care plans."
Kaus concluded: Almost certainly both these moves have helped Cruzs presidential ambitions" for Big GOP Donors who almost unanimously favor amnesty are sophisticated enough to know the difference between fighting 100 against it and going through the motions."
Voters at this time Kaus notes were galvanized by Cruzs fight to defund Obamacare. They were never galvanized by Cruzs big fight to stop amnesty and illegal immigrationbecause there was no such fight on Cruzs part.
Its no wonder that Cruzs heart was never in that fight. He labored tirelessly for years with an eye toward enabling illegal immigrants to remain in the country (to say nothing of dramatically increasing the number of legal immigrants).
And legalization as any fool should be able to recognize is but amnesty by a different name for legalization forgives the crime of invading America andprovides the first steps toward citizenship.
Robert De Posada Cruzs old colleague remarked: When he went so far as to say that hes never been for legalizing thats where he crossed the line and lost people like me." De Posada elaborates: Its a character issue where a lot of us are just like Um no."
Perhaps Senator Sessions who had never before endorsed a presidential candidate and who laments that for thirty years he never encountered a politician who has followed through with the promise to fix" the problem of illegal immigration has about as much faith in Cruzs credibility on this issue as does De Posada.
Jack Kerwick received his doctoral degree in philosophy from Temple University. His area of specialization is ethics and political philosophy. He is a professor of philosophy at several colleges and universities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Jack blogs at Beliefnet.com: At the Intersection of Faith & Culture
