Rohrabacher Goes Rogue on Immigration Reform

Despite a rebuke from the Lincoln Club of Orange County, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, doubled down today on his criticism of immigration reform advocate Sen. Marco Rubio and House Speaker John Boehner.

The Lincoln Club of Orange County issued a statement Thursday criticizing Rohrabacher for calling the Florida senator a liar and warning Boehner not to bring an immigration bill before Congress without majority GOP support.

Rohrabacher, who represents Orange County from Seal Beach to Laguna Beach, told City News Service he doubted the statement from the Lincoln Club's past chairman represented the views of the whole organization.

"I'm sorry, I don't think an emeritus chairman is the spokesman for the club," Rohrabacher said. "... Just because you formed a club 20 years ago doesn't mean you speak for it."

But Michael Capaldi, the Lincoln Club's chairman emeritus and official spokesman, said he was indeed "speaking on behalf of the club."

Regardless, Rohrabacher said he was unfazed by the club's criticism.

"I'm sorry if I used words that were too tough, but what if I were saying the same thing, but softly, would that help them?" he asked sarcastically. "This Rubio was intentionally inaccurate. He lied and the bottom line is you can try to say that softly or say it outright."

Rohrabacher referred to comments Rubio made when he was running for senator and before he joined the so-called Gang of Eight senators crafting immigration legislation.

"When he first ran for election to the Senate this was a big issue and he said talking about a pathway to citizenship is nothing more than a cover for amnesty. He said it himself," Rohrabacher said.

A message left with Rubio's office requesting comment was not immediately returned.

Meanwhile, Rohrabacher said Boehner better think twice about bringing the immigration bill before the House without majority Republican support, something he said would violate the so-called "Hastert Rule.

"(The rule) doesn't have to be in place for everything, ... but when it comes to fundamental issues that will determine what our country will be fundamentally like in years to come the Hastert Rule (is necessary)," he said.

Rohrabacher said he has numerous problems with the immigration bill, saying he believes offering the pathway to citizenship will attract an avalanche of immigrants. He also doubted estimates that there are 11 million people living in the country illegally, suggesting the real figure is closer to 20 million.

He also said he was unconvinced about attempts to win more Republican votes by toughening border security, saying such efforts would be impossible to guarantee.

"There's no way we're going to build a fence tall enough, or dig a moat deep enough ... if we have given out a treasure full of benefits and jobs," Rohrabacher said. "And especially if they end up legalizing the status of those here."

Rohrabacher was also skeptical of arguments Republicans need to back immigration legislation to woo Latino voters, saying Latinos are more concerned about unemployment.

"The number one issue is jobs for their young people when they get out of school, jobs for bread winners now and jobs that will take care of the higher number of unemployed and under employed," Rohrabacher said.

Rohrabacher also said the Congressional Budget Office's scoring of the immigration bill was "fraudulent." The non-partisan agency predicted the bill would lower the federal deficit by about $200 billion over the next decade. But Rohrabacher said he favors the conservative Heritage Foundation's estimate that the bill would add $6.3 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.

"It's clear when leaders of both parties are singing from the same sheet that they want someone to write down the music in tune with their message, that's what the CBO is all about," Rohrabacher said. "Heritage had the courage to buck some of their corporate donors and come up with a serious study."

Capaldi said the Lincoln Club of Orange County has not taken an official stance on the immigration legislation.

"It's completely fair to have differing opinions about immigration reform," Capaldi said. "The congressman has his, I have mine and that's fine. Nobody has any difficulty with that at all, but when the rhetoric gets so heated it starts to hurt Republican momentum on this it doesn't do anybody any favors. That is the only reason we've taken the position that the rhetoric is inappropriate. ... We have to stop escalating the verbal rhetoric and start talking about the way to fix this problem."

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS

Does Rohrabacher have the right of it, or has he gone too far in his criticism of the party's efforts at immigration reform?

- City News Service