Palin: Rubio, Ayotte "Should Be Held Accountable" And Primaried Over Immigration Bill

JOHN GIBSON, FOX NEWS RADIO HOST: Do you think conservatives should turn their back on Marco Rubio?

SARAH PALIN: I think every politician should be held accountable for breaking their campaign promise. Kelly Ayotte, bless her heart, she said on her website as a candidate that her top immigration priority would be to secure the border. No excuses is her quote, no excuses. And she was absolutely against amnesty and yes, Kelly Ayotte and Marco Rubio and all the others who had said that border security must come first before any talk about immigration reform, they turned their back on the American public, so why should they not be held accountable?

GIBSON: in what way? Do you think they should be denied — voters should deny them the big spots on Republican tickets?

PALIN: I think that they should be challenged. I don’t have a problem with a heated debate and contested primaries where they have to answer to constituents regarding their flip-flopping on such a fundamental position as amnesty for illegal immigrants. I don’t have a problem at all with contested primaries. In fact, competition makes us all better and makes us be held accountable. So I’d like them to be held accountable and have to answer to why it is that they flip-flopped.

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Palin: Rubio, Ayotte "Should Be Held Accountable" And Primaried Over Immigration Bill

Ayotte backs Gang of Eight immigration bill

Ayotte’s endorsement provides a major lift to the bipartisan effort. | AP Photo

Sen. Kelly Ayotte endorsed the Senate Gang of Eight immigration reform bill Sunday, providing a major lift to the bipartisan effort.

“Our immigration system is completely broken,” the New Hampshire Republican said, and the immigration reform legislation is “a thoughtful, bipartisan solution to a tough problem.” Ayotte went on to praise the border security provisions, the E-Verify program that secures employment verification data and the system for high-skilled workers.The bill is particularly crucial, she said, to ensure that “we don’t have another wave of illegal immigration.”

Ayotte also hailed the bill’s mechanisms to bring the U.S.’s current undocumented immigrants “out of the shadows” and offer them a “tough but fair” way to earn citizenship. Making them pay taxes, pass a background check and learn English is the right way to handle a difficult problem, she said.

On the threat of a Senate filibuster, Ayotte said that immigration must be debated because “the status quo is unacceptable.”

Earlier on Fox News Sunday, though, Sen. Rand Paul critized the Gang of Eight bill. While he said that “we have a broken visa system,” the Senate bill doesn’t address it properly. Paul said that “you need to expand the numbers of workers that are allowed to come into this country,” but that the legislation in the Senate “puts new caps” on workers.

Paul also said plainly that the Senate bill “doesn’t secure the border.” The Kentucky Republican said that he was “willing to compromise” and “wants to make the bill work,” but that the bill’s authors must come to him directly to address some of his concerns.

Read more about: Immigration, Face The Nation, Kelly Ayotte

POLITICO – TOP Stories

Ayotte backs Gang of Eight immigration bill

Ayotte backs Gang of Eight immigration bill

Ayotte’s endorsement provides a major lift to the bipartisan effort. | AP Photo

Sen. Kelly Ayotte endorsed the Senate Gang of Eight immigration reform bill Sunday, providing a major lift to the bipartisan effort.

“Our immigration system is completely broken,” the New Hampshire Republican said, and the immigration reform legislation is “a thoughtful, bipartisan solution to a tough problem.” Ayotte went on to praise the border security provisions, the E-Verify program that secures employment verification data and the system for high-skilled workers.The bill is particularly crucial, she said, to ensure that “we don’t have another wave of illegal immigration.”

Ayotte also hailed the bill’s mechanisms to bring the U.S.’s current undocumented immigrants “out of the shadows” and offer them a “tough but fair” way to earn citizenship. Making them pay taxes, pass a background check and learn English is the right way to handle a difficult problem, she said.

On the threat of a Senate filibuster, Ayotte said that immigration must be debated because “the status quo is unacceptable.”

Earlier on Fox News Sunday, though, Sen. Rand Paul critized the Gang of Eight bill. While he said that “we have a broken visa system,” the Senate bill doesn’t address it properly. Paul said that “you need to expand the numbers of workers that are allowed to come into this country,” but that the legislation in the Senate “puts new caps” on workers.

Paul also said plainly that the Senate bill “doesn’t secure the border.” The Kentucky Republican said that he was “willing to compromise” and “wants to make the bill work,” but that the bill’s authors must come to him directly to address some of his concerns.

Read more about: Immigration, Face The Nation, Kelly Ayotte

POLITICO – TOP Stories

Ayotte backs Gang of Eight immigration bill