On ABC's This Week, guest host Jonathan Karl asked Marco Rubio a direct question: Does he in fact support his own comprehensive immigration bill now being debated in the U.S. Senate?
The Florida Senator affirmed he did.
"Well, obviously, I think it's an excellent starting point, and I think 95, 96 percent of the bill is in perfect shape and ready to go. But there are elements that need to be improved. This is how the legislative process is supposed to work. You offer an idea, you get public input and the input of your other colleagues. From these criticisms or observations come out new ideas about how to make it better, and of course you can't ignore that. Those things need to be addressed."
Regarding the major hang up for conservative Republicans - the fear that the border security provisions will lack teeth and the influx of undocumented immigrants will continue, Rubio said he is aware of those concerns, and think they're valid.
When asked by Karl if he will vote for the bill as it stands right now on border security, Rubio played coy.
"I don't want to get involved in these hypotheticals and ultimatums about what-" before Karl interrupted him, saying that in fact was a very real possibility. Rubio said it wasn't.
"The bottom line, a bill that does not have increased border security - which everyone now I think has conceded needs to happen - I think the debate now is about what that border security provision looks like, and if we do that, we'll have strong bipartisan support. If we fail, we're going to keep trying because at the end of the day the only way we're going to pass an immigration reform law, out of the House and the Senate so that the president can sign it, is that it has real border security measures in it."
As has been extensively reported on this blog and elsewhere, Rubio has attempting the delicate balancing act of trying to push through a major piece of legislation that a good part of his political base wants no part of. That's what has led to his making critical comments about the legislation, sounding as tough as Jeff Sessions or Lamar Smith when it comes to making sure the bill has serious border security measures in place before he can support it.
But he's apparently lost the battle to placate that conservative base. Last week RedState.org's Eric Ericson wrote ablistering blog post entitled, "Rubio Either a Fool or Playing the GOP for one." Ericson wrote:
I am just shocked, knowing what we now know, that Senator Rubio would continue to support this legislation and that other conservative Senators would too.
Rubio said he recognized the "division" inside the GOP and said he respected everyone's views on it, but he wanted people to understand that the issue is a "major problem" that needs to be addressed. "And the only way I know how to fix problems, is to get involved and try to fix it."
But Jonathan Karl came back at Rubio and asked if if fact Ericson was right, and he was being "played" by Democrats like New York's Chuck Schumer?
Rubio said he didn't know what that meant. After Karl gave him a breakdown, Rubio said he really doesn't focus much on public polls - but by the way, he said, all the polls show strong support for immigration reform.
And he's right about that. A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling last week showed that 72 percent of Floridians say they strongly support or somewhat support bipartisan immigration reform legislation being debated in Washington. But after a Rubio's chief-of-staff re-tweeted those poll results the other day, a conservative blogger blasted him for doing so, showing that the conservative heat on him ain't going away anytime soon.
Karl did not ask Rubio to elaborate on why he would bail from the bill if an amendment is added that allows gay Americans to petition for same-sex spouses living abroad to secure a green card. Last week Rubio said if that amendment was added to the legislation, "I'm done."
Meanwhile on NBC's Meet The Press, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham repeated his previous statement that he thinks 70 Senators will ultimately vote to support an immigration bill.