Jeb Bush’s reversal on immigration reform throws a wrench into the conventional wisdom surrounding the 2016 presidential election, where many expected Bush would run as a moderate antidote to Mitt Romney’s hardline campaign. His latest stance could put him to the right of a number of potential rivals, several of whom only recently came out for reform themselves. Here’s a rundown of five top tier Republicans’ position on a path to citizenship, from clearest to vaguest:Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Just two months ago, Rubio was publicly against not only a path to citizenship but the very notion of comprehensive immigration reform while Bush was sniping at unnamed “shortsighted” politicians (hint, hint) who favored a weak “piecemeal” approach to reform. Now Rubio is working his heart out trying to sell conservatives on comprehensive reform with a path to citizenship and Bush has pulled his previous support for the policy.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=91567