Relevant segment at about :53, right at the beginning.
In my previous post of Marco Rubio’s Sunday Stand-up: GOP isn’t “characterized by intolerance or looking down on anybody.” Ha!, the Senator made an ass of himself. Again. His position was so full of holes, it resembled Michele Bachmann’s head. Oh, but I kid Michele.
(The sequel: Part 2 of Marco Rubio’s Sunday Stand-up: He hasn’t “fully read the Toomey/Manchin compromise” but he’s against it)
Apparently, Rubio wasn’t the only one who needed to be called out.
It was refreshing to see someone in his own party take on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) for ignoring “facts.” Yes, that George Will.
Will:
Every conservative sympathizes with what Jeff Sessions was saying about not rewarding lawbreaking. However, conservatism begins with facing facts.
The facts are 11 million people are here illegally. Two-thirds have been a decade or more. 30%, 15 years or more. They’re woven into our society. They’re not leaving. and the American people would not tolerate the police measures necessary to extract them from our community.
Therefore, the great consensus has to be on the details of a path to citizenship. The most important thing Rubio said in your interview was, even if the system weren’t broken, if we had no illegal immigrants, we’d need to do something about this ’cause we need the workers. As the baby-boomers retire, and as the birthrate declines, we need something to replenish the workforce to sustain the welfare state.
Oh that. Facts, schmacts.
As economists have explained, immigration reform not only stops under-the-table exploitation of workers from driving wages down; it also fills gap in the economy by creating a labor force for jobs that are complementary to low-wage jobs typically held by native worker. “Contrary to common fears, immigrants are not frequently in direct competition with native-born American workers, in part because they tend to have different skill sets,” a Center for American Progress analysis of economists’ research explains.
Think Progress has more.
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