Whoops.
As Aaron Blake at the Washington Post just reported, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has come out with an ad attacking Democrat Michelle Nunn (a Senate candidate in Georgia) for supporting last year’s Senate immigration bill, which the NRSC is calling “amnesty.”
A few things here:
- National Republicans are moving further and further away from the days of the 2013 RNC autopsy report, which called for the party to “embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.” I mean, we got the message after five House votes to end DACA and deport DREAMers. But the further away the GOP moves, the more pathetic it’s going to look in 2015 and 2016, when Republicans are once again groveling for Latino voters.
- As Aaron Blake wrote, and others have tweeted, fourteen Senate Republicans voted for that so-called “amnesty” bill, including at least one presidential hopeful, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). This ad could be pretty awkward for Rubio — and shortsighted for Republicans — if Rubio becomes a top primary contender.
- S. 744 isn’t amnesty. Take it from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is not exactly a friend to the pro-migrant crowd. Last August, a constituent in Iowa asked him that exact question–“Do you consider the Senate immigration bill amnesty?” Grassley replied, “I don’t use that word. [The Senate bill] is a little bit different than what we did in 1986. I would call the immigration bill in 1986 amnesty.”
Looks like the NRSC needs to get on the same page as some of its Senators. Watch their Georgia ad against Michelle Nunn, below:
