Posted By LambChop
National Review’s Jim Geraghty interviewed RNC Chair Reince Priebus about the infamous Growth and Opportunity Project report – the GOP’s pathway forward after being clobbered in the November election.
Priebus acknowledged that the report was mostly on methodology and process but also tackled a key policy issue: comprehensive immigration reform. Let the hispandering begin.
Priebus goes as far as to say that it is “intellectually lazy” to call the GOP’s comprehensive immigration reform “amnesty.” So far the plan that has gotten the most traction was RINO Sen. Linsdsay Graham’s bill. This was the bill where Sen. Graham earned his intellectually lazy moniker, Lindsay Grahamnesty.
Graham’s record is clear – he voted YES on establishing a Guest Worker program with 2 3-year terms that provided permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying illegal alien, and their ENTIRE family, for aliens who have been in the US and employed for five years. He also voted YES on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security – so they get fully awarded benefits even though being here illegally is a federal felony and most of them committed fraud as well using stolen citizen’s social security numbers. Graham also supported extending Immigrant Residency rules. Compared to what LEGAL immigrants have had to go through – sure sounds like amnesty to the rest of us.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) also jumped on the amnesty band wagon…er… comprehensive immigration reform. After his speech, frankly I have not had the stomach to study it. However given the fact that Paul said the following things, I will no doubt need a pitcher of margaritas and plate of tacos al carbon to get through Paul’s report which pretends to be about “reform” and not about “amnesty.”
Sen. Rand Paul:"Growing up in TX I never met a Latino who wasn't working."
Uh... okay... except according to the government’s own figure from 2011 CIS report: 58% of illegal households collect some form of welfare.
Sen. Rand Paul: "I've never met a new immigrant looking for a free lunch."
39% of Illegal immigrants use food assistance. Of course that does not include the 3.9 million children of illegals who probably participate in taxpayer-funded school free lunch programs.
So Geraghty’s interview with Priebus included Priebus claim that immigration reform is about the betterment of the country. When the truth is, it merely adds millions of dollars to the welfare roles of border states.
GERAGHTY: This was a report that largely stayed away from policy decisions, except for one on immigration. And I saw in your press conference that you seemed to be indicating that you don’t think the party chairman should be saying what should be in an immigration bill. Why did the report end up making that one hot-button-issue policy recommendation, and do you think that one point is dominating the discussion of the report?
PRIEBUS: It was the result of talking to 50,000 people. On the comprehensive-immigration-reform issue, there was clearly a significant barrier in reaching Hispanic voters, both on that issue and the comment that Romney made in regard to “self-deportation.” That caused us to have significant roadblocks with reaching out to Hispanic voters. . . . It’s just a reality of trying to connect the dots on the ground. It identifies something that has to be dealt with by folks in the legislature. Otherwise, we’re going to continue to be inhibited.
GERAGHTY: As you discuss this issue, do you sense any fear that while there’s one large demographic of voters that is turned off by this, at the same time, there’s this chunk of Republican voters who think “self-deportation” is just fine, and who see any path to citizenship as de facto amnesty? Otherwise, Romney wouldn’t have said it, right?
PRIEBUS: First of all, I am not in favor of amnesty, and this party is not in favor of amnesty. I think we’re being intellectually lazy here by seeing the words “comprehensive immigration reform” and then automatically jumping to the conclusion that we’re talking about amnesty.
[Kentucky senator] Rand Paul just announced he’s in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. Now, my guess is that Rand Paul’s version of comprehensive immigration reform might be different from [Arizona senator] John McCain’s version.
I think we all have to realize that some kind of immigration reform, in a broad way, is very important to our country. By doing nothing, with all of these sanctuary cities, we’ve got amnesty right now. The question is, what are we going to do about our immigration system, which is clearly broken? To me, that doesn’t seem very complicated.
What the details of the bill are and what the bill drafters and legislators are doing right now, that’s something I’m not involved with. But I clearly know, and anyone who spends time in Hispanic communities in this country knows, that some form of immigration reform is necessary to deal with this issue.
Texas and Arizona should secede. We didn't vote for Lindsay Graham and cannot help the fact that Rand Paul was born in in Texas.
Prince Remus has done a good job reversing the damage Steelehead did to the RNC. If only he'd stop with the interviews.
Posted by: German Shepherd | 03/23/2013 at 07:41 AM