In a move no doubt meant to mend fences with angry Conservatives who are extremely upset after Sen. Rubio agreed to legalizing illegals before the nation’s borders were secured, Rubio is trying to salvage his damaged reputation.
"If this bill has in it something that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill. I'm done," Rubio said Thursday during an interview on the Andrea Tantaros Show. "I'm off it, and I've said that repeatedly. I don't think that's going to happen and it shouldn't happen. This is already a difficult enough issue as it is."
The amendment, introduced by Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, would grant green cards to foreign partners of gay Americans. Leahy originally introduced the measure during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the bill, but he withdrew it under pressure from Republican lawmakers who said it would reduce the chance of the bill passing.
The effort underway in Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration system is a bipartisan one, and its success hinges on a fragile coalition of political, business and religious groups that span the ideological spectrum. Opponents of Leahy's amendment have said repeatedly that his proposal would cause some key groups to withdraw their support and kill the bill. Rubio's exit would be especially devastating to its survival.
The Senate is expected to vote on Leahy's amendment soon.
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I think Rubio knows the Gay amendment will be part of this bill and he’s giving himself an escape hatch. However, the trouble he caused for himself by flip dlopping on border security may be irreparable.
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