"Back in February, not long after Rubio announced the Gang of Eight immigration proposal, 73 percent of Republicans surveyed by pollster Scott Rasmussen had a favorable impression of the Florida senator. In a new Rasmussen survey released Monday, that number had fallen to 58 percent -- a 15-point drop.   

"Moreover, the intensity of support among Republicans who still view Rubio favorably has also dropped. In February, 44 percent of Republicans had a very favorable opinion of Rubio. Today the number is less than half that -- 21 percent. ... 

"Back in 2008, and again in 2012, Romney's opponents never let him forget the flip-flop that marked his move to the national political stage. In coming years, the same might become true for Marco Rubio."

"Another loophole inserted into the new version of the 'Gang of Eight' immigration bill allows Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (or any of her successors) to nix the construction of a required border security fence if she does not find it to be an 'appropriate' use of resources. 

"The new version of the bill was introduced via a so-called 'border surge' amendment from Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND), with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repackaging the whole bill into the amendment. 

"On page 35, line 24 of the new bill, a provision was inserted that says Napolitano--who already believes the border is secure--can decide against building a fence if she chooses not to erect one ..."

"What investigators have to do now is follow the trail through the IRS in Washington, including political appointees. 

"Questions: Do the investigators have a list of everyone who worked in the executive office of the IRS commissioner? Have they contacted those people and asked when they learned of the targeting? What did they do when they learned? Who, if anyone, thwarted any attempts to stop it? And what about those bonuses the IRS is reportedly about to award its employees? How does that figure in? 

"Congress, including both its battling investigative committees, must get the answers to these questions.  

"The House speaker should make sure it's a priority. There's no sign the FBI will."

"Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) promised that passage of the Gang of Eight immigration bill would render illegal immigration 'a thing of the past.' But the Congressional Budget Office report tells a very different story: It projects that 4.8 million new illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children will be living in the country in 2023 if the bill becomes law. While that represents a modest reduction from the number expected under existing law, it does not even come close to ending illegal immigration but envisions millions more illegal immigrants — a built-in constituency for yet another amnesty a decade hence.

"Nor do the projections get any better in the out years. The law would see 7.5 million new illegal immigrants in the decade from 2023 to 2033 — also a modest reduction from current expectations, but hardly a solution to the problem of illegal immigration. High levels of illegal immigration will persist not only because of what the bill fails to do on border security but also because aspects of it will actively encourage future lawbreaking."

"The Gang of Eight bill being debated in the Senate does not require any security advances before illegal immigrants are granted a decade-long 'temporary' legal status. And all that is required before those same immigrants move on to permanent legal status and citizenship is that a 'Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy' be 'substantially deployed and substantially operational.' 

"What does 'substantially' mean? It could mean anything, which is why lawmakers who don't want to place specific security requirements before permanent legalization like it. ... 

"Both Democrats and Republicans have been happy to let the public think the bill is tougher than it is. For example, Sen. Marco Rubio, the leading Republican on the Gang of Eight, talks all the time about the importance of putting new security measures in place, but he means before immigrants are given permanent status, not before the temporary, decade-long legalization that starts the process."

"Congress is boring. It can’t even make new false promises. 

"On border security, it keeps making the same assurances. The Gang of Eight immigration bill, which could well be the signature legislative accomplishment of President Barack Obama’s second term, travels in the well-worn ruts of past immigration promises. The Gang of Eight is offering this basic deal: 'We will pretend to enforce the law, if you pretend to believe us.' ... 

"The Gang of Eight bill is powered, in large part, by pretense and word games. If this bill passes, and then a decade or so from now we need another amnesty, the road map to passage will be easy: Congress can promise to follow up on the Gang of Eight’s enforcement measures — yet again."

"The Obama administration and European leaders, so predictably, are swooning over Iran’s newly elected 'pragmatic moderate' president Hassan Rouhani, who is actually a Khomeini disciple and supporter of the current, despicable Khameini regime — and who (a) would not have been permitted to run without the regime’s blessing, (b) enthusiastically supports Iran’s nuclear program, (c) called for the execution of 'green revolution' activists in 2009, and (d) ardently backs the Assad regime in Syria because it, like Rouhani himself, is an implacable enemy of Israel."

"The Obama administration's handling of its multiple scandals paints a picture of those who believe they are above the law. There's a pattern of arrogance, dismissiveness, denial, scapegoating, stonewalling, lying, false professions of ignorance, assurances of accountability and punishing whistle-blowers. ... 

"Congress must not be deterred by the administration's evasions. It must turn up the heat and be just as persistent in demanding accountability as the administration is in dodging it."

"The case against the NSA is: Lois Lerner and others of her ilk. 

"Government requires trust. Government by progressives, however, demands such inordinate amounts of trust that the demand itself should provoke distrust. Progressivism can be distilled into two words: 'Trust us.' The antecedent of the pronoun is: The wise, disinterested experts through whom the vast powers of the regulatory state’s executive branch will deliver progress for our own good, as the executive branch understands this, whether we understand it or not. Lois Lerner is the scowling face of this state, which has earned Americans’ distrust."

"Suicidal Republicans have supported illegal alien amnesties dating back to the Reagan era. They have paid a steep, lasting price. ... The progs' plan has always been to exploit the massive population of illegal aliens to redraw the political map and secure a permanent ruling majority. 

"Now, in the wake of nonstop D.C. corruption eruptions, SchMcGRubio and Company want us to trust them with a thousand new pages of phony triggers, left-wing slush-fund spending and make-believe assimilation gestures. Trust them? Hell, no. There's only one course for citizens who believe in upholding the Constitution and protecting the American dream: Stop them."