kf Scooplet: In a letter dated March 22–but not disclosed until now–Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly urged Sen. Marco Rubio to leave the so-called “Gang of 8” senators drafting an immigration amnesty bill. Schlafly’s letter cited Ronald Reagan’s experience with the 1986 amnesty, which was followed by a wave of illegal immigration resulting in the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants for whom another amnesty is now being considered. (“Reagan later admitted he regretted signing the bill and that it was a huge mistake.”) Schalfly’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by kausfiles, continues, in part:
I don’t want you to get caught in that same mistake. I urge you to resign from the Gang of Eight and reject all variations of amnesty, even when it goes under code words such as reform, comprehensive, pathway to citizenship, etc. All these proposals build votes for the Democrats, none for Republicans. Grassrooters are particularly annoyed at the secrecy of the Gang’s meetings, after hearing so much about the need for transparency.
The letter offers some evidence of the price Rubio might pay with the core Republican base should he continue to midwife an amnesty bill through the Congress. Is it an accident that shortly after March 22, Rubio began to make renewed noises about the need for hearings, etc. (requests that have so far been largely rebuffed by Democrats in the Senate)?