The New Republic

Texas electoral politics tend to elicit sensationalism. Jeb Bush has suggested the Lone Star state, which voted for Romney by 16 points in 2012, could somehow turn blue in 2016; Ted Cruz, who doesn’t even favor comprehensive immigration reform, similarly said that new Hispanic voters would turn Texas blue and bury the GOP alongside the Whigs. READ MORE >>

No group in America, aside from Latino activists, is a more steadfast champion of  generous immigration reform than organized labor. That stance, declares the AFL-CIO, is “based on the simple idea that working people are strongest when we work together and the labor movement is strongest when we are open to all workers, regardless of where they come from.” READ MORE >>

In a recent article, John Judis makes many excellent points about poorly compensated work in America. But he mischaracterizes the role that immigration, in general, and the “Gang of Eight"s immigration reform, in particular, is likely to have on the wages of American workers. Contrary to what some claim, immigration has economically benefitted U.S. workers. READ MORE >>

Observers of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday were treated to the spectacle of two members, Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, accusing one another of using the horrific attack on the Boston Marathon to achieve political goals. READ MORE >>

Alejandro Muther has been trying to create jobs in the United States for more than a year now.   READ MORE >>

There are many good reasons to support comprehensive immigration reform. There are some 11 million undocumented workers in the United States who exist in a legal and economic limbo: Their condition is worse than that of indentured servants. Proposals for emphasizing immigration of skilled workers are also welcome. And an influx of young workers is important to sustaining an aging citizenry’s social-insurance programs. READ MORE >>

Last week the Associated Press removed the term illegal immigrant from its stylebook. This followed claims, aired with especial insistence since last year, that the term is a disguised slur, designating certain persons as “illegal” in neglect of all else that comprises their personhood. READ MORE >>

Marco Rubio's role as the Republican point man on immigration reform is remarkable if you think of the senator who played the part before him. John McCain had been in the Senate for nearly twenty years when he took up the issue in President Bush's second term; Rubio has been in Washington only a little more than two. Of course, Rubio has something McCain lacked: credibility with the GOP’s right-wing base. And so Rubio is seen as the key to forming the bipartisan coalition that has eluded those who have worked on this issue. READ MORE >>

As this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, at National Harbor in Washington, is the GOP’s first major gathering since the Democratic coalition trounced Republicans in November, it stands to reason that the party's demographic dilemma would be a preoccupation among panelists. How goes Republicans' hopes to refill the Big Tent with Latinos and young voters and the like? Not so hot.  READ MORE >>

It’s election night, November 2, 2010, and Jeb Bush is all alone on stage at Marco Rubio’s victory rally. As supporters and photographers await the arrival of the new conservative star, Bush takes his substantial six-foot-three-inch frame a few steps toward the audience, clapping and cajoling them to join him in a chant: “Mar-co! Mar-co! Mar-co!” He moves stage left, where the cameras are waiting, still alone, still chanting, like a helicopter parent cheering from the sidelines. READ MORE >>