“Count me out” on immigration reform, RedState co-founder Erick Erickson wrote in a post on the popular conservative blog Monday.
“They are proposing a plan that thus far appears to be unworkable, is wholly too complicated, and is a distraction from issues that we could all agree on in the name of getting a plan acceptable to Democrats,” he wrote. “In the process, their attacks on conservatives designed to intimidate, browbeat, and silence them opens old wounds and does exactly what the Democrats hoped to do — divide the right and play directly to the fears of Hispanic voters who have for so long seen political leaders of both parties demagogue the issue.”
While Erickson was never expected to be a supporter of reform, he’s an influential leader among grassroots conservatives and if he becomes an active opponent of the “Gang of 8” plan it could make it harder for its Republican members to sell to the base. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) went far out of his way to try to court Erickson on the issue, penning a long defense of his position on immigration for RedState readers in January after Erickson wrote an earlier post criticizing his plan.
