LITTLE ROCK — HMMM. Maybe the senator from Florida that so many are hoping will become Mitt Romney’s running mate this year isn’t ready for prime time. He may not understand how big-time politics works. He seems so . . . naive.
Here is a supposedly big-time politician-his name is Marco Rubio-who doesn’t seem to know the rules of the game. The other day he gave a speech to what’s called the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Conference. (Party time!) Here’s what the speech called for: Being Cuban and all, he was supposed to go in front of that crowd and describe how un-Cuban, un-Latino, and just how unimpressive in general the current president’s record is. Or how Nancy Pelosi’s district isn’t close enough to Cuba and, who knows, how maybe Harry Reid doesn’t like Mexican food.
You know, play ethnic politics. Exploit his background. That’s how the game is played on a national level. You divide everybody into Us’s and Them’s, and talk about how much you like Us and how all the Them hate puppies and rooted for the bad guys in the John Wayne movies.
That’s what campaigning is all about in the summer of a presidential election year, isn’t it? Last week alone, we couldn’t count the number of “news” stories we read about how our divisions, ethnic and otherwise, might play out in November. One poll showed President Obama losing ground among young people. Another said he’d made up for it by gaining support in Virginia. But he was down a bit with black voters in North Carolina. As for the GOP’s standard-bearer, Mitt Romney, we all know he’s got the Mormon Question to deal with, as if most of us really care in a country that has embraced freedom of religion in its very constitution.
Next we wouldn’t be surprised to see a poll showing how Mitt Romney was doing much better these days with left-handed, French-speaking, redheaded engineers in the Southwest. But was down among Americans who favor chocolate over vanilla. You name a group and somebody’ll poll it.
Then along comes this Marco Rubio to speak to a room full of Latino pols. What a wasted opportunity that turned out to be.
Because the junior senator from Florida said politicians in both parties were making a political issue out of immigration, and he didn’t want that. He said he doesn’t think immigration should be reduced to a talking point. He said solving the problem will be complicated.
Oh, dear. Where to start?
Of course politicians are making a political issue out of immigration. That’s what politicians do. Fish gotta swim, dogs gotta bark, demagogues gotta set one group against another.
What, you want Republicans to acknowledge that it would be foolish-and probably impossible-to deport some 12 million people? Next thing, you’ll want Democrats to admit that requiring a voter ID is not part of some nefarious nativist plot, any more than requiring an ID to get a library card is. Any politician who’d propose a sensible fix for this country’s broken immigration system would probably be drawn and quartered-by his own party.
If fish gotta swim, politicians gotta get re-elected. And a candidate doesn’t get re-elected, not as a Republican, if he has the simple honesty to recognize that immigrants-legal, illegal, or inbetween-are going to keep flowing toward jobs the way water flows downhill. And you certainly don’t get re-elected as a Democrat if you think it ought to be at least as hard to vote as, say, write a check for a gallon of milk.
Immigration shouldn’t be a talking point? Why, senator that’s all it should be in today’s politics. If immigration gets fixed, sir, the talking point goes away. And that’s one less advantage for our side, the one that loves puppies and roots for John Wayne.
THE PROBLEM will be complicated? No, Silly Rubio. It’s all simple. Also simplistic. If you listen to those talking the loudest.
Here’s the real lowdown: Mexico’s government wants to take back Kansas City. So it’s sending all the Mess’cans north. We’ve heard that oh-so-scientific theory expounded even here in Arkansas, where common sense used to be found. So all we’ve got to do is herd up all those Thems onto buses, and send ’em back over the Rio Grande. What’s so hard about that?
On the other side of the Great (and simplistic) Divide on this issue, we’re supposed to believe that granting another blanket amnesty to all those who came here illegally won’t encourage still more illegal aliens to make their way here. And that it wouldn’t be unfair to all those patient types waiting-legally waiting-for visas.
Marco, Marco, Marco. (May we call you Marco?) You have so much to learn, young man. You even said this at the conference:
“Both sides like to talk about this like it’s an easy yes-or-no answer. It’s much more complicated than that. And those of us involved in the debate need to start to recognize that openly-that both sides of it raise valid points.”
This guy is obviously not ready for prime time. He lacks the instinct for the simple (if wrong) political solution to each and every problem. And he won’t be ready for star billing till he can rouse his party’s base to a fever pitch, and at the same time debase the other one-in 15 seconds or less on every issue. Especially emotional ones like immigration.
Ah, well, senator. Maybe you’ll have more experience in these matters by 2016.
If so, more would be the pity.
Editorial, Pages 14 on 06/26/2012