I don´t know about Rubio but I hope the GOP has given up on trying to co-opt the latino vote by being more like the left.Immigration has almost no effect on latino voting patterns.

The anti- colonial movement has given these minorities a common cause which no amount of butt kissing is going to change.

A lot of the Hispanic voters can be captured as soon as we stop yelling at them. Middle-class Hispanics want the same things middle-class non-Hispanics want: jobs, a stable economy, good schools, safe streets. We have to show them we can be trusted.

Sorry No. 2, but that is not the case. The only reason our Florida Cubans are Republican is because of the Bay of Pigs so badly mishandled by Kennedy. The Mexicans are not listening, their feet are in concrete. They don´t want to follow. They want to be in charge and think they can do so by flooding into our country. They probably can. I wish Rubio well. However, the millions who have come here illegally should not be rewarded. On the other hand what else do we do with them?Through inaction we have backed ourselves into a corner.

Forget the illegals in this particular discussion. I´m talking about the legals, many of whose ancestors predate our own in this country.

Correction: whose ancestors predate our own ONLY in parts of this country that were formerly NOT part of this country. Name one mexican who signed the Declaration of Independence.

False argument, #5, and off point.

Too little, too late. In 2016 illegals will be voting.

Nobody is yelling at legal immigrants. If they left their own country to come here one could assume that they came because they believe in what this country is based on - namely the freedoms and ideals protected by its Constitution. If they believe, and if they are paying attention, then they are as aware as any - perhaps more so - that we are in danger of becoming like the countries they left behind. We have seen several excellent articles and posts from our own Ldotters to this effect.

No thinking person should need to be wooed or cajoled into supporting freedom. The problem comes when the side that previously stood strong in defense of the Constitution starts backpedaling in ´just a few of the more difficult areas´. Then there is no longer a clear distinction - and the other side offers cookies.

There are a number of ways to handle this. 1. Grant amnesty and throw open the borders. 2. take the strictly legal approach and round up 12 million illegals and their children and deport them and seal the borders.

OR...... look at the issue realistically and come up with solutions that are practicle, reasonable and workable? Whether we like it or not, the demographics of this country are not going to be white protestant for long. And you can either fight it to delay the inevitable or accept reality. We should embrace the new additions to our culture and instill our own philosophy. I´m happy to have more ethnic restaurants and festivals. Im happy to adopt new additions to the language. WHat I want to keep in tact is what made our country great in the first place. A constitutional republic, a free market, self reliance and responsibility. A dedication to a creator, family and country.

I was listening to someone ranting on the radio the other day. They went through the lists of things the gop no longer stands for. Low taxes, small government, ALL social issues....the list just went on and on. You judge people and organizations by their actions. The ranter was 100% accurate.

But, #8, that is exactly the problem. Too many on our side lump the legals and illegals into one big group and we give the impression that we equally disdain them.

#9 is right. We must be sensible about the problem with illegals and figure out a solution. As for those legally here, we should make them feel welcome in a Republican tent.

Sen. Rubio is trying to send a message to his fellow Latinos: living off public assistence is not macho! It´s not what a man does.
Even worse, the food-stamps-welfare train puts Latinas in the engine room because they control the money. Again, not macho.
Call it sexist, but I´d rather call it anti-family.
Sen. Rubio talks about his father a lot and it´s meant to be a dog whistle: A Latino takes care of his family. The Obama dependency route is emasculating.

´´We have to show them we can be trusted.´´-LOL
As in trusting the burglar in your dining room. He´s not there to steal the silver, he´s there to polish it.
Illegals are THE issue simply because they supplant (steal from) the LEGAL immigrants´ entry in the U.S.
The legals should be people who have the skills, education & aptitudes we need.
#6-REALLY!? (Reconquista?)

No one is talking about LEGAL immigrants, and if they are middle class the should be able to understand the distinction, Hispanic or not.
Many communities are overrun with illiterate illegal immigrants who add nothing positive to the community. They are the takers leeching off of the producers and bringing the quality of life down . We need to immigrate more producers like the article says, and deport the leeches and trouble makers who come here illegally.
I do think each agricultural venture that requires unskilled labor should report to the government how many laborers they need for their season and be given that number of permits for workers. The workers could then be identified as Senator Rubio listed, fingerprints etc. There would at least be some organization to meet those needs. Then close the border with Obama´s favorite toy, drones.

Spot on, #5 & #13. The left thinks it´s perfectly plausible to confiscate guns yet we can´t deport illegals? Hell, with some duct tape and a pickup truck I´m good for at least 5 or 6. All I need is authorization.

Look at the people Latinos elect to Mexico, Central America, South America. Catering to those wonderful and friendly folks who have broken customs law, immigration law, border laws, and falsified US documents will turn AZ, CO, FL, and NM permanently Blue. Stop calling it Amnesty; it´s the Blue State Project. Rubio is either as dumb as the day is long or he has an ultrerior motive. In either case, he´s proven he ought not be trusted.

This is a losing issue for Republicans. Unless they can come up with solutions, they will continue to lose at the ballot box.

Thank goodness for Rubio the Realist. And with Barry´s birth vulnerabilities, and shattering of any and all other barriers, legitimate or not -- I think we´d be on pretty solid ground with him. Maybe someone can run it by one of the friendly Supremes though, just in case. (Excuse the premature campaigning - just can´t help myself.)

Middle class Hispanic people who can legally vote in the USA are not illegal aliens. The illegal alien population consists of mostly poor people who have come here from socialist oriented countries and societies. If the Republicans allow the illegal alien population to eventually become US citizens and vote in the USA, they will be handing the liberal Democrats, in time, tens of millions of new foreign born voters, as once legalized those generally uneducated low income people will mostly all need to seek assistance from government run social welfare programs to survive here. In a situation like that, which we experienced to some extent in the last election, the liberal Democrats will always be able to out bid the Republicans for most of those poor people´s votes.

The young illegal alien population who the liberal Democrats refer to as "Dreamers" are also the most politically active segment of the illegal alien population, that´s why the liberal Democrats are so interested in them. They are highly allied with the many very liberal ethnic and immigrant rights groups that make up a liberal Democrat constituency group. Once legalized a big percentage of those "Dreamers" will emerge as liberal Democrat and progressive community activists and help the liberal Democrats maintain their political power base.