In what could be seen as yet another problem for Sen. Marco Rubio’s efforts to woo conservative support for immigration reform, RedState’s influential chief Erick Erickson has declared: “Count me out.”
In an early morning post, Erickson commended Rubio for trying to pass reform, but added, “the actions of some members of his staff coordinating attacks on solid conservatives is undermining the cause he and I both believe in.”
Linking to a Breitbart post, which alleged Rubio was “colluding” with other groups and using the Boston terror attacks to push immigration reform, Erickson added: “Ultimately, they are playing right into the hands of President Obama and the Democrats.”
Opposing this immigration reform bill is a legitimate position, but it is curious that this particular Breitbart post alleging collusion would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. First, there is no evidence that Rubio was in any way involved. Second, the term “collusion” seems a bit strong. Is strategizing with allies, in an attempt to pass legislation, collusion?
Lastly, why is it odd that Rubio backers would want to have a coordinated response to Boston? Keep in mind, this was a response. It’s not like opponents of immigration reform haven’t already exploited it in an attempt to derail legislation.
In any event, this feels like another indicator that conservatives (whose support was always tenuous) have been effectively pushed off the Rubio reservation. Opposing this was always the safer, default position.