Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) played a leading role in convincing Republican senators to support the controversial Senate immigration bill, but these days he had kept away from discussing it, even as others in the Senate Gang of Eight urge House Republicans to act.
Instead, Rubio has concentrated on discussing with his constituents back in Florida, defunding or repealing Obamacare, a topic which appeals much more to conservative activists.
A spokesperson for Rubio said, while the touchy subject of immigration reform has come up in meetings, Rubio has not brought it up, the Hill reported.
In discussing the Affordable Care Act, Rubio said, the choice is between defunding Obamacare, as the law is popularly known, or hurting seniors.
“You’re going to see benefit reductions in Medicare for people under Medicare Advantage,” he warned.
Rubio’s favorability took a beating with the far right for his stance on immigration, according to a poll released by Latino Decisions last month, but didn’t do much to help him with Latinos. Conservative wingnuts, Ann Coulter called Rubio “the Dr. Kevorkian of the Republican Party” while Glenn Beck said he’s “a piece of garbage.” Tea Party anti-immigration opponents have called Rubio, “Obama’s idiot.”
