Marco Rubio thinks his amnesty bill failed because people distrust large government programs

In 2013, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., championed the “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill that failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg recently asked Rubio what lesson he drew from that. Here’s the exchange:

NY Times’ Jim Rutenberg: You suffered politically for trying to push a sweeping immigration overhaul with a pathway to citizenship. What lesson did you draw from that?

Rubio: That there now exists an incredible level of mistrust on anything massive that the government does.

So, according to Sen. Rubio, the problem with his amnesty bill was that it was too “massive.” In other words,

• it wasn’t the bogus “enforcement triggers”;
• it wasn’t the ridiculous “Border Commission”;
• it wasn’t the border fence double talk;
• it wasn’t the fake border security amendments;
• it wasn’t the slush funds for left-wing pro-illegal alien groups;
• it wasn’t the welfare for illegal aliens;
• it wasn’t the hyperbolic rhetoric coming from Rubio’s staff; and
• most of all, it wasn’t the amnesty.

All clear?